$200 video card

kainpendragon

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Sep 2006

Hi everyone I am looking to upgrade my video card but my budget is $200. Not sure what I should get I used to get ATi all the time but, my mother board do SLI so I would want to go with a NVIDIA card. Problem is they all confuse me with the KO, GT, GX, GO not to mention the 10 companies that make there cards. Can Tell me what the differences in there cards I looked on new egg specs and on a lot of them I don't many differences. Any recommendation on one that about 200 that Sli ready so I can get another later???

Ghozer

Ghozer

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Apr 2005

Sheffield, England, UK

Super Cute And Fluffy [scF]

E/

spend 150 on an ATI x1800 or something, and spend the other 50 on a CrossFire Motherboard, and go for ATI and Cross Fire, get a second card later

kainpendragon

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Sep 2006

replaceing the board is not really an option it $200 with raid 5 in it and i am useing the raid 5. I don't trust the cross fire boards just yet there only a few models of them and the techlogy is to new. I would wait till at least two more models come out before i get a cross fire board. I read a lot of bad reviews on them crashing and just coming in DOA. The reviews are starting to get better on the 150 cross fire boards.

kvndoom

kvndoom

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jul 2005

Communistwealth of Virginia

Uninstalled

W/Mo

Get the 7900GS. Very, very close in performance to the 7900GT, but only 200$. If I didn't already have a 7900GT (bangs head against wall), I'd grab one of these puppies in a heartbeat.

Mushroom

Mushroom

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Aug 2006

Alabama

At the moment, I recommend that people spend no more then around $100 for a video card. And if possible, wait until the end of the year or early next year.

By next month, the newer generation of video cards will be released. These will be DirectX 10 capable, something which none of the current cards are.

This is the biggest reason why the prices are dropping now. The X1800 was a $400 video card just a few months ago. But now you can pick them up for around $120-150. ATI and NVidia are both dumping their older processors, before they are made worthless by the new generation.

So either live with what you get, or buy a "budget card" for the next few months. Because if you can wait 2-3 months, you will probably be able to get a DirectX 10 card that is much better for the same price.