Poormans GPU: Sis 315/305 ANY GOOD?????

[human2k]

I can pick up one for $19 at newegg, are they any good? I plan to build one or two systems for my grandparents. My main concern is solid STABLE drivers!

 

[DBandit]

i don't know anything about those cards, but they probably suck. If you haven't bought a mobo yet, maybe you should just get one with onboard video, those should be rock solid.

edit: i take that sucking part back since I don't know anything about it.

edit2: after reading the posts below. I take back everything I just said. Go for it dude.

 

[RanDum72]

They are fast as a GF2 MX (the original MX). The 315 is the one with the T&L, not the 305. Its good for the budget person (occasional gamer) but it really excels in DVD playback where quality and CPU utilization is right up there with the ATI Radeon. Most of them also come with 128mb of memory. Overall, its decent but not cutting edge.

 

[Rand]

The SiS315 isnt half bad given the price it generally sells at.
It's got a respectable feature set, decent 2D, and pretty good DVD playback. Gaming performance generally comes it at between that of the GF2 MX200 and GF2 MX400, roughly comparable to the Radeon VE in terms of gaming performance.
Drivers are actually surprisingly good and remarkably stable in 2D Windows, and I've not encountered any real hardware compatibility issues.... it has a number small bugs in 3D though.
If you just want it as a basic Windows 2D card, then it's not bad at all given the price it sells at.
There are certainly far better cards out there, but the SiS315 is respectable and pretty solid for what it is.

 

[AA0]

SiS 305 won't work on a p4 with an intel chipset last I heard, not sure of the 315, I think it works, just FYI.

 

[nortexoid]

the 315 is good - ECS' version of the card runs at a faster core and memory and outpaces a GF2 MX 400 64mb card...and it's cheaper.

19 bucks for GF2 MX200 performans (for non-ECS cards)???...sounds like a good deal to me

personally,i doubt your grandparents are gonna be running intense 3d software...that being the case, i'd get a cheaper ATI xpert 128 16MB for the like...but it'll surely have better 2d quality

 

[BD231]

The SiS315 isnt half bad given the price it generally sells at.

Just put an ECS AG315P in a family members comp. MOHAA is playable with a 1ghz Duron, very good card for the price. Dont like the refresh rate choices though, I dont think the card is capeable of 1280x1024 res at 85 hz.

PS: If your using this card in your main rig I would go with a 32mb Radaeon of some sort, buying cheap parts isn't a good idea if you can avoid it.

 

[RanDum72]

SiS 305 won't work on a p4 with an intel chipset last I heard, not sure of the 315, I think it works, just FYI

Its because the 305 is a 3.3volt card; I think P4 chipsets require a 1.5v AGP card. Justto let you guys know, the 315 that I had ( sold it in here at AT) also didn't work with my two Asus nForce mobos (A7n266-E and A7N266-C). Asus specified that only 1.5v cards will work. Maybe my vesion of the 315 (or whoever made them) didn't fullly implement a 1.5v card.