the best videa card for the buck...

[sakininja]

i need a video card. i have a monorail celeron II pc with the oem monitor system. i'm not sure if it has a agp port. i bought the computer about 1998.

i have found that the types of games i prefer drastically slows my frame rate. such as the mechwarrior series, any simulator game, sim golf, superbike 2001. in my simulation games, by the time my picture refreshes, i've died or crashed. i typically have to turn off all of the graphic bonuses just to play the game at an acceptable frame rate.

i don't have alot of cash. i'd like to spend less than $100.00. but everyone seems to get the high dollar cards. is this necessary for my type of play? i don't necessarily need the best graphics, just the best speed so my picture doesn't slow down. what is the best card for the buck that will allow me to play my games with no delay?

[Talamaine]

I had a similar problem at the beginning of this year. In fact I needed to update my video card sooner just to run Vampire the Masquarade but couldn't afford it at the time.

However, now that I have a job <G>, I bought in Feburary a GeForce 2 MX 400 after reading some reviews it seemed like the best bang for buck kind of thing. At the time it cost me about 90 bucks for the PCI version of that card. I just checked and with shipping you are looking around 50 bucks plus shipping for the same video card now adays. It supports the latest version of DirectX if you have the newer drivers too.

ook I am rambling so I will end here but that is just my opinion. I need to buy another one (I sold mine to a friend for a GeForce 2 Ti AGP for my new pc but still need a PCI version for my other pc) and I will probably go with that. Check out www.pricewatch.com for prices. Ok my 2 cents is done :)

Later

[dilsburger]

Hi and welcome!

You should find out if you do have an AGP slot. Having only owned my own PC for 2 yrs so - I can't tell you for certain that your system board would even have one. But you'll soon hear from others more knowlegable in that area if need be.

Another thing to consider when playing newer games is your CPU. An older Celeron probably won't cut it for the performance you may be hoping for. You should also post back with more system informaton, CPU mhz and system memory etc.

My opinion only - I'm thinking GeForce2 MX 64MB PCI card may be a match for your current system and would be well under $100. I don't know if your CPU will be a botttleneck for this type of card or not. In getting a video card you will be able to increase your game performance but without upgrading your other system components (BUS speed and CPU) you may not get what you are wishing for. It depends on what you like and can afford.

To look for video cards (and other components) availible on the internet I like to use www.pricewatch.com

As I said earlier you'll be hearing from some others shortly. Good luck!

[sakininja]

thanks guys. i will post my computer specs later.

[IndianaWoody]

I will agree with Dilsburger on this one, not knowing the system specs its hard to say if an upgraded video will do the job.

I can tell you I am still on an AMD 650 (upgrading soon I hope) with a VooDoo3 16 meg video card and the only game I havent been able to play that I have tried is Ultima Online in 3D. I had a 32 meg Nvidia N64 in this machine and it kept crashing, tried the VooDoo and not only did it fix the crashes but the 16 meg card even performed better than the 32meg M64. So getting opinions from people in here is a good Idea as sometimes the higher numbers do not always mean better performance.

I will look forward to the other posters reply's as I too hope to upgrade soon.

[saphalline]

Yes higher dollar cards are certainly a bonus! :D But then again, you say you don't need the best graphics, and you are only running a 1998 Celeron system, so your $100 budget is good enough.

Ok, you have a few options, depending if you have an AGP slot. ;)

Option #1 - AGP slot
Head on over to Newegg (http://www.newegg.com/app/catalog.asp) and pick yourself up either a GeForce4 MX 440 AGP card or a Radeon 9000 Pro AGP card. Go here (http://www.newegg.com/app/manufactory.asp?catalog=48&DEPA=1) and use the pull-down menu to select the above video chipsets. It's important to remember that buying "retail box" video cards is generally safer, as it ensures that you're getting the proper speeds (especially for ATI cards 'cause the OEM ones can be much slower).

The best (in terms of price) GeForce4 MX 440 card would be the VGA Chaintech retail box for $70 and free shipping. Not bad. The best and cheapest Radeon 9000 Pro would be either the Powercolor "Evil Commando" retail box[color] ($95 + free shipping) or the [color=green]Gigabyte GVR-9000 Pro retail box ($99 + free shipping).

The Radeon 9000 Pro is a bit more expensive but offers true DirectX 8 "shader" support, while the GF4 MX series does not. However, both offer much more power than your old Celeron system is likely to see, but then again I figure these video cards will probably outlive your system, meaning when you get a new computer you can move your video card to the new one! Sometimes you just gotta think ahead when trying to upgrade computers, and being able to reuse a video card is truly satisfying (because like you said most people buy the higher dollar cards).

Option #2 - No AGP slot
This option is probably the case for your system. AGP slots first started appearing in '98, but even then only in the high-priced PentiumII systems, so it's not likely a value-Celeron system in '98 got one. Your video card options are now much more narrow, but not entirely gone...

If you look here (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduct.asp?submit=list&catalog=289&DEPA=1&order=price&sort=asc) you'll see a list of Newegg's PCI video cards. There's actually quite a few gems in the list! The usual suspects are in the list - old TNT2's, old ATI cards, standard GeForce2 MX's, etc. If you want to be able to play your games the cheapest, pick up a GeForce2 MX 400 card, any of them. They'll be powerful enough for your system.

For a bit more punch that still fits in your budget, check out the Powercolor ATI Radeon 7500LE retail box for $81 + free shipping. The "LE" version is a bit slower than normal, but it's the only DDR card on the whole page. The other one to get would be the PNY GF4 MX420 retail box for $89 + free shipping, which has a much higher performance than any GeForce2 MX card but does not have DDR RAM like the Radeon 7500LE.

[ski]

Some tips on increasing frame rates:
-Reduce the game's graphics(you've already do that).
-Use 32 bit color depth.
-Use a lower resolution(640x480 or 800x600).
-Restart the computer in order to maximize free physical memory and system resources, and then shut down all programs(except Explorer and Systray) immediately prior to playing a game .
-Reduce your sound card's acceleration.
-Install additional memory if your system has 64MB or less(128MB is the recommended minimum).

If your frame rates are still too slow, then you need a faster video card and/or a CPU.

[saphalline]

-Use 32 bit color depth.
Don't you mean 16 bit color depth? :p :D

Yeah, all those ideas are good ones, didn't think of that. I guess I was just too focused on the vid card upgrade. RAM would be my first upgrade in terms of spending money, then the vid card, then a CPU upgrade. How fast is your Celeron, sakininja? You might be able to slap in a faster one...

[ski]

You're right, it should have been 16 bit color depth.
Thanks for the correction.