Lost in the video card world

[Skeletor]

Hi, I stopped playing graphics intensive games after Doom 3 and just recently got a new computer with a Radeon X300 128mb vid card, PCI-E. However, this card is worse than my Geforce 6800 128MB AGP I had on my old computer.

I haven't been keeping up with the video card world so what is the latest and greatest of both nvidia and ati cards? I'm looking for a card that will play games at decent framerates. PCI-E.

thanks.

[AirRaid]

Skeletor said:

I'm looking for a card that will play games at decent framerates.

Way to be vague. I'm gonna assuming you're talking about graphics intensive games that you mentioned earlier.

Before I say anything, I will say now is a kind of bad time to buy a graphics card, since there are new things on the horizon, such as DX10, which will shake things up. I wouldn't buy a new card til after Vista and DX10 are out, and the associated hardware is available. Otherwise you'll find yourself struggling with games like Crysis and the other really intensive stuff that's due soon(ish).

Having said that, Nvidia recently announced the 8800 GTX, which is a complete monster. But I don't think it's out yet, so that's immaterial.

And thinking about it, I can't recommend any card without having a price range. How much are you willing to spend? I could recommend a 7950GT 512MB, but if you couldn't afford it, what's the point?

[Bucket]

GeForce's0 8800 supports DX10 and should last you another 2 years. You might want to check news of a recall, though.

[caco_killer]

If you want a cheap upgrade, get a Radeon X1300 256 MB PCI Card. I have that on my computer and it works great.

[DarkSoul520]

Just got a Geforce 7300 LE for cheap and it runs pretty well.

[kristus]

The latest Nvidia card is the G80 (GeForce 8800GTX). It's not released yet, but it should come out soon.

[deathz0r]

I bought a 7600GS a week ago. I haven't tested it yet since I'm missing an important piece of my upgrade (a capable PSU), but I'm going to presume that it's a massive improvement over my 440 MX.

[kristus]

The AGP cards these days are so cheap that I am tempted to upgrade just for the sake of it being so cheap.

[Udderdude]

I got a Radeon x1600 Pro AGP for $150 Canadian. That's pretty damn cheap. And runs pretty good.

[Rotting Corpse]

Well, I have been using a Gforce 6800gt pci-e. Games like Doom3, FEAR and Far Cry run great with every thing set to high. They are cheap also so if you are looking for some thing cheap to hold you over tell DX10 and Vista this would be a great card.