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Low Budget Graphics
thewasp31 - Apr 4, 2004
  thewasp31 Apr 4, 2004
I am planning on buying a graphics card for a computer, for only about £30-£40.

The main group I seem to find are Radeon 7000 and Geforce 4, the two card I am looking at are below

Sparkle GeForce 4 MX440 64MB PCI TV Out...

And

Sapphire Radeon 7000 64MB DDR PCI,ATI7000,DVI-I,TV...

Could anyone advise me which one I should choose? Or does anyone know of better cards for my price range in a uk store or website?

The cards would just be used to play games like Vice City and Command and Conquer, they won't play beasts such as Unreal 2004 or Doom3. The spec of the PC is: 2.3Ghz, 512MB Ram, it does not have any AGP slots.

Thanks for your time people

 IceDigger Apr 4, 2004
Even though I am an ATI fan out of the choices you give I would pick the geforce over the 7000.

 thewasp31 Apr 4, 2004
Looking at a few websites my budget my squeeze to a 9200SE, are they any good?

 IceDigger Apr 4, 2004
The 9200se is better then those 2 you listed. If you can go with the regular 9200 then its MUCH better then the se version.

 thewasp31 Apr 4, 2004
Do you know a website where i could get a regular 9200 for £40?

 IceDigger Apr 4, 2004
Only in the US. I don't know the U.K. market.

 Alexvrb Apr 4, 2004
Same here, I can find good deals online... but in the US. I can however make suggestions on what to look for. If you can't find a non-SE 9200, get a GF FX 5200. I am normally no fan of them, but they come in 64 and 128-bit versions even for their PCI models. Even the cheaper 64-bit versions of the FX 5200 will beat a 9200SE, and a 128-bit version would actually be a tolerable performer. It should actually run UT 2004 fairly well.

Edit: I found a couple of UK price search engines. You guys have to shell out some pretty big bucks. Looks like 5200s are expensive over there, just get a 9200SE. That's all I could find in your price range. You can try and find sites via pricewatch.co.uk... or bit-tech.computerprices.co.uk....

 it290 Apr 4, 2004

  
	
	

		
		

			The spec of the PC is: 2.3Ghz, 512MB Ram, it does not have any AGP slots.


Intel graphics onboard? Hmm, well, I don't know how your performance is going to be without AGP, but I've run Vice City on an AGP GF4MX before and it didn't run too well. Acceptable at lower resolutions, but really I think you want at least a GF3-class card to play that game well. The 9200SE might be OK, but I wouldn't count on it if you're using PCI.


  
	
	

		
		

			I am normally no fan of them, but they come in 64 and 128-bit versions even for their PCI models. Even the cheaper 64-bit versions of the FX 5200 will beat a 9200SE, and a 128-bit version would actually be a tolerable performer. It should actually run UT 2004 fairly well.


Dosn't UT2004 require AGP? Or is that just the linux version?

 Alexvrb Apr 4, 2004

  
	
	

		
		

			Originally posted by it290@Apr 4, 2004 @ 07:04 PM



 Dosn't UT2004 require AGP? Or is that just the linux version?


Why would it? Load the compressed textures. Keep them onboard. Just don't go over your onboard memory, and you won't have to attempt to move jackloads of data over the PCI bus. Anyway, as I said when I edited my post, it looks like 5200s are outrageously expensive over there, as many pounds as I would pay in dollars almost. The only thing in his price range is a 9200SE, which honestly isn't bad when compared to IEG onboard or MX-class cards.

 it290 Apr 4, 2004
I dunno, but I'm fairly certain that the Linux version does. That might just have something to do with the way the Nvidia and ATi GLX drivers are built though.

 Tagrineth Apr 4, 2004
Don't get a GeForce FX5200.

If you want nVidia, go with a GeForce4MX440 or higher.

ATi, don't go below a 9x00.

 Curtis Apr 4, 2004
Why not the 5200? Surely it outperforms the MX440 - a glorified GF2MX 400 IIRC.

 it290 Apr 4, 2004
Yes, the 5200 is faster than the MX440.. not by a huge margin, but still faster.

 thewasp31 Apr 5, 2004
Ok, is there any US websites that would ship to the UK? And not charge insane p&p prices?

Also my Intel Onboard Graphics Card handles Vice city pretty well considering, but other game like command & conquer don't. Please remember I only have a budget of £30-£40 on this, and I won't be playing any of the new resourse hungry games, its because of so many upgrades I switched back to consoles for new games.

 mal Apr 5, 2004
Personally I'd suggest eBay.

 thewasp31 Apr 5, 2004
I did, but talk about lack of pci cards.

Also which would be better then? A geforce 4, FX5200, or 9200SE?

 thewasp31 Apr 5, 2004
Just to let u all know, I ended up buy a Geforce FX5200 (PCI) 128MB DDR & TV-Out for £35.

 Alexvrb Apr 8, 2004

  
	
	

		
		

			Originally posted by thewasp31@Apr 5, 2004 @ 06:27 PM



 Just to let u all know, I ended up buy a Geforce FX5200 (PCI) 128MB DDR & TV-Out for £35.


That's not bad, that should do well for you.