Whats the best video card under $100 (Brand New) ??

[UNCjigga]

My 32mb Radeon LE is showing its age...and now I need a video card that has a video output on it (composite or svideo.) I don't do much gaming so I don't need a super l33t card...just something with decent drivers and good support (and it has to be compatible with my ATI TV wonder PCI.) DirectX 8.0 support would be nice to have in hardware...if I can get it for $100.

Should I hunt down a GF3/GF3ti? How about those Radeon 9000s? How do these boards (both with DX8.0 hardware support) compare to the GF4 MX series (as I understand it, these cards do NOT have DX8 vertex/pixel shaders?)

EDIT: Nevermind...I answered my own question after reading Anand's review of the 9000 Pro. I'm getting one OEM for about $80!

 

[wicktron]

8500 > 9000

 

[kylebisme]

ya, beter off with an 8500 realy.

 

[AnAndAustin]

Yup. GF4MX are much better than the GF2 cards and Rad7500 but the Rad9000 and esp Rad9000PRO totally blow them all away. However the Rad9000 cards are simply a cheaper to make Rad8500 and therefore in most cases inferior ot them. What ever you get a 128MB card is very wise, even if gaming isn't a high priority. GF3 cards are still good, but Rad8500/9000 are better in pretty much all depts other than AA.

So at $100 your choices are limited but Rad8500, Rad8500LE and Rad9000PRO are your best bets. Do double check as clock speeds and features do change depending upon manu and oem/retail, but see what the price diffs are like. All three of these cards perf very close to each other, all are very good cards. I'd go for the cheapest 128MB version myself.