What video card for $50 - 75? GF2 GTS or 7500?

[Shc888]

Hey guys

I'm building a cheap computer for my friend. Won't be playing very many games on it except for counter-strike. I know almost all cards will get 99 fps, but which card is better for the money?

Go really cheap and get the GF2 GTS-V at newegg for 50?

Or spend a little extra and get a ATI OEM 7500 for 65?

Is the extra 15 of the 7500 worth it?

thanks

 

[AnAndAustin]

The GF4MX440 offers the best perf out of all the cards I'll mention in this paragraph, it has excellent '2D' image quality, AA and pure 3D perf, but it is quite pricey. For pure 3D perf GF2TI is much better than GF2GTS (20%ish perf) but both are essentially the same regarding all other departments. Rad7500 is about even with a GF2TI but offers much better TVout, DVDplayback (not a big issue nowadays) and GF4MX440 '2D' image quality. All are very close so it depends upon personal pref, if you want better IQ and TVout then Rad7500, if you want better IQ and AA tyhen GF4MX440, if you want cheap but fairly capable then GF2GTS/TI.

However, do consider shelling out that little bit more for a Rad8500LE or GF3TI200 which are MUCH faster cards, again Rad is better for IQ while GF3 is better for AA. Both of these cards offer FULL DX8 hw functionality which is becoming more and more important. If you really are on a very tight budget then consider the SiS Xabre400 which offers some DX8 hw funcs but also sports perf of a GF4MX440 including great AA, it is in its early days and is known to cause some probs with certain SktA chipsets but surely worth checking out.

 

[HeXeDOSOK]

I agree with Anand Austin. All of those cards are a great idea. The main thing that I try to enlighten people with before building their "budget gaming" computers is this:

For example..your friend likes to play CounterStrike...and thats about it. Well...wait until a game like Raindow Six: Raven's Shield comes out : http://www.raven-shield.com/. Your friend might really want his game when it comes out (seeing that it is a tactical shooter just like Counter Strike...give or take some realism) Well...when he tries to fire it up on his GF2 GTS..or GF2 ti200...he might think back on that day he could have footed up an extra 10-20 bucks and got a DX8 fully compliant card. If he wants to play any other games in the future...he might be disappointed that he has to spend 100$+ to get a "beefier" video card. I'm not saying that the 7500 or the GF2 ti200 are bad cards..far from it. I just like to get the most "bang for your buck" when I build a comp for someone, and for 10-20$ you are gaining a whole other world of gaming (DX8..superior FSAA performance...20% more horsepower...etc...) without "breaking the bank".