Seeking shopping advice- Vid Card

[zappazootus]

Hey All-

I am slowly amping up my system and my current bottle neck is a Trident 4mb video card that can't get out of its own way in a 2D world. I am going to a computer show this weekend at the Royal Plaza in Marlboroman, Mass and hope to make a good choice. I have been checking reviews, pricewatch and looking through threads. I am concerned about getting someting that wont be good for years, or something that won't work with my current MOBO and CPU ( FIC VA503+ & K6-2+ 450 @551). Price is also a big factor in that I really don't want to spend more than around $50-70. So far it looks like Radeon would be a good choice, but only if I can get a VE or LE for cheap or at least better than a Fury something Rage or other. TNT2 stuff looks obsolete, and GForce2 MX series also don't seem to rate well. Like I said, I need some prodding. I have heard that it is pointless to exceed 16mb and APG 2x or my board or else suffer. Yikes!

Which way did he go, which way did he go?

[zappazootus]

looks like many of these issues were dealt with in a thread from 12/3/01. I think a Radeon 7500 would be my first choice, but definately the top of my price range. I am just concerned about compatability issues with my MOBO.

[WarriorII]

I have a Hercules GF2MX. I love the heck outta it. nice card.
I have heard the Radeion(?) 8500 is a great visual card.
Great looking colors etc. etc. etc. But for the price. GF2MX

Good luck and let us know how it goes.
:cool:

[funnyperson1]

actually iw ouldnt get an mx seeing as you can get a gts for the same price as an mx400....(65$) also do not get a redeon VE, they are crap, my suggestions for a cehap but good vidoe card are The RadeonLE, Visiontek GtS-V both for around 60$....

[zappazootus]

Thanks for the input. I am very curious to see what is available at the show. I suspect when you say that the VE is crap, apparently the whole 64 vs 128 bit deal comes into play- I am sure that 32meg is enough memory, but is DDR significantly better than SDR besides the obvious. Heck I have thoughts that if I ran into something like a Voodoo5 for 30 bucks that might not be such a bad plan either dispite its limited future.

I just hope it increases my system speed some- My father and I both are O/C on K6-2+ 450s to max out our socket 7 boards, his system is way faster than mine, I believe because he has some mediocre AGP card while I have a crummy 4mb PCI from yesteryear coaxing images out of smoke and mirrors. New modem is a must too! (33.6 don't cut it) Even the wife is complaining!;)

[Max 86]

0

[zappazootus]

Modems are cheap- Lucent sounds like a plan, but I am wondering about the v92 models which I have seen on pricewatch for around 20 clams from Zoom. Forward thinking data compression and phone line interup:, sound like good features.

[Max 86]

0