Budget Card

[Zarathustra[H]]

Hey all,

I know I may be asking in the wrong place, as most of you are high performance video card fans, but here goes anyway.

I've been out of the gaming scene for some time. (Last video card I bought was an AGP Geforce 6800 GT, but I never really used it for gaming. My last card I used extensively for gaming was a Geforce 3 Ultra, so that dates me a little.)

I need a no frills PCI Express video card for a computer that won't really be used for gaming, but needs 3d acceleration for window decorations and other crap in the OS.

It will primarily be used in Linux, and I really like the Nvidia drivers for Linux, so Geforce is a must. No ATI.

Fitting these descriptions, what is the best card I can get for approx. $100? I was looking at a GeForce 9800 GT. Is this a good pick?

I appreciate any comments.

Thanks,
Matt

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

Hmm.. Just found a GTS250 in the same price range that appears to be faster...

Its amazing how these things can get away from you if you don't pay attention daily..

While I blinked, Geforce went from 6 to beyond 9 and Nforce went from 3 to 9, and I cant even get windows drivers fro my Nforce3 board anymore.

 

[cannondale06]

with a single core cpu and 1gb of ram there is ZERO point in buying a decent card. your cpu would not even allow you to utilize 50% of a card like a gts250 if you decide to game. if you arent gaming then there is no need for a card like that in the first place. its about time for a modern pc or just get another gig of ram and a really cheap card.

 

[silverpower]

Sounds like overkill to me, since all you seem to be planning on using the card for is desktop composition (modern low-end GPUs handle that without breaking a sweat nowadays - even my ancient Radeon 9600 offers acceptable AIGLX and Aero acceleration) and possibly hardware-accelerated video playback.

Just get a GF9300/9400. You said it yourself - you don't game, so honestly, why use a card that's extreme overkill for the application?

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

with a single core cpu and 1gb of ram there is ZERO point in buying a decent card. your cpu would not even allow you to utilize 50% of a card like a gts250 if you decide to game. if you arent gaming then there is no need for a card like that in the first place. its about time for a modern pc or just get another gig of ram and a really cheap card.

Ahh,

I should have explained that it is for a new box. Intel core i7-920 + 6gb ram.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

Sounds like overkill to me, since all you seem to be planning on using the card for is desktop composition (modern low-end GPUs handle that without breaking a sweat nowadays - even my ancient Radeon 9600 offers acceptable AIGLX and Aero acceleration) and possibly hardware-accelerated video playback.

Just get a GF9300/9400. You said it yourself - you don't game, so honestly, why use a card that's extreme overkill for the application?

Interesting. I guess things have changed. Back when I was last shopping for video cards gaming wasn't the only reason to get something with a little more power, and even so, $100 could only buy you a really low end card. I only set my $100 limit as I figured that's what I could get away with and looked for the best I could get for that price.

Seeing that gaming cards are so cheap these days, I might just pick one up so I can play a game if I feel the need to. I found a GTX260 for $160. Might not be a bad card...

 

[stainremover]

Interesting. I guess things have changed. Back when I was last shopping for video cards gaming wasn't the only reason to get something with a little more power, and even so, $100 could only buy you a really low end card. I only set my $100 limit as I figured that's what I could get away with and looked for the best I could get for that price.

Seeing that gaming cards are so cheap these days, I might just pick one up so I can play a game if I feel the need to. I found a GTX260 for $160. Might not be a bad card...

its a great card, but seems like a waste of power and unnecessary noise

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

Actually, who am I kidding.

I haven't played a game in almost 4 years.

Last game I really got into was the original Counter-strike BEFORE steam came out.

I don't need a gaming card.

I did some researching and found a 9400GT for under $50. The great positive is that it is passively cooled, which ought to help a lot with the noise levels!