Need a recommendation for a "budget" videocard
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nouseforaname
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PostPosted: Fri, 20th Jul 2007 16:04    Post subject: Need a recommendation for a "budget" videocard
OK, so I managed to find a new (used) computer for peanuts (Athlon 64 and ASUS A8N SLI), so now my AGP videocard is useless.

So, I'm upgrading Athlon 2000+ and 6800 XT 256MB .... basically my requirements are:

- at least 256 mb
- must have SM3.0
- PCI-E
- must be cheap. something that's really come down in price recently. seriously, like $100 euro/$100-125 USD max. might be willing to buy secondhand, my last one was and works great.
- must be better than my old card

maybe just give me some recommendations on what kind of card to look at, so I can go find some local stuff for you to pick out.


asus z170-A || core i5-6600K || geforce gtx 970 4gb || 16gb ddr4 ram || win10 || 1080p led samsung 27"


Last edited by nouseforaname on Fri, 20th Jul 2007 20:11; edited 1 time in total
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LeoNatan
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PostPosted: Fri, 20th Jul 2007 16:12    Post subject:
Scout ebay for a 8600. I think those are the cheapest cards that are worth anything.
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SpykeZ




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PostPosted: Fri, 20th Jul 2007 16:24    Post subject:
LeoNatan wrote:
Scout ebay for a 8600. I think those are the cheapest cards that are worth anything.


damn, I was just gunna say the same thing. Their dirt cheap and at least offer DX10 whenever your gunna be ready to use it.

This company ships to canada...I would recommend this one..

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3041061&CatId=1560

also using EVGA you can step up to a newer card within like 3 months of having the card. So you'll only pay the difference. So you wanna go up to an 8800, subtract what you paid for this card out of the 8800 and that's all you'll pay for it.

But if that GTS is too expensive for you then get the GT

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3179942&CatId=1560

Nice motherboard Smile I got the premium version of it. If you can dish out a few extra bucks then I suggest at least getting the X2 3800+ for the 939, it's a great bargain and it's dual core which is future proof. Though I personally recommend the 4400

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3001041&CatId=1948


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$en$i
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PostPosted: Fri, 20th Jul 2007 16:38    Post subject:
"Best PCI-E Card For ~$115 => GeForce 8600 GT with ddr3 (not ddr2) ram"

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/07/03/the_best_gaming_video_cards_for_the_money/page2.html
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chiv




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PostPosted: Fri, 20th Jul 2007 16:52    Post subject:
get the 8800gtx! it satisfies 3 out of 4 of your requirements, so thats pretty good when you think about it... Wink


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SpykeZ




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PostPosted: Fri, 20th Jul 2007 17:03    Post subject:
chiv wrote:
get the 8800gtx! it satisfies 3 out of 4 of your requirements, so thats pretty good when you think about it... Wink


actually 4 out of 5 but the fact remains it's not in his budget Razz


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swingman




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PostPosted: Fri, 20th Jul 2007 18:03    Post subject:
http://ca.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=2&l2=6&l3=515&l4=0&model=1644&modelmenu=1

This one's got SM 4.0 so that's better right? I have no idea what I'm talking about. Sad Just wanted to help.
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chiv




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PostPosted: Fri, 20th Jul 2007 18:04    Post subject:
4 out of 5.. see? thats an even BETTER ratio!


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LeoNatan
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PostPosted: Fri, 20th Jul 2007 18:08    Post subject:
swingman wrote:
http://ca.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=2&l2=6&l3=515&l4=0&model=1644&modelmenu=1

This one's got SM 4.0 so that's better right? I have no idea what I'm talking about. Sad Just wanted to help.

I guess 8500 is also an 'option,' but they are so bad, he should stick to 8600.
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nouseforaname
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PostPosted: Fri, 20th Jul 2007 18:24    Post subject:
SpykeZ wrote:
chiv wrote:
get the 8800gtx! it satisfies 3 out of 4 of your requirements, so thats pretty good when you think about it... Wink


actually 4 out of 5 but the fact remains it's not in his budget Razz


hahahahaha yeah, budget is the number 1 requirement Wink

SpykeZ wrote:
Nice motherboard Smile I got the premium version of it. If you can dish out a few extra bucks then I suggest at least getting the X2 3800+ for the 939, it's a great bargain and it's dual core which is future proof. Though I personally recommend the 4400


the computer is actually coming from the auction company my bro works as, so it's what comes with it ..although that would probably be an upgrade down the road a little. I have a 2 week vacation to ireland coming up in a month and a half that is going to cost $$$$$$$$ so I don't exactly have a ton of money to play with Wink


asus z170-A || core i5-6600K || geforce gtx 970 4gb || 16gb ddr4 ram || win10 || 1080p led samsung 27"
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nouseforaname
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PostPosted: Fri, 20th Jul 2007 18:35    Post subject:
OK guys, an 8600 GT from ebay looks like it might fit my needs Smile

now, is there any manufacturers or models I should avoid?


asus z170-A || core i5-6600K || geforce gtx 970 4gb || 16gb ddr4 ram || win10 || 1080p led samsung 27"
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$en$i
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PostPosted: Fri, 20th Jul 2007 18:39    Post subject:
LeoNatan wrote:
swingman wrote:
http://ca.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=2&l2=6&l3=515&l4=0&model=1644&modelmenu=1

This one's got SM 4.0 so that's better right? I have no idea what I'm talking about. Sad Just wanted to help.

I guess 8500 is also an 'option,' but they are so bad, he should stick to 8600.
yeah the 8500 gt has near half the 8600 gt performance in games.

cf. http://nvnews.net/reviews/msi_geforce_8500gt_8600gt_oc/page_8.shtml
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nouseforaname
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PostPosted: Fri, 20th Jul 2007 18:49    Post subject:
how do these look? there are rebates right now...

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=23310BD1779&vpn=BFGE86256GTOCE&manufacture=BFG

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=23866&vpn=BFGE86256GTOCE&manufacture=BFG%20Technologies&promoid=1021


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LeoNatan
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PostPosted: Fri, 20th Jul 2007 18:49    Post subject:
nouseforaname wrote:
OK guys, an 8600 GT from ebay looks like it might fit my needs Smile

now, is there any manufacturers or models I should avoid?

I'd tell you what to look for, try to find either eVGA, BFG or XFX. They are the best, but cost a bit more. My advice would be to find something that fits your budget and look for reviews online.

[EDIT] Yeah, they look good.


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Last edited by LeoNatan on Fri, 20th Jul 2007 18:50; edited 1 time in total
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KrAzY-KaMeL




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PostPosted: Fri, 20th Jul 2007 18:50    Post subject:
Avoid the factory overclocked ones to save yourself some dough. All the board partners are pretty much identical minus their packaging and bundle.

I think you'll be fine with any of the major partners. eVGA, XFX, Leadtek, PNY, BFG, etc.
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SpykeZ




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PostPosted: Fri, 20th Jul 2007 19:18    Post subject:
nouseforaname wrote:

the computer is actually coming from the auction company my bro works as, so it's what comes with it ..although that would probably be an upgrade down the road a little. I have a 2 week vacation to ireland coming up in a month and a half that is going to cost $$$$$$$$ so I don't exactly have a ton of money to play with Wink


ha cool, hope you have fun.

If your going to be running the 8600 you might as well get the dual core in it. 939 socket may be a bit outdated but it's still powerful as hell especially since the prices for it are dirty effin cheap. 2x1024 dual channel from OCZ is like 124 bucks now Smile But ya, gotta get that dual core, once you witness it you'll never go back to single core ever again. It's dirt cheap too Smile ....cheaper than the memory..wtf haha

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11610BD0104&vpn=256-P2-N755-TR&manufacture=EVGA

I'd personally get that one. As I said earlier, if you get the money down the road, you can send that card back to evga and only pay the difference for a more powerful card instead of dishing out even more money later on. Their customer service I personally have dealt with and their an awsome bunch. but if you don't plan on doing their step up then stick with the three main companies XFX, BFG and eVGA


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nouseforaname
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PostPosted: Fri, 20th Jul 2007 19:59    Post subject:
SpykeZ wrote:
If your going to be running the 8600 you might as well get the dual core in it. 939 socket may be a bit outdated but it's still powerful as hell especially since the prices for it are dirty effin cheap. 2x1024 dual channel from OCZ is like 124 bucks now Smile But ya, gotta get that dual core, once you witness it you'll never go back to single core ever again. It's dirt cheap too Smile ....cheaper than the memory..wtf haha


yeah, once I'm ready to install Vista and some more memory down the road I will definitely upgrade the processor. the computer just came out of the blue for almost nothing ( new case, HD, power supply etc as well) so I can't pass it up. I only have room for one computer in my apartment so I need to just replace the video card for now with something that will do. Besides, I will probably eventually get a console anyways in a year or two Razz

So that being said, I'm probably also going to be using this thing for HDTV (so obviously I need X2) and too also make sure the video card is HDCP compliant.


SpykeZ wrote:
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11610BD0104&vpn=256-P2-N755-TR&manufacture=EVGA

I'd personally get that one. As I said earlier, if you get the money down the road, you can send that card back to evga and only pay the difference for a more powerful card instead of dishing out even more money later on. Their customer service I personally have dealt with and their an awsome bunch. but if you don't plan on doing their step up then stick with the three main companies XFX, BFG and eVGA


this is the last 'gaming' video card I'm buying Razz Trust me, I have lots to spend my money on so I try not to go nuts spending money on my computer Razz


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LeoNatan
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PostPosted: Fri, 20th Jul 2007 20:27    Post subject:
Nouse, the 8600 is a good choice for a media center PC as it has h264/avc acceleration (even better than the 8800), so that CPU should handle 720p video with no problem, and the X2 will eventually handle the 1080p video without a problem.
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nouseforaname
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PostPosted: Fri, 20th Jul 2007 20:49    Post subject:
LeoNatan wrote:
Nouse, the 8600 is a good choice for a media center PC as it has h264/avc acceleration (even better than the 8800), so that CPU should handle 720p video with no problem, and the X2 will eventually handle the 1080p video without a problem.


yeah, I read that both the 8500 and 8600 have hardware h264 support. this thing will eventually be my media center PC once I find a laptop that can play new games decently (without costing a fortune) in a year or so... In fact, along with this computer my brother got himself an dual core AMD that he is going to use for a media center PC so I'll recommend this card to him as well Smile


asus z170-A || core i5-6600K || geforce gtx 970 4gb || 16gb ddr4 ram || win10 || 1080p led samsung 27"
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SpykeZ




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PostPosted: Fri, 20th Jul 2007 22:40    Post subject:
LeoNatan wrote:
Nouse, the 8600 is a good choice for a media center PC as it has h264/avc acceleration (even better than the 8800), so that CPU should handle 720p video with no problem, and the X2 will eventually handle the 1080p video without a problem.


eventually? it already does.


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LeoNatan
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PostPosted: Fri, 20th Jul 2007 22:52    Post subject:
I meant eventually when he buys it.
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SpykeZ




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PostPosted: Fri, 20th Jul 2007 23:16    Post subject:
Oh, was gunna smite you with...

 Spoiler:
 


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nouseforaname
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PostPosted: Fri, 27th Jul 2007 07:48    Post subject:
well, I ended up getting the 8600 GT. btw, I ran an errand for my bro's boss (who owns the auction company where the computer came from), so he didn't charge me anything for it Razz so I got the cpu (AMD 64 3200+), case (think it's antec since that's what one of the fans say), power supply (450 watt OCZ), 160 GB SATA HD and asus a9n sli MB for free Smile

case is a fuckload better than my old one, twice as many fans but still quieter, and 10 degrees cooler


.


asus z170-A || core i5-6600K || geforce gtx 970 4gb || 16gb ddr4 ram || win10 || 1080p led samsung 27"
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SpykeZ




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PostPosted: Fri, 27th Jul 2007 09:56    Post subject:
Not a bad score at all! Sweet mother board too, I use the same one but the premium


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