What is the best card $70 will buy me??

[bullion416]

If I was looking to spend around $70 on a video card, what is the best card for the money (I can afford to spend a little more if I need to)? What brands and models do you recommend (something that is good for games)? I would be replacing an ATI Radeon 64mb ddr VIVO (video in and video out) card......

 

[nick1985]

well for 70 bucks you wont vind anything much better than the one you have now. maybe 170 and then you're talkin!

 

[dguy6789]

i really dont like these cards but there is a pny geforce 4 mx420 for 80 if you can go that far, but it woudlnt give you much performance increase.

 

[nick1985]

i dont know where that guys is lookin... but there is a 440 for 53 bucks at newegg.....

 

[bullion416]

How much of a performance increase, if any, would I get if I went with a low end geforce4 (like a 400 series card)? Or would I get more performance for my money if I went with another ATI card, like the Radeon 7500, 8500, or 9000?

 

[mrzed]

An MX400 would be a downgrade, MX420 slight upgrade, MX440 would start to be really noticeable.

With some solid hunting, you should be able to get a 8500le within or close to your budget. That would be a serious difference and probably your best bet by far.

 

[EdipisReks]

you should be able to pick up a 64 MB Radeon 8500le for under $70. that's what i would get.

 

[boyRacer]

FRY's had a sale for a GF4 4200 for $89... AR of course...

 

[KingofFah]

For 70$, get the Radeon 8500 LE 128 DDR, supports DX8 as opposed to the mx cards.

 

[EdipisReks]

i would get the $70 64 MB radeon 8500le over a $70 128 MB one, since every 128 MB 8500le i've seen at around $70 has had really crappy ram with low clockspeeds.

 

[pillage2001]

I second the 8500LE suggestions.

 

[lifeguard1999]

1. What are you planning to use it for?
2. Do you currently use the Video-In feature of your Radeon?

If you do not game, or you use the Video-In feature of your Radeon, then stick with what you have.

If you do game, and you do not use the Video-In feature of your Radeon, then here are some choices:

$89 for a Radeon 9100 64 MB OEM
$77 for a Radeon 9000 64 MB retail
$87 for a Radeon 8500 128 MB retail
$70 for a GeForce 3 Ti200 64 MB

I would avoid the GeForce4 MX 420, 440, and 460. The last time I looked the GeForce3 Ti 200 and Ti 500 beat the GeForce4 MX series. The 8500 (renamed the 9100) and 9000 tied with each other, and slightly beat the GF3 series.

BTW: Your card sells for about $85 retail.

 

[dguy6789]

oh sorry, i was looking at walmart

 

[Budmantom]

GF4 Ti4200 $110, but that would be an UPGRADE. (pricewatch)

 

[bullion416]

So, if I understand correctly, you are saying that since I want a video card mainly for gaming, the best card for the money is going to be an ATI? What ATI models perform the best (I am mainly looking at the Radeon 8500 and Radeon 9000....plus isn't there a difference between the Radeon 8500LE and the 8500 Pro).

 

[Techie333]

What the difference between the 9100 and 8500???? is it considerable?

 

[KingofFah]

If the 8500 was unable to beat the ti500gf3 before, then the renamed 8500 to 9100 version must be better if it beats the ti500.

 

[mrzed]

Techie333: The 8500 and the 9100 are the same card. ATI re-named the 8500 to avoid confusion between it and the slightly slower 9000.

KingofFah: The 8500 was unable to beat the Ti500 before. With driver refreshes over the last two years it has got to the point where it beats the Ti500 in most situations, and wastes it at high resolutions with AA and AF turned on.

bullion416: There are many different versions of the 8500. All of them would be a huge upgrade for you though. The le versions have lower core and memory clocks, but how low can vary enormously between brands. In general the retail built by ATI le's tend to be a bit faster than others. The only ones to completely avoid are Crucial branded cards, the slowest of all.

 

[ledfortr]

So what would be the best card to buy at this price range if I don't need video in/tv out?

 

[KingofFah]

IC, those new drivers must be great.

 

[Toro 45]

Newegg.com $72.00 shipped/ATI RADEON 8500LE 64MB DDR CRT/DVI/TV Considering the price/performance of this card & the rep Newegg has,I think you would be hard pressed to do any better.

Toro

 

[lifeguard1999]

If the 8500 was unable to beat the ti500gf3 before, then the renamed 8500 to 9100 version must be better if it beats the ti500

The 8500 used to be 10% ~ 20% slower than the GF3 Ti500. However, several driver updates later and the 8500 started tieing/beating the GF3 Ti500. It can now give the Ti 4200 a run for its money (meaning it wins some benchmarks - Quake 3 at 1600x1200 and loses others - Unreal Tournament)

The 8500 LE runs at 250/250 and comes with either 128 MB or 64MB
The 8500 runs at 275/275 and comes with either 128 MB or 64MB
The Radeon 9000 Pro runs at 270/275.
The Radeon 9000 runs at 250/200.

The 9100 runs at ?250/230? Heck, I do not know. But those are the speeds I saw one place selling it.

 

[RainDowg]

In my opinion, you definitley can't go wrong with the 8500le. Yeah, it seems like I've seen the 64 do at least as well as the 128 in some benchmarks.

 

[bullion416]

I have another question. I got an offer on my ATI Radeon 64mb ddr vivo card. I was offered $45. Should I take it? Also, I got another offer........someone will trade me their geforce3 ti 200 for my card and I have to give him $20. Any of these offers sound good?

 

[CurtCold]

Personally, I would sell that one for $45, and use that dough to get the 8500LE, then use Rage3D tweak to push the ram and clock up to 275/275 like the Retail 8500.

You should be able to push the 8500 to those speeds with little to no problems.

JMO