NEED HELP Cheap Videocard Upgrade

[SanAznMan]

i am looking to upgrade my current videocard, a geforce 2 32mb. YES i do know its REALLY old. I wanted some suggestions on what i can buy for 40-50 dollars. Any help will be MUCH appreciated.
Thanks

 

[SonicIce]

do you want to play current games? maybe look for a used 9600 xt. a new 9600 pro is like 75.

 

[SanAznMan]

i would like to be able to play at least CS source and World of Warcraft. Is this even possible with my rig? 1.7 ghz pentium 4, 640 mb ram. The only thing that i really need is a new vid card. I'm kind of on a budget though so that 9600 for 75 is a little too much.

 

[ryanv12]

Luckily the Source engine does very well with cheap video cards. Definitely look for used cards - maybe you can get a 9500 or something for that price range, and I think some of them softmod into 9700's

 

[ryanv12]

Originally posted by: ryanv12
Luckily the Source engine does very well with cheap video cards. Definitely look for used cards - maybe you can get a 9500 or something for that price range, and I think some of them softmod into 9700's

looks like the 9500's go for ~65-ish used.

I think you're probably stuck with finding a 9250 or something...ick

 

[SanAznMan]

Is there any GeForce cards that would be comparable to 9700 or 9600s that are in that price range?

 

[Keysplayr]

Not for your price range. I think the closest performance to a 9700 would be an FX5900, but DX9 performance won't be near as good. The only thing I would suggest is to buy it used in the FS/FT forum. A 9600/9500 that is.

 

[Keysplayr]

Look at this!! 9600XT 128MB for 60.00 buy it now on Ebay. Shipping to NY is 4.30.

I don't know where you live, but shipping seems to be reasonable to NY.

 

[SanAznMan]

that 9600XT on ebay looks like a good promise but before i go overbudget....will the 9550s and 9600s run CS source? If so i may just get a new 9550 or used 9600 to save some money.

 

[Keysplayr]

Yes, I believe a 9550 or 9600 will play CS:Source at moderate settings. Anyone agree/disagree?

 

[ShadowBlade]

i can play HL2 medium settings @ 1024x768 on my geforce FX5200

 

[thesurge]

Make sure you have AGP slot, wait is Geforce2 all AGP?

 

[SanAznMan]

yes, i have an AGP 4X slot. also Shadow is a FX 5200 about the equivalent of a Radeon 9200 or 9250??? and how smooth does it run? if so i might just opt for one of those because i run most of my games at 1024x786.

 

[Munky]

Originally posted by: SanAznMan
yes, i have an AGP 4X slot. also Shadow is a FX 5200 about the equivalent of a Radeon 9200 or 9250??? and how smooth does it run? if so i might just opt for one of those because i run most of my games at 1024x786.

No way. I used to have a radeon 9000 pro, which is slightly faster than a fx5200 (definitely faster at HL2 and DX9), and 1024, medium settings was tolerable, but it didn't run smooth. Add to that CS:S, and you're looking at 800x600 as you max playable resolution. If you really want an upgrade, get a used radeon 9500, 9500pro, or a 9600. Keep in mind that the 9500pro is actually faster than the newer 9600, so definitely get it if you can.

 

[blckgrffn]

Hey, send me a PM, I have several vid cards that might do the trick for you in that price range, GF4 Ti's and FX's...

Nat

 

[ryanv12]

I would definitely not look at anything from the FX line. The Radeon 9-series walks all over them, especially for newer games like CS:S. 9500 pro is your best bet.

 

[blckgrffn]

my 5900U walked all over my roomies 9800 Pro in CS:S, but then again he was running DX9 and I was running a DX8, and I had a 2.6 ghz A64 to his 2.2 ghz AXP...

The FX are fine when compared to the 9600/9550 series particularly, you need to graduate to something better like a 9700 or 9800 series card to see significantly better performance from that generation of cards. The 9500 Pro should due 1024*768 at some medium quality settings, but at least it will be a huge step up from your GF2, regardless

Finding a 9500 Pro at less than $50 should be a neat trick, though....

Nat

 

[Ramsez]

Check this out:

http://stores.ebay.com/ReTekDirect

May find something.

 

[dwcal]

Used Ti4200 would fit your budget. Check the FS/FT forum.

 

[SanAznMan]

I have been looking at some of the GeForce cards but i do not know much about their product line. How does a Ti4200 compare with the ATI cards? It seems as though GeForce would be a cheaper option. Also can someone please tell me the difference between the GeForce FX and the Geforce4 MX and Ti cards?

 

[blckgrffn]

GF4 Ti - DirectX 8, GF4MX DX7 (basically a pumped up GF2 but in a 4x1 configuration rather than 4x2 to make it even cheaper to produce), and FX = GF4 Ti + medicore at best DX9 support...

 

[SanAznMan]

Well i think i have narrowed down my choices, thank you's to everyone for helping. Im trying to decide if i should spend a little more and go with the Radeon 9500 or the GeForce 4 Ti4200 or Ti4400. Thoughts from anyone on which i should pick?

PS blckgrffn check ur PM