Help me find a PCI-E Video Card! I could use a deal..need ASAP

http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_attrib.php/page_id=5/form_keyword=ati+video+cards+pci+express/rd=1/skd=1/sortby=priceA

I already sorted them from lowest to highest price. Guess which one came up first? The X300 you already have.....

Hope this helps.....

What Operating System are you running? Is HD video playback something you'd want as well?

And be careful - you might start a series of Nvidia v. ATI rants and lose the whole focus of your post...

kinda hard to find anything if you are limited to ati. The nvidia stuff is very cheap now since the release of the 8 series cards. 7600gt 's can be found for less than 100 now. You should prob wait til the new ati cards come out to drop the prices of stuff. What problems have you had with Nvidia? Only problem i ever had was the fan getting noisy.

[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_attrib.php/page_id=5/form_keyword=ati+video+cards+pci+express/rd=1/skd=1/sortby=priceA

I already sorted them from lowest to highest price. Guess which one came up first? The X300 you already have.....

Hope this helps.....[/quote]


I second the reccomendation for using Pricegrabber. You could also try pricewatch.com Then when you find a good cheap price, check the reliability of the seller at resllerratings.com to make sure reputable.

I looked at Tom's Hardware - Best video card for different price ranges. http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/05/01/the_best_gaming_video_cards_for_the_money/

The lowest price category is "Under $100" and lists the Nvidia Geforce 7300 GT which according to them can be found for about $60.

The next category (about $110) lists the ATI Radeon 1650 XT.

They are probably all over kill for you, but just thought I would share...

With the criteria you're providing, which is very limiting, you're only likely to be purchasing the previously mentioned X1650 XT, which isn't a great card. Take a look at some reviews and you'll see what I'm talking about. I'd recommend spending the additional money on a X1800 or X1900 card. With the new X2000-series cards coming out, the "previous generation" cards will be dropping in price.

If you remove the Nvidia restriction from your criteria, the 7600GT would be the best choice in the price range you're looking at.

In any case, you're talking about a DX9 card, so you'd be looking at replacing it when DX10 takes off in the next couple of years.

I have a Radeon X850XT and it seriously delivers, except it isn't DX10 compatible. I can play the major PC games released up until maybe March just fine. Some of the newer ones that use certain features the card doesn't have won't work though.

I'm really curious about your problems with NVidia. I mean, I know everybody has their preferences and all.. but I've never had a problem with them. Companies like Asus, PNY, and XFX tend to have lifetime warranties as well. Also, prices seem to drop alot faster with the NVidia cards than with ATI. I'm wondering if maybe you're using Vista? I haven't installed it yet (I'm doing it this weekend on a seperate HD I've ordered), but I know there have been some NVidia issues with it. But I have to say.. for what your needs are, you could get a good 6800 card off of Ebay for $50 and be happy.

If you think you'd give an NVidia card a chance, here's one I have on the way right now (XFX 7600 GT ):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150182

I personally love XFX.. I've used them for a while, and haven't had a single hiccup out of them. I wouldn't even worry with a DX10 card at this point (especially the 8500 cards), since few games are going to really be taking advantage of it anytime soon. The beauty of using the card I linked above (or one like it) is that you could SLI 2 of them for cheaper than what'd you'd pay for a single high end 8000 series card if you need to beef up in the future.

I'm really not trying to start an Nvidia vs. ATI thing here, but only trying to show that it seems to be the cheaper route in this case. Plus, would you mind posting some more system specs/previous problems you've had with NVidia?

I noticed your looking at a saphire 1550 on newegg. I have their 1950GT and love it, just dont expect to overclock it unless you get a better heatsink/fan combo

Also a gigabyte 1350 is a good buy...noisless silent pipe 2 technology...no fan....put one in my womans machine and man is it nice...10% overclock with no issues.....It also came with CIV IV for free......also from newegg....

Looks like the civ deal moved up to a 1650......if I had only waited....I also recommend getting a slot fan for 4 bucks to go with this card.........if you are going to overclock

They also have an open box of the same item, but no box = no free game

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125043

[quote name='Skylander7']I'm really curious about your problems with NVidia. I mean, I know everybody has their preferences and all.. but I've never had a problem with them. Companies like Asus, PNY, and XFX tend to have lifetime warranties as well. Also, prices seem to drop alot faster with the NVidia cards than with ATI. I'm wondering if maybe you're using Vista? I haven't installed it yet (I'm doing it this weekend on a seperate HD I've ordered), but I know there have been some NVidia issues with it. But I have to say.. for what your needs are, you could get a good 6800 card off of Ebay for $50 and be happy.

If you think you'd give an NVidia card a chance, here's one I have on the way right now (XFX 7600 GT ):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150182

I personally love XFX.. I've used them for a while, and haven't had a single hiccup out of them. I wouldn't even worry with a DX10 card at this point (especially the 8500 cards), since few games are going to really be taking advantage of it anytime soon. The beauty of using the card I linked above (or one like it) is that you could SLI 2 of them for cheaper than what'd you'd pay for a single high end 8000 series card if you need to beef up in the future.

I'm really not trying to start an Nvidia vs. ATI thing here, but only trying to show that it seems to be the cheaper route in this case. Plus, would you mind posting some more system specs/previous problems you've had with NVidia?[/QUOTE]

Mostly drivers, for some reason, the NVidia cards I've had have always caused lots of crashes on my computer. Less so once Windows XP came out, but for some reason, at least in my experience, ATI has always been a lot more stable.

Right now I'm just searching for 1900s at a reasonable price. With on coming DX10, new cards, and what not, I might just go with my first choice [the 1650]

You pretty much found the best card you will...

Photo edition doesn't really depend on the graphics card but video playback, both DVD and data files, do rely a lot on the video card.

The X1650 is a great card for video playback but the newer DX10 cards are even better. If you want a card now, then the card you're looking at sound suffice for both video playback and decent gaming performance.

Otherwise, ATI's HD 2600 line might be up your alley though there's no telling when those will arrive.

Okay, now it's a toss up..the one I had posted earlier

X1550 512MB

OR

X1650 512MB

Now, here's what confuses me, from all I've read on ATI's website, there's no regular version of the 1650.

Based on Wikipedia, there's no regular version of the 1650, just XT and PRO, and even the XT and PRO based on their website do not have 12 pipes.

But Newegg lists it at 12 pipes for the 1650..

So pretty much...is the extra $15 worth it? I'd be getting a mail in rebate [if I get it] that would make it $1 more.

And now this is even more confusing..it turns out the 1550 are rebranded 1300s....and there is no 1650 regular..it's either PRO or XT

I think I'm just going to go with the 1650..I'll act dumb and just pretend "higher numbers" are better.

You're going to be a lot happier with a 7600GT than a X1650XT or X1650 Pro.

This page give details about different ATI processor specs and has a sister NVidia page that is linked at the bottom. Hope this helps.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/131

[quote name='necrojustice']I have a Radeon X850XT and it seriously delivers, except it isn't DX10 compatible. I can play the major PC games released up until maybe March just fine. Some of the newer ones that use certain features the card doesn't have won't work though.[/QUOTE]

I dont think anything below a x1xxx will do SM 3.0, so you couldnt use it on some newer games (anything based on the new unreal engine, for instance). Personally, Id got 7600GT. Ive seen them as low as $75 with rebates.

Most ATI cards have a suffix but there are a few without any. Sometimes whoever makes the card will leave out the suffix from the name even if ATI has one for it, usually because it's the lower end version of a card and they don't want consumers to know that (i.e., they'll use the basic Pro version and increase the clocks a bit and take out the Pro from the name so they can market it has a better card).

On a low end card, you won't see much of a performance increase with more memory-- so if you can find a 256MB version of a card, it'll save you some money. Too bad Sapphire doesn't make the X850XT... it's was a fantastic card for $90 (256bit, 256MB, 16 pipelines, 520MHz core, 1040MHz memory). I love mine!

Just member, higher memory bandwidth (aka, the bits), higher core speed, and more pipelines (or shaders in newer cards) mean better performance. Then comes a higher memory speed but has a lesser impact on performance. Finally, it's memory size.

BTW, about the SM3 thing... if a card doesn't have SM3 (like the SM2 X850XT) doesn't that only mean that games will run without SM3 features?

Well, I am starting to give into peer pressure

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814130062

This card has over 400 reviews and 75 percent are positive...$89 after mail in rebate.....

so now it's definitely up between the 7600 up there and

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102050

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102084

The 1550 is out of the question now

and I am strongly considering the Nvidia 7600. However, I just found the 256 MB X1650pro: according to the specs, GDDR3 memory, and all the stats are higher than on the 512MB X1650...

so between the 256 MB 1650 pro and the 512 MB x1650..the 256 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102050 would be the best one, right?

If that's the case, then I have finally brought it down to the Nvidia and this 256 1650 pro...I just can't help but notice though..400 plus positive reviews on one card and 50 reviews on the other...

WAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT.
Before you pull check out Best Buy B&M. I've heard reports of 7900 GS's being marked down to $90.

If true, then the 7900 GS would be a sure fire bet. That's a fantastic card for $90. Hell, even I'm thinking about getting one since I can sell my X850XT for like $90.

Well..if anyone wants to know..this is what I ordered

eVGA e-Geforce 7600GT PCI Express 256MB GDDR3 Video Card w/DVI-I, VGA & HDTV Support

I saw them at the store [Circuit City] and one at Target for well over $150...CC had one for $150 then a $75 mail in rebate

The 400 plus positive reviews pushed me over the edge

and it should be $90 after rebate..

and the fact I can play Half Life 2 at medium quality seems rather exciting...now I just need to get Half Life 2

so I'll post when I get it..hopefully 400 people aren't wrong and this card is solid

Isn't the 7600GT a Nvidia card?! I guess you've changed your mind after all

[quote name='sarausagi']...now I just need to get Half Life 2

so I'll post when I get it..[/quote]

Let me know when you do, and we can throw toilets at each other

Here is another deal posted at SD, a day late cause you already ordered a card, but maybe someone else may benefit from it. Its a Connect 3d Radeon x1900 GT for $99 no rebates. Awesome price, but only problem is Connect 3D is now supposedly out of business now (I guess that's why it's so cheap).

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=327110&ps=ho11

I'm tempted to order one myself, but I'm waiting to see what Fry's has onsale tommorrow.

http://shop2.outpost.com/product/4970851

7900 GS Overclocked for $100 after $50 rebate.

you should be pretty happy with that 7600gt i got that same one myself not to long ago for $90 after rebate and it works very well im not disapointed at all