what's the best PCI video card?

holden j caufield

Diamond Member
Dec 30, 1999
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yeah I figured the best I could do is that 256mb ddr doesn't sound too bad. I'm dying at 30 fps at COD2. You think I'll make a decent jump in FPS with an fx5200?
 

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
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Newegg.com has a fx5500 that's 10% faster than the 5200 for $55, and several Radeon X1300 cards that are twice as fast starting atr "only" $85 after a $25 rebate.
 

Nick5324

Diamond Member
Aug 19, 2001
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Actually, the best PCI card I've seen is a GeForce 6200, not an FX5200. However, I think they are rare among rare PCI cards in general, so good luck finding one.

Edit: Your best bet would be if you could fine one of these.
 

imported_Kiwi

Golden Member
Jul 17, 2004
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All of nVidia's earlier products have trouble with the latest (Shader Modelling Two) games, and the low end of the sixth generation continued that trend (6200, plain 6600). PCI as a "video bus" is extremely slow, so although the X1300 Pro cards for either AGP or PCI-e aren't totally useless for some low-demand games, those capabilities are effectively cut in half, or worse, for plain PCI. Both ATI and nVidia have produced IGPs that are better for games than actual cards, when those cards are crippled by PCI's slow speed.

Do avoid the FXes. nVidia literally BROKE that design's SM 2 capability when they rejected the official Microsoft Dx9 specifications for shaders.
 

Auric

Diamond Member
Oct 11, 1999
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9100 (renamed 8500 LE). Same memory bandwidth as a 1300 but a higher fill rate and half the price. Both smoke the 6200. Feature-wise the 9100 at least sports SM1.4 so can run games as recent as BF2142, for example, whereas the equivalent 4200 from that era cannot.
 

imported_Kiwi

Golden Member
Jul 17, 2004
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When ATI added the 9200 card to the rest of their 5th generation, it was a far worse POS than the 8500 card. I thought it was so bad it was related to the 7000, but it did have Dx8, which the 7000 did not. And they kept on making them, the way nVidia did with MX junk (though MXes are really the nastiest crap of all). The 9200 and 9250 were both offered for plain PCI. But so was the MX 400.
 

regnez

Golden Member
Aug 11, 2006
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You are never going to be able to play recent games on a PCI video card, but if you are still interested in one for Vista or whatever other reason, I would say that a FX5500 would be the best choice.

An X1300 would also not be a bad choice based on features alone.
 

Blurry

Senior member
Mar 19, 2002
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MX400 was crap? Geforce 2 MXs were pretty good back then; cheap, relatively fast, and once they were overclocked they were even better.
 

Blain

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
23,643
3
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Originally posted by: holden j caufield
what's the best PCI video card?

not PCI E. My laptop docking station has only a PCI slot

and games are getting sluggish on my laptop. What's a good gaming one?
Are you going to use a PCI card on a laptop? If so, how? :roll:
Am I the only one that actually read the posting? :shocked:
 

Auric

Diamond Member
Oct 11, 1999
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Gee, you highlighted the relevant docking station (presumably Dell D/Dock or such) yourownself so who's not reading what?

However, I must confess that while I did read and comprehend, I failed to take into account the unmentioned likelihood that the DS will be limited to a low-profile card in which case the 9100 is not an option and so the 1300 becomes the favoured contender.
 

Blain

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
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I've never seen a docking station that has any slots for PCI, AGP, etc. :eek:
Does anyone build such a beast?
 

StopSign

Senior member
Dec 15, 2006
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Come to think of it, you have a point. I don't see how you can install a PCI card into a docking station. Does he mean he has a PCMCIA slot...?
 

Blain

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
23,643
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Originally posted by: StopSign
Come to think of it, you have a point. I don't see how you can install a PCI card into a docking station. Does he mean he has a PCMCIA slot...?
Auric said he'd need a "low-profile card". He must have seen docking stations that accepted PCI cards.