need help buying a video card.

[rob3rt]

thanks guys for all your help so far. i'm going to the computer show this weekend to buy parts for 2 computers for some friends, but now i want to buy something for myself

i recently bought tribes2 and well it doesnt run well with my v3 2000 agp, so i think its time to upgrade

what do you guys recommend? i tried out my friends hercules gf2 MX but it still ran pretty slow. i guess the SDR rams were not enough. i was thinking about getting a 32mb GTS, but i'm not sure on the brand. what do you guys recommend?

system specs
P3 600@800
128mb ram (soon to be 256)
win2k
sb live
wd 20gig ata 66 7200rpm

unfortunately, my budget is only $150

 

[Rainsford]

Doesn't really matter. Go for a board from a respected company like Asus or you might end up with a useless pile of trash.

 

[NeoMadHatter]

might want to post this in the video forum, you'll get more replies. btw, the geforce 2 gts will work just fine. maybe the Kyro II. i hear they go for around $120s.

 

[Killer Ape]

Ditto on the GF2 being just fine. Don't spend extra for a Pro as most GF2s will OC to the Pro's 200/400 spec. I'd get a 64MB version if you can just for those really BIG texture games. Not sure about what's best for Tribes though... I definitely think an Ultra or GF3 is overkill unless you're really into benchmarking, bragging or blowing a lot of cash.

Also look at Radeon LEs (see Anand's article on hacking and OCing them to DDR performance). You might find one for $70 at a trade show and be pleasantly surprised .

 

[ledzepp98]

go to newegg (this page specifically) and go to the leadtek gf2 gts pro. it's not a real pro but it's in the middle between a gts and a real pro and for $138 shipped it's just what you need

 

[V]

Radeon LE 32mb is a very good video card. It is so cheap too. Have you tried overclocking you voodoo3 to get more performance?

 

[Killer Ape]

The V3 2000 will probably do 166, 183 max without adding a fan. No driver support, no 32 bit color, 16 MB SDR, mediocre OpenGL performance...I'd say spend the cash for a new card.

 

[ledzepp98]

to your credit, rob3rt, at least you are upgrading because your current vid card can't handle a games you want to play...rather than upgrading to get a better 3dmark score

 

[splice]

I have the Leadtek WinFast GeForce2 GTS 32MB... it's pretty damn sweet. I also bought a Prophet 4500 based on the Kryo 2 chip... it's a pretty nice card too.. esp. for the price.

 

[Hobbzilla]

I have the Radeon LE with hyperZ enabled & stable @182/182. Works like a champ (especially for $78 shipped -newegg).