budget videocards questions

I'll start off from square one with my current system specs.

• P4 2.4 GHz w/ HT and 800 MHz bus
• Asus P4-800E Deluxe
• 512 MB Ram
• Windows XP professional
• Geforce 2 MX 200 (32mb w/ TV-out)

I'm actually content with my "old faithful" Geforce 2 MX. My only problem is that this coming November I'm switching Everquest to Everquest 2 and one of the system requirements is a "Pixel shader and vertex shader compatible hardware with 128MB of texture memory." The 128mb is recommended (64 required) but the pixel and vertex shader are required. I haven't played much of the current games (I'm more of an x-box guy and play older games like Red Alert 2, Homeworld, Quake III, and half-life).

I need a new vid card for EQ2, but I don't want to spend a lot of money on a high end vid card. Surprisingly, I haven't been keeping up with video cards lately (I used to know everything about the latest cards ). I read in another thread that I'm gonna have to spend at least $150 on a new card, but I don't want to spend more than $200 if possible. I almost remember that the early Geforce Fx cards suffered dramatically when using pixel shaders and stuff compared to the Radeon cards. Basically, I know that picking the right model of Geforce FX/Radeon is critical.

So to put it in a nutshell: I need a directx 9 video card with 128mb ram for around $200 if possible. I don't need specific manufacturer's products just Radeon or FX models I should look at that will perform decently for EQ2. Thanks in advance.

 

well now is a fine time to buy video cards if you're just lookin for a new 'old faithful'.

for around $100 you can get a GeForce FX5700 (make sure its NOT the LE version) or a Radeon 9600 pro (9600xt for $130).

those are currently the best budget cards. If you go a bit higher end, you have the Radeon 9800pro for around $180 as well as the GeForce FX5900XT. Both great cards that will play your game well.

if you are willing to wait a few weeks, an AGP8x version of the new GeForce 6600GT is coming out, which should be around $190-$200 and is supposed to be a fair bit better than the 5900XT, as it is part of the GeForce6 line of cards.

 

thanks. That's exactly what I needed. This is a little off base, but have PCI Express Video Cards come out yet? I'm just curious.

 

nevermind. One look at pricegrabber.com and my PCI express question was answered. thanks again for the help.

 

yes they are out (as you discovered), but the current lineup of PCI express cards have no performance gain over AGP8x versions, and are only there (in my eyes) so that people with an intel 925x chipset with a PCI-E motherboard can use them if they want to

 

yeah. and thanks again for the info. I'm looking it up in class while I'm "supposed" to be listening to my teacher's lecture. (it's a computer class so everyone is sitting in front of a comp)

 

If you are planning on buying Half-Life 2, (which you should since you like the first one, and because the sequel is going to meet and surpass expectations) a good deal is a Sapphire Radeon 9800 Pro w/ a Half-Life 2 coupon for $235 @ allstarshop.com.

http://www.allstarshop.com/shop/product.asp?pid=8648&sid=WUQBQ02PXLMB8KQJMVFEMH2VGTDN6QLC