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[Lengo]

I want a new video card. I need a no frills AGP Geforce card with 256 MB. By 'no firlls', I mean no TV out or any of that fancy stuff. In other words, as cheap as possible.

Now I've searched Newegg.com and TigerDirect.com, but they don't have very good search engines.

Like I said, I need AGP 4x/8x, 256MB, no frills, and I prefer a Geforce card.

Can anybody recommend one?

[MaxBeta]

   Lengo

I shop my Best Buy store for inhouse sales for pretty fair deals..it'll be limited on a finding a 256MB card without all the options..I'll give you a link to a site that looks at every-make and model..so you can compare.

http://www.bizrate.com/graphicscards/


With nVidia AGP..probably the 6800 Xtremes ..PCIe gives more selection in the 256MB..whereas some prices on 512MB PCIe is getting affordable (though it is ATI's AGP) in this case.

I'm very sympathetic when I see a fellow gamer in search of a better graphics situation.

[Lengo]

okay.  I'm thinking this bad boy:

http://www.biostar.com.tw/vga/product_details.php?id=21

whaddaya think?

It offers shader 3.0.  That's about all I understand. My current card, a Geforce FX5900XT offers shader 1.0 and it only has 128 mb of memory.

It's terribly confusing. There's models 6200, 6800, 7600, 7800... and more. Then there's LE models, XT models, GS models, GO models.... what the hell does all this mean? Cards range from $55 to $350!  I have no clue what I'm doing! All I know is that I don't wanna buy a model less than 5900. It seems apparent that the higher the number, the later the model, and since I already have a 5900, I might as well go at least 6800. But should I get a 7600? What's the difference (besides price)?  ANd whats an LE, an XT, a GS?

The card I have now is an MSI card, a Geforce FX5900XT. and it performs flawlessly. I just want added performance for games that have huge maps (like RRT3).  I don't play online, and I rarely FPS games. RRT3 has maps that say "256MB recommended". I guess they mean the video card, but WHICH card is the best buy?

This is nUtZ! 

[MaxBeta]

  yeah.. Lengo that the one I had in mind..seems to be a good performer, though I've never had a chance to run it in any of my boxes.

As far as al those suffices XT LE GT GTX SE...etc.  I thik it is a manufactures way of keeping the models identifiable..sort of like autos ..   Anyroad, those extra letters usualy denote the grade or options ..possibly giving insight on the performance and software bundle included.  The LE model historically have been the "light" model with the lesser "packaged" offering..  The XT models are similarly noted for the "extra" extreme performance expectations and all the bell and whistles. 

I've used some LE cards with satisfaction..lots of times it is just filling the need. In your case and the games I know you will be expecting good results, I'd sure try to work toward a card with a proven track record.  If you visit ay of the other CB forums, an old friend Keith H. does have lots of insight in this area.  I've used ATI for quite awhile...but I respect those players who use the nVidia cards and are happy gamers.

One issue with all Graphics hardware is finding a driver that seems to works well with what the player expects from the card.  Then it must fit in with the rest of the PC's performance capability.  Many of the problems with games are caused by "virtual clogs" that will halt a PC's functioning ability.  i.e. *Lack of system Ram..slow Ram, *CPU over-burden, *HD near max capacity, (impedes page file caching) , background software tapping resources, lack of syste maintenance (scans and defrag..registry checks)..and so many other unique items to a specific system.  I've mention before is proper cooling..the one thing that most user hate to address...or remedy.

Sorry for the essay post..just watched the BSC Natl. Championship game..kinda hyped from all that hoopla

*I can elaborate on these comments if anyone needs extra info for clarification.

[Lengo]

Thanks. I've done a little research and found outa few things but am still a little confused. Here's what I've found.

1. I can't afford it. Send money!

2. About the suffix (LE, GS, GT, XT, BS, DOA, etc.).  The suffix denotes the nVidia chipset. There's a core processor (GPU) and then the supporting chipset. Each different chipset changes the performance.  Ones that end in T are usually the fastest (most bang for the buck).

3. The only models that support the upcoming Windows Vista and DirectX10 are series 7 and series 8 cards. This means Geforce 7300 or better.

4. PCI Express outperforms AGP considerably. At least 50% more bandwidth is allowed by a PCI express bus than an 8x AGP bus. It won't be long until AGP is totally abandoned by manufacturers. AGP is still available, but will only be so for another year or two.

5. The MSI Geforce FX5900XT I bought in 2003 is worthless for resale. I can probably sell it for about $20 max. The GPU is no longer manufactured, and 5900 and 5950 cards are non existant at this time.

The final word: Buy at least a 7600 GS card for support of the upcoming DirectX. The price nearly doubles for these cards.

Your best bet is to upgrade to PCI express, with a mininum of 7600 GT card. This of course, nearly triples the price -- you gotta buy a new main board, a CPU, ram, and graphics card.

But bottom line is 7600 GS. Windows Vista won't be ready for at least 2 years after it's released (soon as the first service pack is released). So for the interim, you need at least a 7600 GS on an AGP bus to run Vista + DX 10 titles, but preferably a 7600 GT or better on a PCI Express bus.

The 7600 GS starts at around $120.  A 6800 XT starts at $100 (the Biostar linked to above). A 7600 GT starts at about $189

Got it? Good. How much money can you send me?

[City Builder]

Sorry, I can't send you any money as Im saving up for a new mainboard.

Have you looked into any of the ATi models?  ATi is now owned by AMD which is not a bad company.  I've only had about 3 Nvidia cards over the many years of computering I've done, but for the past 5 or more years I've had nothing but ATi cards and am quite pleased with them.

It's always worth looking into to get a price comparison of the two in their AGP model lineup.

[Lengo]

Well that idea is totally shot down. I went out to my car this morning to go to an appointment and I couldn't go to my car BECAUSE IT"S NOT THERE! My car is stolen!

The police say that there's 90% chance of recovery, but I'm certain that the condition it will be in will cost me money.

DAMD! @#$%! freaking #$@%~ #$@$! %^! @#$%%! #@#@!!!! DAMD!

[pad11]

Lengo...my main advice would be twofold

1: Stay within your budget because soon you'll be wanting an upgrade anyway!

2: Most importantly, get an nVidia! (ducks his head as the ATI fans throw rocks at him )  Sorry, couldn't resist!

pat!

[MaxBeta]

  Whoa!! Lengo...that's horrible to hear about your car.  What a hassle to deal with...that sort of crime is up in my city..mostly happens at Malls. (So they've put in more Cameras).  I've never had this happened to me..it just sounds awful.  I'm hoping for the most minimal cost to you...and over with soon.  ..keep the spirits up!!

Yes, that's what I was referring to on the different models.  Each seem to have a certain level of performance..and is reflected in the consumer pricing...(whatta racket). Well, sort of like everything else I guess, you get what you're willing to pay. (sad capitalism works that angle).

I refrained from getting into which major graphics card is the uber-BeST, and throughout my professional days..from the 70's forward working with CPU coding and enhancements like MMX, 3d-N (Intel, AMD respectively), which envolved extensive testing of every known graphic gpu revelation.  The end result a high percentage of the time depended on the (head to head comparitive) performance within a range of less the 10% of the nearest competitor(consumer market availability). Just enough to keep the competing parties interested in going forward. My personal conclusion: IF you are having success using whichever (nVidia, or ATI)..that's one less headache to deal with..and I've have success with both..just prefer ATI for what I'm playing presently, if I went to FPS or massive online, I might check and see if nVidia could do it better, it wouldn't be a huge leap..as I've already pointed out.

IF you are looking forward to Vista, and DX10..then you are joining the gaming group all of us are in.  Most of my Lan PC's (6) will have to be upgraded to embrace Vista..DX10..which means quite a few Video upgrades to make it work.  The one thing I try to do is make situations like this easy..is to make them all the same when I find what works best for the circumstance.

[City Builder]

I've had 3 cars stolen so far in my lifetime so I know the feeling quite well and wish you a speedy recovery of your car with a minimal amount of damage.

One of my cars when stolen actually had more damage done to it by the impound lot (apparently they *really* liked my centerline wheels), and when I called them after finding out where it had been taken to after the police found it, I asked them what kind of damage I was looking at, and they said that someone had stolen the radio and center console out of the vehicle.

I arrived to find that my centerline wheels had been taken and replaced with some toyota corrola steel (non mag) wheels.  I asked the impound people how it was towed in and they told me on the back of a tow truck (the kind that uses the sling type of tow system).

So I got in the car and started it up and put it in drive and it went a whole 6 inches and wouldnt move any further.....

Apparently the steel toyota wheels were locked up because they couldnt turn past the brake calipers, so there was no way in hell that they towed it in there on the tow truck with those wheels on it (this was back in the days before the flatbed tow trucks).  They ended up using a forklift to put the car out on the street so that I wouldnt have to pay another days impound fees on it.  I was quite pissed off.

Now my car sits in the garage at night and locked up (I used to leave it with the windows down and sunroof open in the garage but we've had a huge amount of riff raff in the neighborhood lately).

Anyway, sorry to hear it Lengo, I remember the last time it happened to me and I felt so violated.