Which cheap video card to get?

[Motero]

I'm building a computer for someone soon and would like some input on which cheap 32 MB video card to get? I was looking at the gf2 mx but there are so many freakin' people that make them...which would be the best company? I will most likely be putting it on an msi mobo...would the MSI Starforce or whatever it is work best with an msi mobo?

 

[Cerb]

I'd say go with ELSA or Visiontek (same card). I have an ELSA GTS, and having seen comps running other brands, the 2d is noticeably better.

 

[birddog]

I have had several Visiontek cards. The are usually good quality reference designs. Asus makes a quality MX card that I have used also. I have been looking at the MSI starforce cards myself lately (I build a few systems a month for people I know), they seem to have good prices on them. MSI is a quality manufacturer. I have also read a few good reviews on them also. I don't think you will go wrong if you get the MSI. I'd stay away from the no name cards.

 

[gtd2000]

Yes stay away from the no name cards like mine an "Axle" GF 2 MX with -5ns Winbond RAM on board - and US$48 you could make a huge mistake .....lol

NOT!

 

[Shudder]

Radeon LE..

 

[nicowju]

Depends what OS you're running. Win Win2k, stick with the Geforce2MX. In Win98/Me, I would go for the Radeon LE, unless you plan to upgrade to Win2K later. ATI's Win2k drivers are pretty bad.

 

[murdock2525]

www.jaton.com b32 plus

 

[BrainSalad]

I would say get a ATI Radeon LE for only $77 shipped from newegg. I would laso recommend a Matrox G450 16meg for $71 shipped from there but The Radeon LE has excellent 2D quality close to the Matrox. It also has much better (hardware dvd support) and plays games a whole lot better than the MAtrox. For $77 the Radeon LE is something you probably shouldn't pass up.

 

[Torghn]

Radeon all the way! I like them much better than the MX cards.

 

[Motero]

I think he'll be going with 98. I don't know much about radeons myself. How much different are they from geforce 2's? I've only built systems with geforce 2 gts's in them. I heard that radeon has really good 2d. What kinds of things should I expect to encounter when using a radeon le?

 

[BrainSalad]

The Radeon will beat the MX in just about everything. The Radeon has DDR memory where as the MX has SDR. The radeon has HArdware decoding right on the card, the MX does not. The Radeon has excellent 2D, the MX's 2D looks like crap. The only thing the MX has over the Radeon is better drivers, especially in W2k. I hear Linux drivers are also better with Nvidia. You probably should get the Radeon LE from newegg. They have the Radeon LE for $77 shipped. If you're wondering what the LE version is, it's basically the same card, just has a certian feature called HyperZ disabled. You could enable it with a registry hack that a ton of people on here can tell you how to do. It's also clocked a bit slower and has a big heatsink instead of a smaller heatsinkwith a fan on it. You can easily over clock it to the speed of the regular radeon.

 

[gtd2000]

I keep hearing good things about radeons but unfortunatley over here they are not a "budget" choice.

Any comments from people who changed from a decent quality GF 2 MX to a Hacked Radeon LE?