Some Advice Please

[TbonePoke]

I'm building a new system and need some advice about the video card. The base system is 1 GHz Athlon with 256 MB RAM. My primary OS is W2KPro, but I'd also like to dual boot Linux.

My budget for video is about $130 or less. My primary use is for text (MS Word) and web browsing. Some game play but it is not the priority.

So what should I go with? Will something like a $80 GeForce2 MX be as good for me as a 32 MB GeForce2 GTS? Should I really care if the memory is SDRAM or DDR? Any other cards I should consider?

TIA

 

[TbonePoke]

bump

 

[MilkPowderR]

Since you are not a gaming junky get a ATI Radeon 32mb. That will shove it good. Because it has very clean, sharp, cristal 2D image quality and very good DVD and other video support. GF cards have shiit 2D image quality so you might hate it. But the GF cards do have very good gaming performance.

 

[jobberd]

geforce2mx or radeon le would be your best bet. but if youre not going to be playin games, whats with the power system?

 

[4824guy]

One of the Radeon 32mb cards or the Geforce 2-MX card would be in your budget and perform great.

 

[lifeguard1999]

Radeon LE is your best bet. It has better 2D that the GF2 at high resolutions, is under $100 shipped, and can be hacked to offer the performance of a Radeon (GF2 equivalent).

 

[TbonePoke]

Thanks to all. After reading some of the posts in the general hardware forum, I've been kind of leaning toward the Radeon LE. I just haven't worked with desktops enough lately (I'm an NT Admin) to keep up with the newer hardware. I was especially wondering about the 2D performance, since most of the reviews focus on 3D.

Jobberd:
There are a few reasons I'm putting together a strong system. I'm the kind who likes to have a lot of windows open at once, at least three to four apps at a time. When some of those apps are parts of MS Office or photo editing, that takes a lot of horsepower. Why wait for system response if I don't have to. Also, I want a system that will be current and capable for a while and this system is only a couple hundred more than an middling duron system.

Thanks again.
Don