Best Graphics card at or under $100?

[pacoweaz]

I want to upgrade my video card, but I am really pressed for cash, and only have about $100 to spend. I'm not in the market for one of the newer big cards (that will be a little farter down the road when I do my whole system), but I need something with a little more OOMPH! Currently I have an MX440 64mb DDR card. What would be a good match for my system in that price range? And would it be worth the money to upgrade to one in that price range?
Thanks for the suggestions!


My Machine
GA-7DX+ MOBO
Athlon XP 1600+
1GB PC 2100 DDR
MX440 64Mb DDR
120Gb Samsung 7200 RPM
60Gb Maxtor 5400RPM
Fortissimo III
CDRW/DVD
Logitech Z640's
WinXP Home

 

[Crashman]

I'd like to recommend the old GeForce4 Ti4200. It offers similar DX8 performance to new midrange cards, and will play DX9 games in DX8 mode (you loose only the flashy new DX9 features).

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<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[Vapor]

Ti4200. You'll definitely see better performance, as for whether or not it's worth it, you'll have to decide that (IMO, it is).

Damn Rambus.

 

[addiarmadar]

Could get the Ti4200. Also Ive seen e-bay posts for the Ti4600 for under 100 bucks. The ti4600 will give you much more OOMPH!

Barton 2500+ @ 2200mhz (10x220 vcore @ 1.775)
Asus A7N8X Dlx 440 FSB
1gb Geil GD pc3500 Dual Channel (2-3-3-6)
Segata 80gb SATA 8.5ms seek
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro(420/700)

 

[UNSoldierPT]

The Geforce4 Ti4200 128MB is your best possible choice. Try to get the AGP8x version, it may increase a few frames when playing your games. BTW, i dont know if its still outside there the GeForce 4 Ti4400 128MB 8x. If its 100us or less, then go for it.

 

[HardWareBoss]

TI4200 my two frames wourth.

 

[pacoweaz]

Thanks for the input. That is the way I was leaning with my research. I'll see if I can find one of those 4600 for under a hundred.

My Machine
GA-7DX+ MOBO
Athlon XP 1600+
1GB PC 2100 DDR
MX440 64Mb DDR
120Gb Samsung 7200 RPM
60Gb Maxtor 5400RPM
Fortissimo III
CDRW/DVD
Logitech Z640's
WinXP Home

 

[Schmide]

I guess your other viable options would be the GeForce FX 5600XT and the ATI 9600 non pro. They may not have the raw frame rate as a GF4 TI4200 but they are DX9 compatible, have hardware mpeg2 decoding, and improved anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering. The 5600 will do better in DX8 routines while the 9600 will win the DX9 marks.

This is not a plug just an alternative.

Dichromatic for your viewing plesure...

 

[Vapor]

Don't recommend that!!!

The only SE to mean anything good is WD's Special Edition SE (and Wuzy's 9800SE->9800Pro)!!! 9600SE will get raped by a Ti4200 (let alone Ti4400 or Ti4600) and doesn't have the power to run DX9!

SE=$hitty Edition

Damn Rambus.

 

[Vapor]

Good idea. Don't worry if it doesn't have 8X AGP, it gives only a VERY small gain in performance.

Damn Rambus.

 

[Vapor]

8xAGP isn't necessary in those cards (or even a 9800XT). He will get 99% of the performance without it.

Damn Rambus.

 

[jihiggs]

se? whats wrong with you? lol

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