Placeholder Vidcard

[Tedevium]

Hiyas, I'm going to be building my first comp at the end of this month (once pesky exams are out of the way)

I've already picked out the main parts: A P4 2.8c with an Intel D865PERL motherboard and a stick of 512 PC3200 RAM. However once I also factor in the cost of a case powersupply and miscellaneous, I don't have very much leftover for a vidcard. (The Radeon 9800Pro is what I'd really like)

What I'm thinking of doing is getting some cheap card to tie me over until around christmas. I'm guessing that I'll have more funds then and that there might be some more price dropping thanks to the new stuff coming during the summer.

The only question then is which "cheap card"?

E.g. I've seen a Powercolor 9200SE for about $60CDN. I know everyone and their uncle says the SE stands for Slow Edition. But I've been playing games like Warcraft III and Jedi Outcast on a 566 eMachine Celeron with integrated graphics for the past years, so could an SE card actually be an improvement?

EDIT: Also is it safe to get an OEM card?

 

[MDE]

Try to pick up a GeForce4 Ti series card for about US$75-100, they still get the job done. OEM cards are completely safe, they just don't come with any extras like driver discs, software, cables, extended warranty, etc.

 

[howdyduty]

I'd say most any 64mb card in your new PC would perform better than what your used to with a celeron with integrated graphics. Recommend the ASUS nVIDIA GeForce2 MX400 Video Card, 64MB SDR, 128-bit, 4X AGP, Model "V7100 PRO PURE" -RETAIL....at newegg.com for $35.

 

[Tedevium]

Ooh nice.

Thanks for the tip but I'm in Toronto so Newegg doesn't ship up here.

Another option I got is this warehouse liquidator place. I've looked in their ads and saw a ATI 9200 for $60(CDN) but it's also labeled as a "new pull". I'm guessing thats a nicer way of saying "used"?

Theres also a GeForce4 MX440 64meg for the same price but this one is said to be brand new. Would either of these be a good choice?

 

[Kaiser__Sose]

that factorydirect.ca place has a geforce fx 5600 for $79CDN.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Originally posted by: Tedevium
Ooh nice.

Thanks for the tip but I'm in Toronto so Newegg doesn't ship up here.

Another option I got is this warehouse liquidator place. I've looked in their ads and saw a ATI 9200 for $60(CDN) but it's also labeled as a "new pull". I'm guessing thats a nicer way of saying "used"?

Theres also a GeForce4 MX440 64meg for the same price but this one is said to be brand new. Would either of these be a good choice?

Would that be FactoryDirect, or TigerDirect?

A "new pull" means they got a "new" machine and "pulled" the component.

If I were you, I'd spent some time hunting on eBay and the FS/T forums here to find yourself a used geForce4 Ti - or maybe even a used Radeon 9600 series.

Welcome to the forums. :beer:

- M4H

 

[Corporate Thug]

ti4200

 

[nick1985]

Jetway FX5200 64 bit. great for cooking eggs on.




on a serious note, get a 4200

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Originally posted by: Kaiser__Sose
that factorydirect.ca place has a geforce fx 5600 for $79CDN.

Hmm. It doesn't say if it's a 64-bit or 128-bit FX5600 though. (Yes, there were a few made.)

- M4H

 

[Tedevium]

Factory Direct - Thats the one heh

I'm just starting exams now so I don't really have the time to ebay hunt (heck I should be studying right now) but the factory place seems convenient enough. And I'd really like to have the new system up and running as soon as possible.

I'm aiming for under $80. There any brand or model I should particulary avoid?

Jetway FX5200 64 bit. great for cooking eggs on.

So is that good or bad?

 

[MDE]

Originally posted by: Tedevium
There any brand or model I should particulary avoid?

Stay away from the ATI SE models and Nvidia XT or SE models (Except the Ti4800 SE). They usually have slower RAM, slower GPU, half the memory bandwith (64-bit bus instead of 128-bit) or a combination of all three.

 

[SneakyStuff]

You forgot to mention the 5900XT, and 5900SE, both extremely good cards for the money.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Originally posted by: SneakyStuff
You forgot to mention the 5900XT, and 5900SE, both extremely good cards for the money.

Yes, yes they are.

- M4H

 

[MDE]

Originally posted by: SneakyStuff
You forgot to mention the 5900XT, and 5900SE, both extremely good cards for the money.

He's not going to be finding them for US$80, let alone $80 CDN.