Graphics card under $200

Egotistical EvilN · Post by **Egotistical EvilN** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 10:26 am

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814122026
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 814161045R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814143090

How do these this rate? I don't care if it's ATI or Nvidea, I just need something useful, that I can upgrade to dual cards later.

Calavera · Post by **Calavera** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 10:36 am

Video cards don't have VGA out anymore?

Ex-Cyber · Post by **Ex-Cyber** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 11:01 am

The VGA signal is still there; you just need an adapter to bring it out to the usual HD15 connector.

Calavera · Post by **Calavera** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 11:14 am

Ex-Cyber wrote:The VGA signal is still there; you just need an adapter to bring it out to the usual HD15 connector.

That sucks that you have to buy an adapter. It isn't like HD15 connection (I guess that's what you'd call it) is obsolete. I don't plan on upgrading to a new monitor anytime soon. My current monitor has kept my perfectly happy for the last 7 years and probably will another 7. 22 Inch, 2048 Ãƒâ€” 1536,monitor has a self-powered USB hub, why would I need to upgrade.

Hawq · Post by **Hawq** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 1:03 pm

As pretty much every modern card comes with one of those adaptors its not really an issue

Cid Highwind · Post by **Cid Highwind** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 2:06 pm

I wouldn't go with the ATi one, it's the slowest of all. I'm also not a fan of the GF7 series, mainly because the image quality is arse compared to ATi's X1k series, and the GF8 series look even better.

The 7950 will probably be a bit faster than the 8600GTS though, which is even slower than an ATi X1950Pro in most cases I think. The thing is, if you expect the 8600 to run DX10 games with all bells and whistles, you'll be disappointed.

Btw, my X1950Pro came with two of these signal converters even.

Calavera · Post by **Calavera** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 5:21 pm

Hawq wrote:As pretty much every modern card comes with one of those adaptors its not really an issue

I've got a Radeon 9500 with the 9700 softmod, I've been out of the video card business for awhile.

Post by **melancholy** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 10:29 pm

I'd rule out the second (HIS) one. An open box item from a company I've never heard of and a method of cooling that will take up two slots...in comparison to the others, it isn't that attractive. The BFG one is great, but it is a 7000 series and therefore doesn't have full DX10 support. So that leaves the Leadtek one. I'm not sure about Leadtek as a company, but the card seems good for the price. It might not be as fast as the 7950 when it comes to last generation games, but it will look better with future games that are run on DX10. So I'd say go with the 8600 card.

Cid Highwind · Post by **Cid Highwind** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 1:08 pm

melancholy wrote:I'd rule out the second (HIS) one. An open box item from a company I've never heard of and a method of cooling that will take up two slots...in comparison to the others, it isn't that attractive. The BFG one is great, but it is a 7000 series and therefore doesn't have full DX10 support. So that leaves the Leadtek one. I'm not sure about Leadtek as a company, but the card seems good for the price. It might not be as fast as the 7950 when it comes to last generation games, but it will look better with future games that are run on DX10. So I'd say go with the 8600 card.

HIS is a very solid brand, they usually use Arctic Cooling fans, in this case the Accelero 1 I think, to have a quiet and better performing fan than ATi's stock fan. If you have the space, using a double slot cooler like this is perfect because it will blow the warm air right out of your case, rather than leaving it inside.

Still, it's the weakest of the cards, so I'd skip it.

Post by **melancholy** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 8:43 pm

Cid Highwind wrote:
melancholy wrote:I'd rule out the second (HIS) one. An open box item from a company I've never heard of and a method of cooling that will take up two slots...in comparison to the others, it isn't that attractive. The BFG one is great, but it is a 7000 series and therefore doesn't have full DX10 support. So that leaves the Leadtek one. I'm not sure about Leadtek as a company, but the card seems good for the price. It might not be as fast as the 7950 when it comes to last generation games, but it will look better with future games that are run on DX10. So I'd say go with the 8600 card.
HIS is a very solid brand, they usually use Arctic Cooling fans, in this case the Accelero 1 I think, to have a quiet and better performing fan than ATi's stock fan. If you have the space, using a double slot cooler like this is perfect because it will blow the warm air right out of your case, rather than leaving it inside.

Still, it's the weakest of the cards, so I'd skip it.

Hmm, I just never heard of them. And I also never liked dual slot cards because I don't like losing the extra PCI slot.

Cid Highwind · Post by **Cid Highwind** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 2:13 pm

I think HIS is more known in the UK and Europe than it is in the US, I hadn't heard of them until recently, when I bought my AGP X1950Pro.

And the use of dual slot fans if a matter of personal preference. I'm not using many PCI cards, so I won't miss the PCI slot

Disheveled DrFreeze · Post by **Disheveled DrFreeze** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 8:39 am

the 7950GT is the fastest of the three posted, it will beat a 8600GTS comfortably, and piledrive a x1650pro into the ground

looking in the newegg 100-200 dollar range, here are a few of my picks:

best BFTB in the Geforce 7 series:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130056

which comes to 105 AR, you could even buy two right now, this will beat the x1650pro silly, beat the 8600GTS in most games, but will be around 20-25% behind the 7950GT (for half the price....), and 7900GS cards supposedly overclock pretty nicely, you should be able to get a ~20% boost without much trouble (but dont expect to beat a 7950GT unless you really go for it)

in the Ati range:

x1950 GT 109 AR:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814102034
x1950 PRO 105 AR:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814161060

both the GT and PRO are pretty close performance wise, the PRO is slightly faster then a 7900GS, but overclocks much less then the 7900GS, giving the 7900GS the upper hand in enthusiast hands

if you are determined to go the SLI/X-fire route, id go with the 7900GS, excellent card (from reading reviews/forums, never had one myself)

i would only recommend the 8600 series if you absolutely want Dx10, in Dx9 the 8600GTS gets its ass handed to it by much cheaper cards

Cid Highwind · Post by **Cid Highwind** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 10:40 am

At this moment any game supporting DX10 mode will offer you only a penalty in performance.

Freeze pretty much summed up everything really well. The only thing I wanted to add that there's also one thing that sets apart the X1950Pro from the 7900GS, which is that on the ATi you can run HDR with AA simultaneously, which cannot be done on the 7900GS in most games, such as Oblivion. Even AA2x cleans up the graphics a lot. Also, if you're a texture nut such as myself, the 7900 will offer disappointing image quality.

Graphics card under $200

Graphics card under $200

Re: Graphics card under $200

Re: Graphics card under $200

Re: Graphics card under $200

Re: Graphics card under $200

Re: Graphics card under $200

Re: Graphics card under $200

Re: Graphics card under $200

Re: Graphics card under $200

Re: Graphics card under $200

Re: Graphics card under $200

Re: Graphics card under $200

Re: Graphics card under $200