Need Suggestions for Run o' the Mill Video Card

[SupaDupaCheez]

I am a TOTAL video n00b so be gentle

- I play games exactly NEVER.
- I do some video transfer from my DV camera and some editing (not a lot though)
- I like to multitask with excel/winamp (with visuallizations)/dvdshrink
- I currently own a 'new' Dell Dimension 4700 with PCIe with onboard video
- 512mb DDR
- 2.8 Pentium 4 800fsb

I need something that will do the job without a huge amount of overkill. I will not be playing games (at least nothing harder than Snood) but I do use WinAmp a lot with the visualizations in high resolution mode while doing other tasks which could include DVDShrink and/or working in spreadsheets (if that even matters). I would also like the card to be PCIe x16.

I was looking at the Radeon x300 se 128 for around $50-60 but not sure if that will do the job and/or is worth the money. Also need DVI for my FlatPanel. Other than that I'm not sure what else I would need.

Any help would definitely be appreciated.

Thanks!
SupaDupaCheez

 

[SupaDupaCheez]

Bump for help

 

[knyghtbyte]

even if your not gaming, if you want to do a lot of video/visual stuff then its worth spending a little more than your thinking on your card.....also u dont say how big your flatpanel is.....

now the new series nvidias are out, u should be able to pick up a 6600GT reasonably cheap, it'll be PCI-E, and it'll do everything your intending on doing without hassle.....which means you wont be waiting around so long for it to catch up...lol
also its suitable card with your processor, sadly i live in the UK so i cant comment on prices.

those cheap X300 type cards and 6200 cards by nvidia really are just not worth the money, they dont actually do a helluvalot...lol....they allow you to play modern 3d games with the eye candy, but at low resolutions, which is rather pointles....(i know u said no gaming, im just stating why they exist).....

my moneys on a 6600GT, it'll happily serve your needs now, and for a little while into the future too....

 

[Matthias99]

I play games exactly NEVER.

Then the card you purchase is largely irrelevant. Any card on the market today can push any resolution you will want to use, and 2D performance has not been an issue on any add-in card for about 10 years.

The GF6600 is the cheapest card you can get with dual DVI (although NVIDIA's onboard DVI is not great, if you intend to run something like a 2405FPW). If you don't need dual DVI, a RADEON X300[SE] or GF6200 are the cheapest add-in cards you can get.

Although onboard video should really be fine (unless your concern is simply to get DVI).

 

[MercenaryForHire]

X300SE for $35



- M4H

 

[SupaDupaCheez]

Thanks for the replies, I was beginning to get lonely in here

As far as my FlatPanel: Dell 17in digital (w/DVI) and I really don't see me buying anything bigger in the near future (2 yrs+) unless it dies. I also have a Princeton 17inch dig (w/DVI) FP that I MAY try to do a dual set up with.

As far as price goes I'd like to stay under $100 (I'm a cheapass).

Thanks!

 

[xtknight]

If you do a lot with video, you may consider getting a card that has an on-board video processor (like ATI's SmartShader HD or NVIDIA's PureVideo). If not, get something cheap like the X300 SE.

 

[Bona Fide]

I would say get the X300SE and a DVI-VGA adapter. Or get a 6600 with native DVI.

 

[rbV5]

Originally posted by: xtknight
If you do a lot with video, you may consider getting a card that has an on-board video processor (like ATI's SmartShader HD or NVIDIA's PureVideo). If not, get something cheap like the X300 SE.

ATI has no on board video processor, smart shader use the shader pipeline(hence the name) of the VPU to accelerate video using DXVA and is also available with the X300 SE.

Hopefully winamp uses less resources to run visualizations than WMP, but they run fine using my onboard video (X300 SE class)

 

[rbV5]

Originally posted by: Bona Fide
I would say get the X300SE and a DVI-VGA adapter. Or get a 6600 with native DVI.

Why not use the native DVI of the X300SE then?

OIC, for dual DVI you mean

 

[munchow2]

You'll be fine. You don't really even need a low end 3d card to render winamp graphics decently.

The only reason to use a 3d card is if you want to play games of any kind or if you want graphics to generally load faster if you are bothered by that kind of stuff. I know my p2 166 with ATI RAGE PRO 128 runs fine, although office 2003 and windows xp is a little sluggish on that computer. There is a bit of latency between dragging the bar and the gfx (ie: database lines, word documents) showing up.

I can suggest that anything less than a 6600/6600GT is not worth the money. If you can find a really cheap 6600GT for like $100 then definitely go for it.

 

[rbV5]

I know my p2 166 with ATI RAGE PRO 128 runs fine

Cmon, Thats not going to play MP3 files with winamp properly.

 

[coomar]

i thought there was a low-end ati dual-dvi, I have this vague memory of an x300 with dual dvi

can't seem to find it

didn't one of the 5700fx or along that line on pci-e have dual-dvi

 

[SupaDupaCheez]

thanks guys. I'll keep my eye out for a cheap 6600/6600GT and go from there.

I appreciate all your help. Once again.....Anandtech to the rescue!

SDC

 

[SupaDupaCheez]

One more question:

I see that there are a number of companies selling what seems to be the same card (at least by name). Are these all the same card or does each company do something a little different?

 

[coomar]

depends, lately it seems that the for higher end stuff, the companies are trying to differentiate between each other, but for lower end stuff, the differences would be fairly minor, something that could be important is a passive heatsink since it would cut down on noise

 

[Bona Fide]

Originally posted by: SupaDupaCheez
One more question:

I see that there are a number of companies selling what seems to be the same card (at least by name). Are these all the same card or does each company do something a little different?

Usually it's a matter of bundled software and the like. I know Leadtek usually packs a couple of games in their packages, and so does MSI. BFG and eVGA have lifetime warranties which are always great. ASUS is almost always overpriced.

 

[SupaDupaCheez]

Originally posted by: Bona Fide

Originally posted by: SupaDupaCheez
One more question:

I see that there are a number of companies selling what seems to be the same card (at least by name). Are these all the same card or does each company do something a little different?

Usually it's a matter of bundled software and the like. I know Leadtek usually packs a couple of games in their packages, and so does MSI. BFG and eVGA have lifetime warranties which are always great. ASUS is almost always overpriced.

Thanks for that info. I was just looking at a Leadtek. Lifetime warranty sounds good...pricewatch here I come

 

[munchow2]

Originally posted by: rbV5

I know my p2 166 with ATI RAGE PRO 128 runs fine

Cmon, Thats not going to play MP3 files with winamp properly.

nono it runs ok. I use winamp v 3.0 though, not that I use that computer much anymore, just when I go over to my aunt's place.