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Thread ID: 58710 2005-06-09 13:59:00 Graphics card for under $100 lazydog (148) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
362440 2005-06-09 13:59:00 I know what your all saying, "oh no, not another grapics card post" :groan:
Sorry folks, but as a wise poster once said, "if i knew, i wouldn't ask".

Anyway, I'm wanting to upgrade my graphics card but since getting full time custody of my grandkids money has become very tight. I've finally managed to save up a hundred dollars to spend on one so i want the money well spent, if possible.
At the mo my computer has a 32mb mx420 graphics card which surprisingly plays games very good (i think, this is the first and only graphics card i've ever owned) untill i start getting heaps of action happening like in Call of Duty and UT2003 then it becomes a slideshow.

The choises i pretty much have for under a $100 is between a;
MX 440 64-128mb ram,
FX5200 64-128mb ram,
or a
Ti 4200 64-128mb ram.

As you can see i would like to stick with Nvidia if possible.
Anyone know which would be the best value one for me in my situation?.

My computers spec's are;
P4 2.26ghz
512 mb ram
80gb hdd
My motherboard only supports 4x agp

I could be purswaded(?) to go with ATi if i'd be better off.

Any thoghts much appreciated.
Thanks, Brian. 		lazydog (148)
362441 2005-06-09 14:21:00 I would go for the Geforce4 Ti-4200. The FX5200 does support DX9, but it isn't really powerful enough to play DX9 games at anything other than low settings anyway.

And as for the MX 440, well that's another story... :yuck: 		b1naryb0y (3)
362442 2005-06-09 15:45:00 Neither are really good options.

Anyone know how these compare? I'm too lazy to look. :p

www.ascent.co.nz 		E|im (87)
362443 2005-06-09 21:30:00 If you have to have an old cheap card then the Ti4200 by miles. My son is still using one and he hasn't found any games he can't run yet. (Although Far Cry he had to run at reduced settings). pctek (84)
362444 2005-06-09 22:20:00 G4Ti4200.

The best bang for your buck video since....well...since video cards were first created.Killer in its day and still usable now. The TI kills any MX, FX5200,FX5600,Ati 9200,9250 and holds its own against the 9600pro,9600XT.

Being a Direct8 card it wont run some (a small handful) of DX9 only games (richard burns rally, prince of Persia, a couple of the MOH games).And the 128mb versions were often slower then the 64mb versions due to using slower ram. 		Metla (12)
362445 2005-06-09 23:06:00 Ti4200 it is then. Thanks for the comments.
Very interesting about the 64mb being faster than the 128mb card in some cases.
How can i tell which cards support the faster ram?.
Do some use sdram and some use ddr ram?, or is it something else?. 		lazydog (148)
362446 2005-06-10 00:50:00 The FX5200 does support DX9, but it isn't really powerful enough to play DX9 games at anything other than low settings anyway.
I'm a fairly active PC games player using this card, and I hate it. I truly advise beg, borrow or steal some money to get something above it.

The GeForce 6600 GT 128MB has been highly touted recently by some PressF1'ers in the know. I wish I hadn't wasted a hundred bucks on the old piece I'm currently using.

Sure, I can play using it, but it's a true pain. 		Greg (193)
362447 2005-06-10 01:01:00 I'm a fairly active PC games player using this card, and I hate it. I truly advise beg, borrow or steal some money to get something above it.

The GeForce 6600 GT 128MB has been highly touted recently by some PressF1'ers in the know. I wish I hadn't wasted a hundred bucks on the old piece I'm currently using.

Sure, I can play using it, but it's a true pain.
yea im thinking of geting the 6600gt but ther about $300 each 		sambaird (47)
362448 2005-06-10 01:11:00 yea im thinking of geting the 6600gt but ther about $300 each
Yeah, not all of us have 300 roubles to spare; this card is pretty much middle of the road, but apparently its price is very much sweet-spot for what you can get these days.

I'm definitly getting one soon. 		Greg (193)
362449 2005-06-10 02:25:00 What about a Radeon 9550 128 or 256MB. There are some listed on Pricespy in the $120 to $135 range. Ok they're, probably not top of the line in that series but the 9550 cards were supposed to be pretty good weren't they? Murray P (44)
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