Quote:
Originally posted by muckluck
Accually I am a gamer, just a poor one  . Most of my previous pcs had integrated intel chips and didnt have an agp slot (want BF1942 to go more than 20 FPS  ). Now that I have oneI'm lost when it comes to graphics cards. I already have a GeForce 4 at 64 mb of ram and I'm not satisfied. I just want the card that was the most bang for the buck.
|
Which GeForce 4 are you using? If it's the MX, then a TI4200 would even be a significant increase in power.
If you want to spend $200, I have to say that the GeForce 4 TI4600 is the way to go. It's more powerful than the Radeon 9600 Pro and the GeForce FX 5600/5700 Ultras. You won't have DirectX9 support, but the only thing that really hinders you in is benchmarking (specifically 3d Mark 2003).
The 9600 and the FX low-end series (5200, 5600, 5700) are all overpriced and not worth it for the power they give. The only card out of those I would ever consider is the 5700, and only if it went down in price a TON. I'm not sure I'd pay $100 for it.
You could always go with Radeon 9500 Pro as well. Very, very powerful card for under $200. The Radeon 9700 non-pro is a very powerful card for just over $200.
The GeForce FX 5900 non-ultra can be found for around $200 as well.
If you get any of the previously mentioned cards you'll be happy, but don't expect a huge improvement if you have a GeForce 4 TI series right now. $200 simply isn't enough to make a big improvement. Now, if you're currently using a GeForce 4 MX series, then you'll notice a huge difference.
Oh, and 256 MB of memory is useless even for Doom 3 and Half Life 2. I bet you're talking about the FX 5600 which is worthless.
So: with $200, I'd try to find an FX 5900 non-Ultra. If you can't find one for $200, then I'd try for a Radeon 9700 non-Pro, GeForce 4 TI4600, or a Radeon 9500 Pro.
If your price EVER goes above $200, you're in a whole new ballpark. $250-$300 will put you in the next-gen uber-cards. But for $200, those cards I listed are the absolute best. Good luck!
-Lasereth