Video card recommendation needed

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nikko

Senior member
Sep 12, 2000
775
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Hi there. I'm helping a friend of mine upgrade his machine. He wants a PCI-Express video card. He isn't going to be doing a ton of gaming, but he will be doing some. Specifically, he wants to be able to play Half Life 2. Also, he wants to be able to watch TV on his monitor. I'm not sure what that feature is called. TV Input maybe? Anyway, he needs a card that will allow that as well. If it's not possible, I suppose he can always get a TV Tuner card or something. His budget is $350.

He's upgrading from a 9700 Pro, for that's worth. Thanks in advance for any recommendations you can pass along.
 
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drpootums

Golden Member
Oct 22, 2004
1,315
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that X1800XL AIW looks like a good deal. That's probably the best you could get for that money if he wants TV tuning capabilities.
 
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v8envy

Platinum Member
Sep 7, 2002
2,720
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See, that's what I've never understood. Why get a TV tuner built into your video card? With that approach you throw it away and get a new one every time you upgrade your video.

If all your friend wants is to take say, satellite TV out (svideo) and watch it on the PC monitor, a VIVO (video in video out) card is all he needs. If he needs to tune into broadcast signal (over the air or analog cable), he'll need a TV tuner. Whether bolted onto an all-in-wonder, or something like the Hauppage PVR-150.

Those go for around $60, and are wonderful cards. Great quality tuners, stereo recording, and nearly 0 CPU use saving mpeg2 streams.

As far as gaming, there's no such thing as a 'little bit.' Either you do or you don't. What matters is whether you want high res with eye candy. If so, the X1800XT is a great upgrade from a 9700 Pro, but an X850XT or X800GTO^2 for ~$150 is probably the sweet spot.
 
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