Recommendations for cheap upgrade of IGP

[dpritcht]

I would like to upgrade my IGP (GEForce4 MX) on my Soltek SL-75MRN-L motherboard. I have an Athlon 2500+ non-overclocked CPU. I typically play games like Simcity 4, Medal of Honor, Civilization, golf games, etc. and would like a fairly cheap ($50-75) upgrade. (1) For this money, am I going to see a very noticeable difference? (2) What cards would you recommend? Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[cleeve]

For $75 you should be able to find a Geforce4 Ti4200 or maybe a Radeon 9600 non-pro.

Yeah, you'd see a big difference, but probably only in Medal of Honor... Simcity, Civilization, & Golf games won't be as much of a bump. (Maybe newer golf games).

P.S. Never buy a Radeon 9600SE.

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<b>Radeon <font color=red>9500 PRO</b></font color=red> <i>(hardmodded 9500, o/c 322/322)</i>
<b>AthlonXP <font color=red>~2600+</b></font color=red> <i>(o/c 2400+ w/143Mhz fsb)</i>
<b>3dMark03: <font color=red>4,055</b></font color=red>

 

[Slava]

Amen to that. You can get a refurb Geforce4 Ti-4200 at www.newegg.com for $60 and no shipping charge. Finding a brand new one may be difficult.

 

[dpritcht]

I'm not too sure about a refurb. If you had a second choice, what would you go with? BTW - I should stop reading these posts...pretty soon I'm going to end up with a Radeon 9800 pro...

 

[Slava]

Cleeve said it right in the post above. If you manage to find either one of the cards he mentions for $75 in a retail box - by all means go for it. But I suggest you check return policy on refurbs at newegg.com. I am pretty confident that it is the same as on brand new items which means that if there is anything wrong with the refurb card you receive you will have 30 days to replace it - no questions asked and no cost to you. Also search for both of these cards on amazon.com and pricewatch.com just be careful not to buy from an obscure online vendor via pricewatch ... I would go with newegg.com

 

[Spitfire_x86]

Get a GeForce4 Ti4200

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[Slava]

Yeah. Ti-4200 is probably a better choice.

 

[Slava]

Isn't 9600 like time-and-a-half/double the price of Ti-4200?

 

[Spitfire_x86]

R9600NP sux.

- inferior price/performance ratio
- inferior DX8 performance
- not fast enough for DX9 games

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