Looking for Inexpensive Video Card

[j24u]

I searched on Inexpensive and Cheap and didn't find much so here's what I'm looking for:

I got in on that Andara/Overstock deal for a case/MOBO/floppy, etc. and bought 3 of them.

I'm putting a Radeon LE in one, but I'm trying to build a budget system with the other two. Any dollars I can shave off the total cost will help.

These budget systems will still be fairly powerful (Tbird 750).

I have a couple interested parties who aren't gamers, but enjoy a casual video game now and then. They will be using their PCs for Office applications (Word, Powerpoint, etc.) and Internet access.

Since I can get the Radeon LE for around $73 shipped, I'm looking to spend no more than half of this ($20 - $36).

The card must be AGP (there are only 3 PCI slots). 3D is not really necessary, but would be nice.

Any suggestions are welcome. TIA.

Newegg has the Power Color Sniper 2 Riva TNT2 M64 32mb Retail Video Card No TV Out for $35 + $4 shipping. Any comments on this card ?

 

[sash1]

<< I'm looking to spend no more than half of this ($20 - $36) >>



Well, it's a little more ($3), but you can get a Xpert 2000 for $39 off newegg. I think this'll suit what you're needs fairly well, and it's cheap.

 

[Athlon4all]

Yeah, ATi Expert 2000 should be good, but didn't these old ATi Cards have big 2000 driver problems? If that's an issue then look for a TNT2.

 

[sash1]

<< Yeah, ATi Expert 2000 should be good, but didn't these old ATi Cards have big 2000 driver problems? If that's an issue then look for a TNT2. >>



I heard ATi and Win2k was fixed...

 

[Flatline]

I am running a machine in my test bay with an ATI Xpert 2000 in a Win2K machine and it runs beautifully. I haven't had any problems with ATI drivers in quite some time (since nVidia was also having problems, actually).

 

[AnitaPeterson]

Since the demand is so small why not a Voodoo 3 or something along the same lines?

 

[sash1]

<< Since the demand is so small why not a Voodoo 3 or something along the same lines? >>

Yeah, yeah... how about the Xpert 2000??? Yeah, taht's what I thought....

 

[j24u]

Thanks for the input. TNT or Expert 2000 might be just the thing.

It's gonna be a WinME system, so Win2K compatability isn't an issue.

Anyone have experience with the Voodoo 3 ? I know their cards and drivers are no longer supported, but that might be just the thing for a deal.

Do any of these have decent 3D ? Which has the best 2D ?

Thanks again.

 

[PointlesS]

what about the matrox G400? I don't know how much that costs though...

 

[Flatline]

ATI and Matrox have the best 2D, and for 3D I would go with the TNT or the XPERT2000

 

[CraigRT]

for 3d I would not necessarily go for the Xpert2000, but for that little money, yes, I would go for the Xpert 2000, for about 33% more you can get a GeForce2 MX-200 (around here anyways) which would spank the Xpert2000, but for 2d, the Xpert2000 is good, I have an Xpert2000 at work in my computer.. T-Bird 900, Asus A7Pro, win2k sp2, etc. the 3d is almost no better than a cheap 8MB Xpert 98, even though the Xpert 2000 is 32MB, I have had both in the same computer and both run Q3 at very close poor FPS.
but the fact of the matter is, the Xpert2000 is cheap, and it WORKS IN WINDOWS 2000! yes, 3d too!

so that might be the card you should look into, even before i saw the first post i was going to recommend the Xpert2000, for the price it's the best IMO.

good luck!

 

[j24u]

Thanks for all the comments.

It sounds like it gonna be the Xpert 2000 for price and 2D 3D performance.

I doubt if these folks will be playing Quake, maybe something 3D like Escape From Monkey Island. This should suffice and keep their cost down.