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Budget video card?

A

atog

Weaksauce
Joined
Sep 29, 2002
Messages
88
The last time i was actively looking at computer hardware was about 2-3 years ago when i built my current machine. I'm leaving for college in 2 weeks, and taking this computer with me leaving my 2 brothers (7 and 11) high and dry, with my sister on an outdated Gateway (8-9 years old, 200mhz! lol) so my dad asked me to spec out two computers for them to use.

When doing this, i figured i would just buy two Ti4600's (i have a 4200) and be done with it, because i figured they would be cheap and good. but, that's not the case. Newegg doesn't offer these for sale any more, and all this 6800, 6200, etc. (from nvidia) i'm not familiar with.

Would you guys recommend an FX5200 ? (they are about $50-60)

I've had my Ti4200 for so long and haven't had a problem, and it still satisfies my needs (i play quake3 still and CS 1.6. Source isn't as good, but very playable (around 30-40 fps, not the best but it's not choppy) half-life 2 and hl2DM run well with a little video lag when the map first loads.

The video stress levels on these new cards will be Diablo 2, cs source would probably be the most demanding, and the Sims. So i don't think i'll need to get a 6800 or 6800GT

What do you guys recommend in terms of reliability, cost, and performance?

BTW these will be coupled to an Athlon XP 2700+ through an Epox 8RDA6+ Pro if that matters. (i've always had epox, been very happy with them)

Thanks in advance for any and all input
 
the 5200 is a weak card.

if i knew exactly how much money you had to spend i could help u out more.

if you can afford it try to buy a 6600GT , they are not buget but they are very powerful. kinda like higher mid end card.

on pricewatch.com they run about 162

if thats too expensive look up a normal 6600
those run about 132 for the 256 meg version

if your looking for real budget try a 6200 128 meg for 75 bucks.

the 6200 shoudl run d2 fine .. dont know about CS source. you will have to ask someone else. im sure it will run it if you turn down a few things. it is a budget card after all.
 
i'm at about $450 without a video card for the system so far.

i think $130-140 would be most i would want to spend

my ti4200 ( i believe its 64mb ddr) runs half life 2 and hl 2 dm very well, with very little video lag (all settings are at min though, that doesn't bother me)

would a 6600 be a good bet for future games? Battle field 2 seems to be the only one my brother would be interested in. I think i scored amazing on the ti 4200 back 3 yrs ago. I've been able to play all of these games without a need to upgrade. My gf2mx400 was also a good score, until cs1.6 came out and made it lag a little behind.

the 6600 sounds good because its around 130, my only concern is if it will last at least 2 yrs and still be competive (be able to run future games with all settings on min)

If this was going to be my system, i'd get a 6800, but i'm getting a new computer in the fall semester, and based on my evaluations during the summer course if i want to get a lap top or stay with a desktop.

i'm gonna look around on newegg.

thanks for your input
 
try an xbox, gamecube, or ps2. :) really though, you arent going to get alot of performance outta a 62-6600
 
just buy 2 ti 4600's off ebay, they are like 30 dollars now.

may be used but pfft these cards are soo great :)

actually nevermind axe my statement, if your brother wants to play battlefield 2 my card is worthless i believe, battlefield 2 = not for older cards supposedly. somethings not supported.
 
well i'm building 2 computers almost identical, one a bit more intensive (for my brothers) and the other less intensive (for my sister)

will the 6600 run BF2?? will it run better on cs:source, hl2 better than my ti4200?? It doesn't matter if i turn the settings down all the way, i've always done that. lol

will the 6200 perform as good or better than my ti4200? the most load this vid card would see is the Sims
 
the 6200 with turbo cache should fit that bill nicly. The benchmarks show it running doom3 medium, 1024x768, it shoudl do BF2 pretty good for 100$ card...or look on ebay for an old 9800pro,

just stay away from any 5700 based card, the 6600 vanilla is around 130ish isnt it?
 
as long as the 6200 is an upgrade from my ti4200, and the 6600 can play BF2, i'm happy

can the 6600 run bf2 smoothely? (40-50fps is fine) becuase my ti4200 can run bf2, just it would be anger-inducing picture slideshow. lol
 
i would go w/ that 6600 for 131 w/ 256 megs of ram.

yes.. it should play bf2 granted you will have to turn some setting down but it will be very playable.

ive read where a 5700 can play bf2. although i wouldnt want to play bf2 on that . lol

go w/ the 6600..

if you can afford it try for a 6600GT

or just put a 6600gt in the main box .

its a little more but is a much more powerful card.
 
IMO i would lurk around the forums and/or ebay and get some 9700's for your siblings computers if you can afford them (about $70, i got a 9500 that softmods to 9700 for $50 on the forums).

As for a regular 6600, unless you plan on Overclocking it alot, i wouldn't get it. I had a 6200 (unlocked was same as vanilla 6600), and even for the 100 i payed for it, it was only an OK deal. However, when OC'ed that baby was fast. They say 9800 = 6600 roughly and its a little cheaper too..

see if you can snag a deal in the forums :)
 
i did play bf2 on a 5700oc, it ran, but there were places it wanted to cry... i am in a similar boat to you man. i had 4600's in every pc in my house. i love those cards to death, hell they play alot of games better than my 5700oc minus the directx 9 frills. i hit a wall recently with it as i wanted those dx9 features along with good performance in doom on high and good eq2 performance so i finally let them go, the one card i had was a 5700oc, it was sent to me by bfg to replace a dead ti4600. this thing runs doom pretty nice, but hurts on alot of other programs. i'm moving to a 9700 pro to see what it can do. on a budget definitely look for used stuff. stay away from the fx line unless you get a killer deal on like a 5900 or higher, i hear good things about the new geforce line, or get yourself a 97 or 9800 pro, again used you can probably snag them for fairly cheap.
 
I would say go with the 6200 or ATi's 9200 for AGP or X300 for PCI-E. If you get a 9200 128MB 128-Bit you will get very good performance for the price but if you spend around 100$ then just get a 9600NP/XT they're both very good cheap cards now-a-days.
 
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