3DVideo Card Recommendation

[Patrick]

Hello, I have built the following system recently:

Mainboard: MSI K7N2 nForce2 MS-6570
Processor: AMD Athlon XP 1800
RAM: 256MB DDR 2100 Azenram
Hard Drive: Western Digital 60GB WD600BB
Video Card: ECS SiS AG315-64 (64MB RAM)
Sound: NVIDIA nForce Audio
Ethernet: NVIDIA nForce MCP Networking Adapter
Modem: Intel 536 EP V.92 internal 56k
Mouse: Logitech USB Optical Wheelmouse
Printer: HP Deskjet 3320
Monitor: HP71 '17inch
OS: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition +SP1


I intentionally used a cheap graphics card until I could decide on
another card for gaming. I haven't been much of a gamer but want to try
out some new games, it will give me reason to justify the amount of $$ I
spend on computers & accessories.

I'd like to spend no more than $125 US Dollars (Approx $165 CAN) on a
decent 3D video card for this system. I realize & understand that a
Radeon 9800 (or similar card) is out of the question for this amount but
would like some suggestions on which card(s) fit into this price range
with decent performance for a 3D gaming card.

Since my mobo's chipset is nVidia would an Nvidia based card be better
than an ATI card in this situation?

I thank all those in advance who take the time to reply.

 

[Strontium]

For your price/performance requirements, I would suggest either a
GF4Ti4200 or a GF3Ti200/500. You can get a general idea of prices from
www.pricewatch.com


-
Patrick stood up, at show-n-tell, and said:

 

[Hackworth]

Hello, I have built the following system recently:
<snip>
Video Card: ECS SiS AG315-64 (64MB RAM)
<snip>
I intentionally used a cheap graphics card until I could decide on
another card for gaming. <snip>
I'd like to spend no more than $125 US Dollars (Approx $165 CAN) on a
decent 3D video card for this system. I realize & understand that a
Radeon 9800 (or similar card) is out of the question for this amount but
would like some suggestions on which card(s) fit into this price range
with decent performance for a 3D gaming card.

An nVidia GeForce FX 5200 Ultra should do it for you. (Be sure to get an
"Ultra" version of the 5200, not just the plain 5200.) As it happens, you
have two options (both ~$125 US) here:

http://www.buyxtremegear.com/ev.html
http://www.buyxtremegear.com/pal.html


Bought the first one one for my son's new system and it's great. It handles
Star Trek Elite Force 2 (a DX9 game) like a champ... and that's with all the
eye candy turned on. The card supports DirectX9, of course.

Good luck.

 

[BarryNL]

Hello, I have built the following system recently:

Mainboard: MSI K7N2 nForce2 MS-6570
Processor: AMD Athlon XP 1800
RAM: 256MB DDR 2100 Azenram
Hard Drive: Western Digital 60GB WD600BB
Video Card: ECS SiS AG315-64 (64MB RAM)
Sound: NVIDIA nForce Audio
Ethernet: NVIDIA nForce MCP Networking Adapter
Modem: Intel 536 EP V.92 internal 56k
Mouse: Logitech USB Optical Wheelmouse
Printer: HP Deskjet 3320
Monitor: HP71 '17inch
OS: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition +SP1


I intentionally used a cheap graphics card until I could decide on
another card for gaming. I haven't been much of a gamer but want to try
out some new games, it will give me reason to justify the amount of $$ I
spend on computers & accessories.

I'd like to spend no more than $125 US Dollars (Approx $165 CAN) on a
decent 3D video card for this system. I realize & understand that a
Radeon 9800 (or similar card) is out of the question for this amount but
would like some suggestions on which card(s) fit into this price range
with decent performance for a 3D gaming card.

I'd say, the Nvidia GeForce4 4x00 cards are probably the best deal at
that price range at the moment. You should be able to find a 4200 at
that price and maybe a 4400/4800 if you're lucky.

Since my mobo's chipset is nVidia would an Nvidia based card be better
than an ATI card in this situation?

Shouldn't make any difference.