Need help deciding on video card

[cpotter]

Starting my first build. Initially I decided on the AMD 64 2800+ processor, which led me to chosing a socket 754 MOBO. I knew I wanted a nVIDIA 250Gb chipset after reading many reviews. Initially thought of getting the Epox at about $75, but after reading most of the posts in the Soltek thread, went with the Soltek. Almost everyone seems satisified with this board. Being a newbie, I have an additional question.

In all likelyhood I will be running the following components eventually:
1) Soltek board Athlon 2800+
2) 1 Gig of Ram
3) New 60 - 80 gig hard drive possibly with an additional much older 20 gig HD as a slave
4) New DVD Burner
5) Seperate DVD Rom
6) Video card, not yet decided on which one.

My question is regarding the video card. Looking for something on the low end as I do very little gaming, and nothing that would require exceptional video. My kids (3 yr old) play games. I do general computer work. May watch an occasional DVD, but will likely be buring DVD's more than watching. At some point, I may what to be able to feed the VCR into the computer and transfer to DVD. But this capability is not necessary at the molment. There are cards as low as $30 on newegg for general video. Was thinking of getting one less than $60. Any suggestions? I assume that if I wanted the capability to feed in the VCR, that would up the price on the card?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Chad

 

[ScrewFace]

How about a used AiW Radeon 9700 Pro? There going for around $150 which is cheaper than a new AiW Radeon 9600XT and way more powerful. Just an idea.

 

[cpotter]

Have no need to spend that much on a video card. Any other suggestions?

 

[ponyo]

9200 with VIVO

Or you could pick up any cheap card and buy a separate tuner card. I would go tuner route.

 

[effee]

9600 then...

 

[AristoV300]

I'll second the 9600.

 

[Akira1224]

Radeon 9200 or Geforce 4 MX.

If you arent doing any gaming then either one of those is good. I use the Geforce 4's in my GHU rigs and I have yet to hear from a customer that their visual quailty is bad or that they can not do what they need to.

 

[cpotter]

Thank you for the suggestions. Are there any cards in particular that you would recommend for less than $50?

Found this card:
MSI MX4000-T128 GeForce4 MX4000 AGP 8X 128MB DDR Video Card w/TV-Out Retail $49.99 shipped.
This card seems reasonable and is 128MB.

Don't know if I would be better off getting a 64MB card for my needs as I may be able to save some money.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Chad

 

[cpotter]

Are there overall good manufactures of video cards? Or manufactures to stay away from?

 

[cpotter]

The other option I've found:

Sapphire Radeon 9200 SE AGP 8X 128MB DDR Video Card w/TV-Out & CRT for $52.00

The sapphire has DVI while the MSI doesn't. How important is DVI? Will it be important in the future?

Thanks. Chad

 

[SneakyStuff]

THIS is a fine choice for watching DVD movies, light gaming, and basic tasks. DVI won't matter, unless of course you have a DVI monitor. If not, you're good to go.

 

Originally posted by: SneakyStuff
THIS is a fine choice for watching DVD movies, light gaming, and basic tasks. DVI won't matter, unless of course you have a DVI monitor. If not, you're good to go.

:thumbsup:

 

[cpotter]

Thank you for the suggestion on the ATI Radeon 9000. Basically, at Newegg, this can be shipped to my door for 42.99.

Alternativey I could get the MSI MX4000-T128 GeForce4 MX4000 AGP 8X 128MB DDR Video Card w/TV-Out as posted above with link:

http://www.monarchcomputer.com...&AFFIL=pg&NR=1

Price on the MSI shipped would be $47.00

For the extra $4 would be getting a 128Mb card vs a 64Mb card and AGP 8X instead of 4X. From my limited knowledge, this makes sense. Don't know if there is a big difference in the chipset and MSI vs ATI.

I will end up getting one or the other. Which one would you get given the very little difference in price.

Thanks. Chad

 

[SneakyStuff]

That mx4000 seems just about right, go for it.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: cpotter
Thank you for the suggestion on the ATI Radeon 9000. Basically, at Newegg, this can be shipped to my door for 42.99.

Alternativey I could get the MSI MX4000-T128 GeForce4 MX4000 AGP 8X 128MB DDR Video Card w/TV-Out as posted above with link:

http://www.monarchcomputer.com...&AFFIL=pg&NR=1

Price on the MSI shipped would be $47.00

For the extra $4 would be getting a 128Mb card vs a 64Mb card and AGP 8X instead of 4X. From my limited knowledge, this makes sense. Don't know if there is a big difference in the chipset and MSI vs ATI.

I will end up getting one or the other. Which one would you get given the very little difference in price.

Thanks. Chad

All the cards you mentioned have TV-out only. I thought you said you wanted to hook up a VCR to it eventually. You need VIVO for that. not just TV-out.

 

[cpotter]

Thanks for the help. I'm going to go with the MSI. I'll probably get a video capture card in addition at some point down the road. Thanks for the help.

Chad