Help! Which Video Card to get for my PC?

J

johnbro23

macrumors 6502a

Original poster

• Dec 21, 2004

• #1

I'm going out to best buy today to get a video card for my PC. I bought RCT3 for my brother for christmas, and just figured out we don't have enough Video RAM. I'm thinking I'm going to get a 64 MB card. The minimum requirement is 32 MB, reccomended is 64 MB. Are there different kinds of video cards for different types of PC's? We have a Dell Dimension 4100. Thanks for any help!

 

solvs

macrumors 603

• Dec 21, 2004

• #2

I'd go ahead and spend a little extra on a 128MB card if you have an AGP slot. Get one at Newegg.com or search Pricewatch.com for some good deals. Just read the reviews there first. Look at the recommend specs vs. the minimum, you'll be happier.

 

Mord

macrumors G4

• Dec 21, 2004

• #3

what's the budget?, whatever you do don't get a 5200 or 9200 they both suck, don't touch them with a barge poll.

i'd get a 9600.

 

E

efoto

macrumors 68030

• Dec 21, 2004

• #4

Hector said:

what's the budget?

i'd get a 9600.

Click to expand...

The budget would definitely help, however I can second the 9600, or if money is not so tight, the 9800P is a much faster and better card. If money is of no object then the new X800 cards are out of this world, however the pricetags are too 😀

Either way, I personally always recommend ATI chips vs. Nvidia but I am sure someone will counter that with some crazy performance comparison. I just like ATI and the performance I get from them, so my suggestion still stands (9600 or 9800)

 

madoka

macrumors 6502a

• Dec 21, 2004

• #5

Hector said:

what's the budget?, whatever you do don't get a 5200 or 9200 they both suck, don't touch them with a barge poll.

i'd get a 9600.

Click to expand...

Although the 5200 and the 9200 are not great, they are doable and you can get them for under $50. I got a 5200 for $30 AR. I got a 9600XT for $100AR. It totally depends on the guy's budget. If his budget is under $100, the ti4200 available at techblowouts.com is a decent deal at $65. Personally I don't think that he'll want to blow $200 on a 9800Pro when his computer probably about that much right now. Even if he did, at that price range, the 6600GT is far superior.

 

Mord

macrumors G4

• Dec 21, 2004

• #6

i'd just steer clear of nvidea geforce 5x00 cards they all suck, compared to the ati equivilents as for the geforce 6 they are better for open gl stuff and ati cards are better for direct x.

you can get cards very cheaply, if you are going to get a budget card like a 5200 make sure you dont get a 64-bit memory one they suck harder than a geforce 2.

 

carlos700

macrumors 6502

• Dec 21, 2004

• #7

I recommend the ATI RADEON 9550 at newegg.com it's only $68.

It supports DirectX 9.0 whereas the RADEON 9200 does not.

Stay away from the NVIDIA GeForce FX 5000 Series, except the FX 5700