Getting the upgrade itch again.

Here's my current situation. I had to pull my ram and send it back to OCZ under warranty.
Now my system is basically down until I get it back.

I just put a few upgrades into my system, but in another thread, I was kind of told that my new video card was a little on the wimpy side, so to speak. Not those exact words, but I read between the lines.
No offense taken either way.

Here's what I currently have: ASUS EN8400GS SILENT/HTP/256M 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express

My system is comprised of these components:

Azza Orion case
MSI - Micro Star International K9N6PGM2-V MCP61 AM2+ mATX Motherboard
AMD AMD® Boxed Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 6000+
Western Digital Caviar SE 160GB 7,200RPM Serial ATA-300 Hard Drive OEM
Antec Basiq 500 Watt ATX 12V Power Supply
OCZ Technology Vista Performance 4GB DDR2-800 (PC-6400) DIMM Memory Kit (Two 2GB Memory Modules)
(2) Samsung 22x DVD±RW Burner with Dual/Double Layer Support OEM
Visiontek TV Wonder HD 650 tv tuner card
Logisys 5.25" Full Color Thermal/Clock Control Panel fan controller
(2)Thermaltake 120mm case fans

When I get my ram back and get up and running, I will reinstall Windows 7.


My demands on my system are not that heavy, so a "lightweight" video card would probably due.
However, since I won't be the only one using my system, I want to juice it up a bit. Would rather have too much, than not enough.

Is it possible to get a decent video card under $100?
Hope I didn't leave any important details out.

 

Is this card any good?
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4942565&CatId=3670

 

You can get better, that is a good upgrade but this is better,

From ATI - 4850

OR 5670 If DX11 is must.

From Nvidia - For a tab more, but you wont regret, 9800GTX+

OR

For under $100 - 9800 GT

The 5870 would be my choice.

 

How about this one?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150396

The $100 was an absolute max, but I'd rather stay more towards $50 to $75.

I don't plan on playing any really intense games, but want a little better than what I currently have.

 

You will not be disappointed: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133291&cm_re=8800GT-_-14-133-291-_-Product

BTW, in my opinion nVidia are better performance per $ wise.

 

Thanks for the suggestions, but I'm really looking for opinions on the ones that I picked out.

Trying to keep the cost down to about to $60 max.

Not a necessity, more of a upgrade over what I already have.

 

I'm looking to pull the trigger this evening. Does anyone have any opinions about my 2nd choice, or possibly suggest another card in the under $65 range?

 

i don't really know what you want us to say here, but yeh i suppose that card is ok. Rather average infact, but i suppose its your PC at the end of the day.

 

Thanks for the input. I guess cost ended up being more of a factor at the moment. I was just looking to step up from what I currently have and not having to spend $100.

I can put a card in now and if a few months down the road, I find that it isn't beefy enough, I will replace it and put that into a spare unit.

Either way, I ended up going with this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150322
Talked with a friend that has this card and for the games that he plays, he likes it.

 

You'll notice improvement over the 8400. The 9500 has 128bit bus vrs 64 bit with a 1Ghz memory clock speed(vrs 800Mhz) and a memory transfer rate of 16 Gb/sec vrs 6 Gb/sec. So for some average gaming you should be OK. Will also help the Win 7 Aero effects.

Sam

 

Thanks Sam. I probably should have clarified that I rarely play any games and really just wanted something a little better than what I already have.
I have a flight simulator and it seemed to work fine off of the onboard video.

I figured that any video card would be an improvement over onboard.

The 1st one probably would have been fine, but I may get into possibly another game and just wanted to be sure that it would be able to handle it.

I'll never be a "gamer" and it's safe to say that there will be no GTA or WOW going on in my future.

My 1st video game experience was Pong. Pac Man was high tech and when I got to Asteroids, I thought that life couldn't get any better.

I appreciate all the help you young-uns offered up. Now off to the icebox for my prune juice. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v713/b44t/starac.gif

 

The 9500GT is a significant improvement over onboard!

It should handle Win 7 Aero no problem.

 

Thanks. I actually got the card today. Now I just have to wait to get my Ram back from OCZ.
I bought it the video card online Tuesday morning and had it in my hands Wednesday.
This is my 1st time buying from NewEgg, but it won't be my last.
I'm just getting into gaming and my 1st new adventure will be Batman Arkham Asylum.

I saw previews for it before it came out and have seen it in action and it looks like something that I could definitely like to try for myself.

Thanks to all and sorry if I seemed like a pain in the keester.

 

Although i don't use it myself, i have heard lots of good reviews of newegg, just one thing, don't expect blistering frame rates with that card on batman, to make it play the best, disable all AA features, and maybe turn down some texture stetting etc.