HELP! What's the best Vid Card?

geminiguy

Distinguished
Oct 8, 2001
116
0
18,680
I have been doing my research, but coming up short. I just got a PowerColor Nvidia GFII MX 200 (64mb), I never heard of the company. I paid $69 for it, but my games are still choppy/blocky when playing them. The movie sequences are not running smooth at all and lines are in the screen. I have updated the drivers and have tried every resolution. GGrrr! I wanted to know what is the best card for the $$ out on the market for good gaming/all around. Has anyone tried the Asus? Any help would be greatly apprecited.
 

AMD_Man

Splendid
Jul 3, 2001
7,376
2
25,780
The MX-200 is the worst possible graphics card you can buy today! Return it now and get a Geforce2 MX-400 at least or even better a GeForce 2 GTS or Pro.

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the <b>ULTIMATE</b> PC processor
 

geminiguy

Distinguished
Oct 8, 2001
116
0
18,680
Thanks AMD_Man, is there one better than the other? I know one bud that has an ASUS and loves it, but I can't afford one of those right now. Any suggestions on a good reliable brand, besides NVidia?
 

AMD_Man

Splendid
Jul 3, 2001
7,376
2
25,780
The Asus v7100 Pro is fast but very cheap. About $90 for the 32MB version. A little over $100 for the 64MB version. It's based on an enhanced version of the GeForce2 MX-400. It comes with very fast RAM that should work very smoothly with most games.

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the <b>ULTIMATE</b> PC processor
 

geminiguy

Distinguished
Oct 8, 2001
116
0
18,680
Thanks for the advice. I'm going to bring that other one back. What is the dif on a GTS and PRO though? Which one would be best?
I called a few places and nobody carries any Asus in my area...ggrr.
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Geminiguy on 10/08/01 10:55 AM.</EM></FONT></P>
 

AMD_Man

Splendid
Jul 3, 2001
7,376
2
25,780
The GeForce2 Pro is an enhanced version of the GeForce2 GTS with slightly faster memory. So the GeForce2 Pro is slightly faster overall than the GTS.

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the <b>ULTIMATE</b> PC processor
 

AMD_Man

Splendid
Jul 3, 2001
7,376
2
25,780
The GeForce2 Pro is an enhanced version of the GeForce2 GTS with slightly faster memory. So the GeForce2 Pro is slightly faster overall than the GTS.

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the <b>ULTIMATE</b> PC processor
 

SerArthurDayne

Distinguished
Jan 21, 2001
344
0
18,780
Actually, The GPU is the same for the GTS and Pro - the Pro just has a faster core and memory setting.

Gemini, as far as buying one of these cards, I don't think you're going to be able to find the one you want at the price you want at anywhere local. You'll most likely have to purchase it online to get a decent price. I walked in to BestBuy a few weeks ago and saw a G2 MX 200 PCI card for something like a hundred dollars - I almost puked on the spot :D

For a hundred dollars including shipping you should be able to get a GTS. For no more than 120 you should be able to get a Pro.

I wouldn't worry about the brand names too much - the performance differences between brands are generally moot at the same core and memory settings.

"Laziness is a talent to be cultivated like any other" - Walter Slovotsky
 

Crashman

Polypheme
Former Staff
YOu should buy online. Check out newegg.com. The MX400 is 50-80% better than the MX200.

The Radeon LE is the best cheap card and performs a little better than the MX400.

The next better is the GeForce2 GTS, followed by the Pro.

The Radeon 64MB VIVO is about the same price and close to the same performance but has more features.

The GeForce2 Ultra is awesome, it has the fastest memory, but you can get a special version of the Pro with the same speed memory for much cheaper (I think Gainward makes it). That special version of the Pro that almost matches the Ultra is going for around $140.

The next up in performance is the GeForce 3.

The Radeon 8500 outperforms the GeForce 3 in the latest benchmarks, includes more Direct X 8 features, and goes for around $250.

The GeForce 3 TI500 is the most expensive card on the market and might beet the Radeon 8500 on a good day.

Getting back to what you already have, the MX200 performs so poorly that I actually beet one with a TNT2 card, not even a TNT2U. The reason is that all GeForce 2 cards are limmited by their memory. The MX200 has only a 64-bit memory path to 6ns memory. The elderly TNT2 card has a 128-bit path to 6ns memory. So the TNT2 has twice the memory performance, hence the higher scores in my test. And no, I'm not refering to the similarly castrated TNT2 M64 which suffers from the same fate as the MX200 but with a slower chip.

Back to you Tom...
 

SerArthurDayne

Distinguished
Jan 21, 2001
344
0
18,780
Hrmm... I would adjust Crashy's placements just a smidgen ;) If necessary, I can provide links to benchmarks that will substantiate my conclusions :D

The Ge2 MX 400 and the Radeon LE perform almost identically. In 16bit, the MX will outperform the LE as well as the Radeon DDR in many cases. Hell, any Geforce card will destroy anything in 16bit. However, since everybody probably uses 32bit color anyway, I'll concede that the point is moot. In 32bit color and most resolutions, the MX and the LE are for all purposes equal - however, with the LE you can easily enable Hyper Z and boost your scores substantially, making it the better buy.

If you have 15 or 20 dollars more to spend, the next best bet is the Geforce 2 GTS. This card blows away the MX400 and the Radeon LE, and it performs on par with or better than the Radeon DDR in 16bit/32bit color except in insanely high resolutions - that is unless ATI sneaked in another core/clock increase and I didn't know :D

The Geforce2 Pro, at another 20 dollars bumped up, is also a great buy and pretty much guaranteed to beat the Radeon in everything while costing quite a bit less. If you're an image quality freak, you'll want the Radeon no matter what. Personally, I don't see much difference in image quality between Nvidia and ATI, but then again, I know people who can't distinguish between 60hz and 85hz refresh rates.

If you're looking at the low end spectrum, you probably don't even care about the Ultra, Ge3, or Radeon 8500's. If you can't afford a GTS, the MX400 or Radeon LE are your best bet. If you don't mind tinkering with your card's settings, the LE is the better buy.

"Laziness is a talent to be cultivated like any other" - Walter Slovotsky