Need a suggestion on a inexpensive video card

[obmijyo]

I am looking to replace a video card that died on my computer. I have a borrowed one that works but not as well as Id like. My family and me play games like World of wacraft. The wife also plays Sims 3 etc on it as well. My current specs are:


Budget Range: (e.g.: 600-800) as cheap as possible, $50 to $100 max

System Usage from Most to Least Important: WOW, Sims 3, hide and seek type games.

Monitor Resolution: 1280x1024 for her, larger for me.

power supply is a APEVIA ICEBERG ATX-IB680W-BL 680W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI
system board is MSI P7N SLI-FI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
processor is a Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E7400 2.8GHz 1066MHz 3MB LGA775 CPU
memory is 2gb pc6400 ddr2 800mhz Patriot , 2x1gb sticks
current video card is a msi nvidia geforce 7100 gs w/512 mb ram
I am currently running windows XP.


I know.. not the best system out there but doing what i could with the cash i had. The video card that died was a http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150430&cm_re=xfx_1.5gb-_-14-150-430-_-Product and ran WOW great. Even in areas that normally caused low frame rates, I was still doing pretty good. Then the extra power connected died on it causing a short. Hence the borrowed card. Now in areas that I used to have no problems with, I am lucky to get 10 fps.

 

[jack_attack]

For 100, you're limited. This is 129.99, but comes to 99.99 after rebate. It's night and day compared to what you're running now. DX11, low power, and quiet.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161338&cm_re=5770-_-14-161-338-_-Product

 

[batuchka]

GTS 450 $90AR Free Ship?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125342

 

[jitpublisher]

^ That is the way I would go. The 450 has excellent performance/features for the price, and a great match for your system, which by the way is not all that bad.

 

[mdd1963]

some GTX460s are avail for as little as $150 after rebate... solid performers

 

[jack_attack]

I second the GTS450 as a choice too. They're scary close in performance too. Really, I'd wait for a killer deal on a GTX460 though if at all possible, those little puppies are great bang for the buck.

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

How about even something like a gt240 or ati 4670, then grab another gb or 2 of ram. Those cards would put you around the performance you had, but the ram could help you with faster loads and multitasking.

 

[ranij93]

The ATi 5770 is a really good card, but its around 130$ The GTS450 is abit slower but less expsnive too.. I'd grab a 5770

 

[obmijyo]

OK this might sound kind of stupid.. .but what is the difference between all the different video cards? Or does anyone have a link for a good explanation of what the difference between say the gts 450 and ATi 5770 and the other variants? At one time i ran across a list but that was months ago and for the life of me I cannot find it.

PS. as a stop gap my Step Dad got me a e-GeForce 8400 GS for Christmas.


Performance

NVIDIA 8400 GS
520 MHz GPU
8 Processing Cores
400 MHz RAMDAC

Memory
512 MB, 32 bit
600 MHz (effective)
2.12 GB/s Memory Bandwidth