Video Card Recommendations

[mallik]

Hi, I'm looking for a video card for my friend. He's looking to spend about $100-150. What is a good card to get in that range? He does a lot of 3D and graphics work using 3D Studio Max, and Photoshop. I looked around, and it seems like Radeon is the way to go, but my friend told me that Radeons have compatibility issues with 3D Studio Max. Is this true? If so, are there ways around it? Any help would be appreciated

 

[ProviaFan]

I've never had any problems with my Radeons and 3DSMax. It would be good for him to get a Radeon over a similarly priced Nvidia card, because the higher 2D image quality of the Radeons (those built by ATI, anyway) will be good in Photoshop. For around US$150 I think you can get an ATI Radeon 9500, which would be a good card for him. Newegg, Mwave, and Googlegear are three good online places to buy this stuff from. Be sure to check the ResellerRatings of an online store before you purchase, to make sure you won't be scammed and to see what others' experiences are when RMAing defective products.