Best video card for under $100
 

Right now I have an ATI Rage 128 AGP card with 32 mb sdram. I would like to get a new card but since I have a 1.0 Ghz Athlon, 384 mb SDRAM, AGP 4x and I don't have much money there isn't much good in me buying a real high end card.
I don't care about brand or anything, I just want a good solid card overall. If it is passively cooled I would consider that a feature since I can't stand video card fans.
So what do you think would be the best "budget" card?

The solution is a GeForce 4 TI4200 64 MB. You can get them for $80-$100. They're incredibly powerful for the money. You won't find a better card for under $100. They do have fans on them, but I can't even here the one on mine at all.

-Lasereth

GeForce 4 Ti 4200 - $99.00
Chipset/Core Speed: Geforce4 TI4200/250MHz
Memory/Effective Speed: 64MB DDR/500MHz

Or...

OEM RADEON 9100 128MB - $69.00
Chipset/Core Speed: RADEON 9100/250MHz
Memory/Effective Speed: 128MB DDR/500MHz

The 9100 doesn't offer DVI out, is OEM, and has a fan. Other than that, seems to be a pretty good budget card.

Or you can get the 3rd party Ti4200 For $74.00 shipped.

http://www.target-sale.com/tusa/item...gp/i03899.html

Use Pricewatch.com for better pricing than Newegg. Nice stuff, but frequently overpriced.

For the $99 they charge, you can get the 128MB version....

Personally, I would go for this,

ATI RADEON 9600SE 128MB DDR AGP8X TVO/DVI - POWERED BY ATI
$86.00

http://www.pcrapids.com/home.asp?pw=...idATI128M01972

DVI, TV out, 128MB, and true DX9 compatable.

I've never heard of this card, and not one professional benchmarking website had any info on it. Can you find more links? This is weird...I've been following the videocard industry in-depth for a good while now, and I honestly had no idea this card even existed!

You're right about the GeForce 4. That's a great deal. But the 9600SE is not the card to get for under $100. Radeon SE's are infamous for being low-quality and the "bargain-bin" videocards. On top of that, the 9600 SE isn't even a Pro. Furthermore, even if it was...say, a ATI Radeon 9600 PRO for $160, it still wouldn't be as powerful as a simple 64 MB GeForce 4 TI4200. Most consumers underestimate how powerful the TI4200 is. The TI4200 is at least 40% more powerful than that 9600 SE; it may be even more powerful than that.

I still have to suggest a GeForce 4 TI4200. The 64 MB and 128 MB are nearly as powerful as each other (with the 64 MB actually out-performing it in some tests) and you can find both for under $100. Trust me, the GeForce FX 5200, 5600, and 5700, and the Radeon 9200, 9600, and 9600 XT still have NOTHING on the GeForce 4 TI4200. Well, not entirely nothing...they have DX9 support. But what good is DX9 if your videocard can't play the games that use it?

-Lasereth

I'm not big on following video cards, I just did a quick search on newegg.com and that card came up. As for a link, Sapphire Tech has the info on their card.

Maybe i'm missing something but as for the GeForce 4 TI4200, how can it beat out the Radeon9600 XT when the core speed is doubled?

Just Google It.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/vid...deon-9100.html

The Radeon 9100 is really just a rebadged Radeon 8500LE (R200 core). Not likely to be faster than a GF4 Ti4200 if the R8500 isn't.

The GeForce 4 TI4200 simply has better architecture than the Radeon 9600 series. If you check any benchmarking tests, the GeForce 4 TI4200 beats out the Radeon 9600 Pro in every game and benchmarking application out there. The XT is only marginally better than the Pro, so the TI4200 is still better. If you still don't believe me, I'll post screenshots of the results, but trust me, the TI4200 is a better videocard.

-Lasereth

I'll vote for the Ti4200. 64Mb is clocked higher than the 128Mb version I think (so in some instances actually runs faster). I don't use 3D much, but I particularly like all the features NView provides for multiple monitor support (great for movies) and keeping windows at the front (vs Windows' irritating behaviour of always bringing things forward when you click on them)

You might be outperforming a GeForce FX 5200 with a GeForce 2 Ultra. Seriously. The FX 5200 is at least 60% worse than the GeForce 4 TI4200. It may be more than that. This card is NVIDIA's embarassment (besides the FX 5800). Hell, even the FX 5200 Ultra is a POS. I wouldn't spend more than $30 on this card.

-Lasereth

stick with ati - nvidia is slowly loosing its grip on the video card market

unless you're worried about linux drivers, ati should be sufficient for your needs.. as for numbers i'm sure you can search tomshardware or arstechnica or anandtech or tweak3d etc...

Everyone keeps saying this, but no one has the proof for it. It's really getting on my nerves how everyone is saying ATI is beating NVIDIA's ass in the videocard department. Oh wow, ATI has stronger cards for Half-Life 2! Oh wait...NVIDIA has stronger cards for Doom 3. Which one is more graphically taxing?

ATI just released the 9800 XT. Man, it's beating the FX 5950's ass six ways to Sunday! Yeah...on 3d Mark 2001 with no AA, filtering, or resolutions above 800x600. Let's all take a look at actual games now. What, the FX 5950 is winning in half of the tests! Oh, and it actually got higher in 3d Mark 2003!

Give me a break. The 9800 XT and 5950 Ultra are both excellent cards that excel in different games and benchmarking applications. ATI DOES NOT have a lead on NVIDIA, and NVIDIA DOES NOT have a lead on ATI. I don't care what mindset ya have, nothing changes raw data. If the FX wins in half the tests and the Radeon wins in the other half...how does that show that ATI is winning?

None of this is even looking at the fact that NVIDIA currently has a videocard out right now that is years old for $80-$100 that is better than 90% of the new cards. This card even runs all of today's games at great framerates. It runs Half-Life 2 and Doom 3. It's called the GeForce 4 TI4200, and ATI doesn't have one. The closest competitor is the Radeon 9500 Pro which is much more expensive. If anything, NVIDIA is winning in the price-for-performance ratio.

-Lasereth

Oh yeah, I do run Linux so that would be a consideration. I just ran into an unexpected expense, so my card purchase will be delayed, but the TI4200 looks pretty good.
The main reason I want a new card is that I ran the Performance Test benchmark software that came with NSW2004 and everything about my computer more than held its own against a comparably equipped computer except video, where it absolutely sucked. Plus any game that puts any load on the video just doesn't play well.

I picked up a 5600ultra for $115....it seems to get the job done, usually will bencmark more than the 4800, but will lose to it in actual gameplay.