What's the best PCI video card in the $50 price range?

Low profile AGP video cards

My dad brought a computer from work, and while it has a nice P4 2.4ghz processor, it's severly crippled by the Intel Extreme onboard video card it includes. It gets half the 3DMark score of my old 1ghz T-bird/Geforce2 system

Anyway, I would like to put in a better video card. It looks like I'm out of luck on AGP cards, because the computer only accepts AGP cards that are low profile and have half sized brackets. It's a Compaq Evo Small Form Factor PC. I don't feel like doing a lot of modding with an on-lease computer. But it does have two regular PCI slots, so I decided on getting a PCI card.

In terms of choices, it looks like the two I have now are the GeForce4 MX 440 PCI video card, or the Radeon 9100 PCI video card. Both have 64mb DDR memory. Now, which one would be the better choice?

Also, would I run into any problems, since the power supply is only 200w?

The 9100!!! Also, there are low profile agp 9000's if you wanted one. The 9100 is faster than a 9000 standard by a bit, but the pci bus may hinder it quite a bit. Personaly, I would get the low profile 9000 agp.

The problem is the half sized bracket though, I don't think the AGP cards have the half sized bracket. I suppose you could just take the bracket off when putting the card in, but I don't want to do a lot of messing around.

Here's what I think the AGP slot is called in this computer:

LOW PROFILE AGP 4X 1.5V SLOT FOR OPTIONAL VIDEO CARDS

firestorm225 said:

My dad brought a computer from work, and while it has a nice P4 2.4ghz processor, it's severly crippled by the Intel Extreme onboard video card it includes. It gets half the 3DMark score of my old 1ghz T-bird/Geforce2 system

Anyway, I would like to put in a better video card. It looks like I'm out of luck on AGP cards, because the computer only accepts AGP cards that are low profile and have half sized brackets. It's a Compaq Evo Small Form Factor PC. I don't feel like doing a lot of modding with an on-lease computer. But it does have two regular PCI slots, so I decided on getting a PCI card.

In terms of choices, it looks like the two I have now are the GeForce4 MX 440 PCI video card, or the Radeon 9100 PCI video card. Both have 64mb DDR memory. Now, which one would be the better choice?

Also, would I run into any problems, since the power supply is only 200w?

Click to expand...

I'd go MX440. I wub mine, it plays games awesome, even without a hiccup at 1280 reso, with, depending on the game, all eyecandy or atleast a reasonable amount.

Not only that, but mine overclocks like mad. ^_^;

I didn't know PCI Video cards are still out there

Well, I went to Circuit City to pick up a GeForce4 MX 440SE just to see what kind of improvement I would get, and my 3DMark score only went up to 3000 People with AGP MX 440's are getting around the range of 6000+ with the same card. I guess going AGP would be much better.

Now, are there any low profile AGP cards out there especially designed with the half-sized bracket to fit in small form factor cases? Or is my only option with AGP removing the bracket if I want to insert it into the case?

There are lots. Also, as the 440se could be 64bit, instead of 128, that would account for the low 3dmarks. I suggest taking it back and getting this card: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?description=14-139-134
It is the Full 440 in low profile, not the slower SE, and its 128bit. I had a similar card and got around 55003d marks.

Thanks a whole lot for the info

Yeah, the card was weak because it was PCI, and it was also SDR memory and not DDR. I'll definitely check out the link you gave, thanks

Ok, I think I'm going to pick that up. Just one more possibility, I found this:

http://www.googlegear.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=320791

How do you think the Jaton card and this one stack up? I did a quick check on FutureMark, but there were few tests, so it's probably not the best idea to judge on those.

Well, the 9200 is more expensive than the MX440. It may be a bit faster, but I dont think it justifies the price. Still, it is a better card.

The ATI 9200 is basically an 8X AGP Radeon 8500 which was equivalent (give or take a little) to a Geforce 3 ti. The MX440 is basically a higher clocked Geforce 2. I think the Radeon 9200 will kick some major *** compared to the MX440. Also the MX440 card is only 64MB and the 9200 is 128Mb. Thats worth the extra $20 right there.

I'd definately go with the 9200.

Actualy, the 9200 is not an 8500. It is a 9000 standard, which has half the pipelines as the 8500, just renamed with agp8x. It has the same pipelines as the MX440 as well as the same clocks. The only difference is DX8 support.

Actually, Newegg also has the same Radeon for quite a bit cheaper ($65)

It's too bad they don't specifically list the card as being low profile on their site

What other video cards come with the half-sized brackets out of curiosity?