Looking for a video card in the $100 - $200 range

May 6, 2006 8:23 PM

My laptop died today and I am in the market for a new computer. I am building my own system and am having trouble figuring out which video card to get. I want to spend between $100 and $200 for a PCI Express 16x card with DVI output.

I would like to think that I am fairly knowledgable about these things and have built several systems before. However, I am rather confused by the current video card market. Currently I am considering a GeForce 7600 GT for $180. A link to the specific card on NewEgg can be found here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130017

Is this a good deal for the money? Would a different brand or chipset be a better way to go?

On a related note, a new monitor is in the works as well. Current front runner is this 19" LCD:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustratingReview.asp?Item=N82E16824116355

Any thoughts on better deals in the same price range?

posted by Riemann to computers & internet (5 comments total)

Dell's 19" LCD is a little cheaper, but it may be easier for you to just order everything from NewEgg. If you don't need a monitor immediately, you might want to wait around a month or two until the larger dell monitors go on sale again, and get one of those.
posted by b1tr0t at 8:27 PM on May 6, 2006

What do you want to do with the vid card?

A 7600gt is a reasonable midrange card for 3d gaming that supports nearly all the latest visual effects, but isn't going to have the power to run the latest games that make much use of them at very high resolutions or framerates. I think some people think it's priced a bit high for the performance it offers, but with the rebate it looks reasonable.

eVGA is a good brand for NVidia cards, no need to look elsewhere.

If you aren't going to be doing 3d where framerates matter, you're better off going with a cheaper card, like a 7300gs, more maybe a fanless 6200.
posted by Good Brain at 10:59 PM on May 6, 2006

The 7600GT is fine if you play games. If you don't, then you should buy something much, much cheaper.

I'd suggest sticking with nVidia-based cards. ATI is pretty widely known for their buggy drivers. Generally the only reason to buy ATI is if you really need the extra couple of frames per second from their top-tier card, when they're wearing the performance crown. Otherwise if system stability is a factor it's worth sticking with nVidia.
posted by majick at 6:54 AM on May 7, 2006

The 7600GT is a fine card. Of course, if you aren't playing graphically intensive games, you'd only need a far cheaper card (maybe a Hauppauge with TV in and onboard video encoding).

BTW, eVGA is NVidia (other brands license the design from NV, eVGA is NV's retail arm).
posted by porpoise at 3:19 PM on May 7, 2006

Hauppage cards are pretty much all about MPEG video in and out. They don't make anything for general purpose display needs.
posted by Good Brain at 4:07 PM on May 7, 2006