Budget Graphics Cards

[Edify]

I'm looking to buy a video/graphics card which is probably less than, say 40-50 bucks. Do such things exist? I know gfx cards are an investment as you only need to buy them once, but man, I'm getting tired of my computer whirring up so much just to play low-end games like Subspace or Starcraft, and am looking for a budget alternative.

Some specs:
Intel P4 Processor 530 Hyper-Threading 3.0gHz, 800mHz FSB, 1MB L2 Cache
1 GB DDR Dual Channel Memory
200 GB SATA HD
Intel Media Graphics Accelerator 900 (sounds cool, eh? FALSE.)
PCI express slot

Uh yeah, so it's your decent machine except for the low-end graphics.

Things I need to take into consideration? Like power supply? The card having a built in fan? I don't really know.

[WuTang420]

you wont find a PCI-E card for that price sry

if you want to game much at all expect to spend between 100-150$ minimum

[Soul Survivor]

E B A Y

[Vatican Assassin]

NEWEGG.COM is the best place to get anything computer related, for video cards 50-75$ you can definately get a decent 256 or even 512 mb card, i have a 128 and it works fine for most any game except the brand new ones. try this link to get started...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...=%2450+-+%2475

[WuTang420]

wow wtf? prices have dropped like a mofo since i bought mine like 3 months ago

disregard my earlier post

[Pummel]

For that you can probably get something like 256 mb 8400 gs
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...nufacture=ASUS

[Ewan]

For that you can probably get something like 256 mb 8400 gs
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...nufacture=ASUS

... Which is hell of a lot worse than an older card such as the ATI X1650XT which is on Newegg for $5 more. Sure the 8400 might have "directx 10 support". But my 8800GTS struggles to run new games in DX10 mode, the 8400 has no chance.

http://www.overclock.net/graphics-ca...d-ranking.html has a compiled list of all but the most very recent cards listed by how "good" they are. It's quite a subjective and opinionated list, but many people have contributed so it should be fairly accurate.

Also, check out places like eBay cause the current range of mid-top end graphics cards are pretty cheap (for people on a mid-budget), meaning a lot of people are upgrading and selling their decent older cards at rock bottom prices.

Something to remember:
Midhigh - high end cards from one generation will generally be significantly better than a low end card from the next (and sometimes the next after that) generation. Prices don't always reflect this.

Anyway, happy shopping.

[Edify]

Thanks for the help, people. I'll keep my eyes open.

[Cops]

garbage can video cards you find on dumpster night when everyone throws out all their junk

[Edify]

mmmm free shipping this week

http://ascendtech.us/itemdesc.asp?ic...600PFV&eq=&Tp=

ATI RADEON 256MB X600 PRO PCIE VIDEO VGA, DUAL MONITOR SUPPORT
Howzat? Quite a bargain. Now, to pass this off as a requirement for homework.. j/k.

[Zingy]

If you don't plan on playing any "recent" games, the 8400gs would be an excellent choice since it'll still be able to play "older" games like Half-Life 2 quite well. Radeon X1650XT would probably have a little more raw 3D power, but there is another advantage the 8400gs has that older cards like the X1650XT do not have:

This advantage is that the 8400gs uses the PureVideo HD chip for video acceleration (such as mpeg-2, blu-ray, etc.) and this chip happens to be even better than the "PureVideo 2" chip on the 8800GTS and GTX. The PureVideo HD is the same chip that nvidia is putting on the other newer 8-series cards as well.

Evga Geforce 8400gs for $34.99 after rebate!
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130288)

I have an 8400gs in my HTPC and it's doing an excellent job (but then again I don't game on that pc). My main pc has an 8800GT which I absolutely love

[Ewan]

Yeah, I concede from what I have read about the 8400, it's a good card if you're planning on watching HD Video rather than gaming.