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Best bang for <$46$

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Big_Baller

Member
Joined
Oct 1, 2002
Location
Seattle, WA
Ok I have to get a friend a video card for a friend. He gave me $46. What should I get? I have to order some stuff on the internet anyways so shipping shouldn't be too much of a problem. ATI? Nvidia? I don't care.
 
It's sad, but $46.00 can't get you very much these days.. maybe some kinda Geforce MX or some old Radeon... like a 9000 or so. I'd go to Newegg and just put 46.00 as your max price and go from there.
 
Might be better off to buy something used. $46 won't buy anything great. What kind of games does he play? What kind of computer is this for? the Radeon 9200SE can be had for ~$46 or 9200 if he wants to throw in a bit more change. The FX5200 is also around that price.
 
I would say get an MX440 or 5200 over a 9200se. The MX440 will *probably* be the fastest, but its only directx7. The 9200se will likely be the slowest. If you can get a 128bit FX5200, get that, but the 64bit ones are just plain sad.

EDIT: I checked newegg, and there are no 5200's in that price range. The 9550 seems good though. It has crap ram, but I believe it has the 9600's core(correct me if im wrong). Meaning it will probably overclock like crazy.
 
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The MX 440 is your best bet because it is outdated. It doesn't try to run all the newest DirectX features, but has almost acceptable fill rate and memory bandwidth. The 9200 has more advanced DirectX support, so while it looks better, it won't run as well.

Forget playing Doom 3 at any resolution, btw. My brother tried it at 640x480, all graphics options turned off, detail low and it was a slide show.
 
There is a volt mod'ed Ti4200 in the for sale section. I would go for that. He wants $50, so see if your buddy can put in a few more clams so he can play games!
 
Sounds good, I'll try it out. I think i'll just go for the gf4 mx because ...I'm not getting paid to do any volt modding here :D
 
Look here: http://www.crucial.com/store/refurb.asp There are some refurb Crucial ATI cards with a 30-day warranty that would probably just fit your needs. Some of them would probably play a lot of the newest games, but it wouldn't be very pretty. I would go for a Radeon 9100 for $37.99 or a Radeon 8500LE for $34.99. (both 128MB memory)
 
I don't think you mentioned what your friend is looking for - is he/she a gamer? If they are looking for a quiet system, or a media server, etc. The 9200SE has passive cooling - not a great card for 3d, but it does a great job in my in-laws "utility" box.
 
I just built a new PC for my Dad with an ATi 9200 from NewEgg. Granted he doesn't "game" but the card was impressive for I think 50 bux. It is 128MB DDR, VIVO, and came bundled with like 6 games (some were demos though)
It has a blue led fan too lol. :p
 
Fred Koser said:
I don't think you mentioned what your friend is looking for - is he/she a gamer? If they are looking for a quiet system, or a media server, etc. The 9200SE has passive cooling - not a great card for 3d, but it does a great job in my in-laws "utility" box.
Well really at that price range it doesnt matter. If its 45 for a 9200se, but 50 for a ti4200, then why not get the better card for $5 more? But it wouldnt hurt to know wether they game or not.
 
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