Entry level graphics card

[theFijian]

I'm looking to beef up my system a bit and my first stop is to buy a graphics card to supercede the integrated chipset on the motherboard. I'm only looking to do fairly light gaming (Halo etc) and possibly some basic video editting. So the question is what are the best entry level graphics cards, I've been looking around recently and since I'm not up on the lingo it's all a bit baffling. Who generally make the best, nVidia, ATI, ANOther? I'd be looking to spend < £40 (approx < $80), all suggestions welcome!

I had looked at:
XFX nVidia GF FX5200, 256MB VGA and DVI
Inno3D GeForce 5200 128MB DDR AGP
Asus Nvidia 7300GS 256MB DVI VGA TV Out PCI-E
Innovision Geforce 7300LE 256MB DDR2 PCI-E
Dabs Value NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256MB DDR2 PCIE DVI TVO

 

[micro]

Well for $80 usd you can get about twice the performace card that you have listed above.

I assume that you have an agp card slot on your motherboard.If you have a pci-e slot, then you can get a lot better card for a lot less $. But if you purchased a boxed pc (dell, hp etc) Then you will be fortunate if you even have an agp slot.

Most of the name brands of video cards out there are good. If they wernt, they would no longer be in business.

Your video card doesnt have much if anything to do with video editing. What really makes a difference is your cpu and how many cores it is.

What to look for in a video card...
The bit rate is more important than how much on board ram your card has.
A newer chipset is also more important than the ram.
If you have a 19" or smaller monitor then you can get by just fin with 256-320 mb of ram. If you have a 20"= monitor, then 512 mb+ is strongly reccomended.

So if i were to buy an nvidea card. I would get a 6800 or a 7600 or better card (7800-8800). The 7300 is a very low end card.
In ati, i would get a x1600/x1650 pro or better (x1800-x1900). Dont get an x800 series as it has pixel shader 2.0 and there fore cant play a lot of newer games.

The dx10 cards which will help future proof your video card are all in the pci-e slot. but you can pick up a 8500-8600 series for under $100 usd. So if you can get a dx10 card. Even the slowest cheapest one will be ok.

 

[theFijian]

Thanks for the info. I've seen a Inno3D Nvidia® Geforce 8400 256MB PCI-E for £40 (approx $80) so I might go with that one. cheers!

 

[bunced]

Just before you buy, check you have a PCI-E slot rather than an AGP on your motherboard

 

[pgp_protector]

Just before you buy, check you have a PCI-E slot rather than an AGP on your motherboard

Ditto that.

 

[theFijian]

I checked and I have PCI slot. Cheers

 

[micro]

I checked and I have PCI slot. Cheers

A pci slot is neither agp, nor pci-e. Be careful.

A pci card slot is a slot that you install a dialup modem, lan card or sound card into etc. It is a very poor performance slot for a video card.And you are very limited to what cards you can even buy anymore for the pci slot.

A pci slot will not run a pci-e video card! I dont know if it was a misprint in your post, or if you truly only have pci slots on your motherboard.

 

[theFijian]

Oh aye, I meant PCI-E slot (although I do also have a PCI slot). I saw this card pretty cheap so I think I'll go for it: PNY GeForce 7300 LE

 

[cecillia321]

How do you think of ATI 7500 64 MB DDR PCI Graphics Card. The ALL-IN-WONDER family of cards delivers high-performance 3D and 2D graphics, as well as advanced multimedia features. Play games, watch TV or videos, listen to audio CDs, explore the Internet, and work in Windows as never before. You can use your ALL-IN-WONDER to connect your computer to a television. This feature is ideal for playing games, giving presentations, watching movies, and browsing the Internet. I think it's suitable for you to supercede the integrated chipset on the motherboard. A recent price is pretty low, just $60 instead of $185. Maybe you want to look up, click it to get the detail
http://www.dealstudio.com/searchdeals.php?deal_id=59838
Hope you like it

 

[Soul Searcher]

ATI 7500 64 MB is pretty weak by current standards