one more computer question, I promise it'll be my last (until next time)

[capt steubing]

Ok, so I solved my last computer question thanks to the board, so I thought I'd post up my latest quandry.  I realize it's kinda a difficult question to answer, kinda like is red better than blue, but I'm looking to put a new video card into my new computer, it's got a crappy integrated card, and at the same time I'll upgrade the power supply.  I can find a thousand power supplies on newegg, but the video card selection is overwhelming, just when I think I've got the right one, I find another that seems to have better features, or lower price, but then the reviews are a little mixed, and after about 5 cards, the numbers start running together and I end up back at the first card again.  So is there a video card in the $100 range that is like "hey, this is the shit, you won't find a better bang for the buck than this card" out there.  If so, which is it?  I'm just overwhelmed by the choices, and honestly, a lot of the numbers don't mean shit to me, but a lot of the cards with what seem to be similar specs one will be $48 and one will be $125 and I can't see the differences.  Help.  Thanks.

[ducpainter]

dude...

your last question was easy.

Absolutes are tough.

nVidia makes good stuff.

Pick a $100 card from them and go with it.

[Mother]

I'm an ATI fan

dude...

nVidia makes good stuff.

Pick a $100 card from them a go with it.

avoid the 8800

great card but if you game it has black screen issues

fixable obviously but make the beast with two backsing irritating when it happenss

[eyeboy]

I'm an ATI fan


avoid the 8800

great card but if you game it has black screen issues

fixable obviously but make the beast with two backsing irritating when it happenss

i've had pretty good luck with ATI, had a couple Nvidea cards as well but seemed to like ati's better. you get a good bit o stuff for $100 these days. I think i paid $700 for my last video card... lol

[mihama01]

Have a look on http://www.tomshardware.com/us/

They have a review "Best Video Card for the Money Dec 08" perfect timing I would say.

One rule that generally holds is the latest cards always out perform the older cards released at the same price point.

Pick only from the newest cards available, nothing over a year old.

[mitt]

Last card I bought was a Nvidia by XFX, and I have been happy with it.

What are you going to use it for?  The card I bought was midrange, and has been more than enough for everything I do including CAD.  I am not a gamer though.

I imagine any card you pick for $100 will work great, unless you are a super gamer.

mitt

[TiAvenger]

ATI here....

Your best card will vary based on your mobo specs. Wacha got?

[Gator]

I try not to agree with mother too much
(It makes me feel kinda dirty)

But ATI makes a good all around card.

If your watching HD movies or if youre a gamer you'll notice the difference between the $40 & $120 card.
If you can't then go with the cheaper one, chances are your not doing anything that warrants the extra $80

 

[capt steubing]

Thanks for all the replies, you guys and/or girls have knocked the number of cards down from about 500 to a more reasonable number, I'll let you know which one I get.  Thanks again 

[Big Troubled Bear]

Anything from Nvidia should do

[ZLTFUL]

Have a look on http://www.tomshardware.com/us/

They have a review "Best Video Card for the Money Dec 08" perfect timing I would say.

One rule that generally holds is the latest cards always out perform the older cards released at the same price point.

Pick only from the newest cards available, nothing over a year old.

Under absolutely NO circumstances use Tom's as an accurate reference for video card reviews. Do a google searc for bad tom's hardware reviews and you willfind that they are HEAVILY biased towards companies that give them the gear instead of just loan it to the for reviews. Not to mention that they use different resolutions for different cards to put them in their sweet spot and then post the comparisons as an apples to apples when its more apples to oranges.

Both ATI and Invidia have been producing some incredible devices lately. The BIGGEST factor in deciding on a card these days is what resolution you will be gaming at. What size monitor do you have?
Which games do you play/plan on playing? Toss me that info and I can recommend cards from both manufacturers well within your budget.

On a side note to Mother, I am currently running 4 8800 series cards (2x8800GS and 2x8800GTS (G92)) with not a single issue. As long as you use the latest public release driver from either vendor, you aren't going to have a single issue with either brand of card. Those issues usually end up being (and I am not questioning your intelligence by any means) user error.

Another ting to note, if you have a motherboard wth a single PCI-E 1.0 OR 2.0 slot, then you are golden. The ONLY cards that come even close to saturating the lanes of those slots are the 9800GX2 from NVidia and the 4870x2/4850x2 from ATI. And neither of these cardsfall into your budget by ay means.

Most games coming out today are being designed to be less and less dependant on the CPU/MB than in years past and as such, while you will notice a difference from a fast dual core compared to a single core rig, the video card is going to make far and away the biggest difference in HD playback and gaming performance.

If you have any more questions, feel free to PM me. I currently have 9 video cards on hand from bottom rung cheapos to top of the line latest releases from both companies and can give you a very good comparison on how things stack up.

One thing I can say for certain, as lon as ATI and Nvidia are putting out products this good, we, as the consumer, are the ones who benefit from tight competition.

[Mother]

Under absolutely NO circumstances use Tom's as an accurate reference for video card reviews. Do a google searc for bad tom's hardware reviews and you willfind that they are HEAVILY biased towards companies that give them the gear instead of just loan it to the for reviews. Not to mention that they use different resolutions for different cards to put them in their sweet spot and then post the comparisons as an apples to apples when its more apples to oranges.

Both ATI and Invidia have been producing some incredible devices lately. The BIGGEST factor in deciding on a card these days is what resolution you will be gaming at. What size monitor do you have?
Which games do you play/plan on playing? Toss me that info and I can recommend cards from both manufacturers well within your budget.

On a side note to Mother, I am currently running 4 8800 series cards (2x8800GS and 2x8800GTS (G92)) with not a single issue. As long as you use the latest public release driver from either vendor, you aren't going to have a single issue with either brand of card. Those issues usually end up being (and I am not questioning your intelligence by any means) user error.

Another ting to note, if you have a motherboard wth a single PCI-E 1.0 OR 2.0 slot, then you are golden. The ONLY cards that come even close to saturating the lanes of those slots are the 9800GX2 from NVidia and the 4870x2/4850x2 from ATI. And neither of these cardsfall into your budget by ay means.

Most games coming out today are being designed to be less and less dependant on the CPU/MB than in years past and as such, while you will notice a difference from a fast dual core compared to a single core rig, the video card is going to make far and away the biggest difference in HD playback and gaming performance.

If you have any more questions, feel free to PM me. I currently have 9 video cards on hand from bottom rung cheapos to top of the line latest releases from both companies and can give you a very good comparison on how things stack up.

One thing I can say for certain, as lon as ATI and Nvidia are putting out products this good, we, as the consumer, are the ones who benefit from tight competition.

On a side note about me

I have never ran an 8800, just gamed with those that have

and

all the black screen issues were configuration issues  (user error)

except during mod screen captures

I saw a lot of guys banned due to returning black screens under capture and they were either cheating or using an 8800

this was during the height of BF2 and 2142

[mihama01]

Under absolutely NO circumstances use Tom's as an accurate reference for video card reviews

Did you actually read the latest review on Toms, obviously not. They don't even list card makers, which leaves just a review of the respective chipsets, which is what is required.

Select the chipset the meets the price range, then find the cheapest card that uses it. Simple.

Regarding the apples to oranges, well just pick the game you want to play and all cards are listed, tested under the same conditions.

Unless of course they just make it all up?

[Jarvicious]

Wow, I was looking forward to posting, but it looks like everyone has covered the vast majority of your bases.  Don't get caught up on the little details if this is your first vid card upgrade.  The first time I decided to go aftermarket to get around my onboard system it was a $90 ATI that worked flawlessly.  The next one I bought was in the $150 range, but that was so I could

A: run dual monitors.  Working on Cad/Adobe projects with just one screen was a hassle.
B: run my cad/graphics programs with a bit more fluidity.  Granted there are tons of other hardware factors that have to run well in conjunction with the graphics chip that make more of a difference on rendering/operating speed, but a good chipset is a good start. 

I personally like Tom's, but you can check out PC Word, CPU mag, etc., and they'll all have reviews.  I don't want to get into an argument on who does or doesn't take kickbacks from companies to "earn" good reviews, but you can take what reviews you do read and make an informed decision of your own from there on out.  Besides, the arguments these sites/mags get into are over 1-2 fps or which runs the tiniest bit better on some stress test.  All the differences are minute so just pick a card, read some reviews, buy, and enjoy.