What is the best graphics card for around $150?

I'd think you'd probably be best off looking around for a x1950 pro 512Mb card for that price.

20 bucks more would get you a 256Mb 3850 which is ARGUABLY better.

Personally I'd take the x1950 and the extra RAM onboard.

You have $150. Can you wait longer and save another $150? Wait a while longer and save up to $330. You need to save about $330. Then, go looking around for a BFG 8800GTS with 512 RAM. But first make sure you have a PCIexpress capable motherboard.

quote:

Originally posted by Saloei:
You have $150. Can you wait longer and save another $150? Wait a while longer and save up to $330. You need to save about $330. Then, go looking around for a BFG 8800GTS with 512 RAM. But first make sure you have a PCIexpress capable motherboard.

330 for a 8800 GTS when you can easily spend 225 for the 8800 GT 512mb?

At any rate, w/o knowing the specs of your pc, your question is a little vague because if you have an AGP slot, you will not be doing much spending 150 bucks on any card. the same can be said for your CPU, PSU, etc, etc.

Processor: AMD's Athlon 64 X2 5600+ dual-core processor
Hard Drive: 400 GB Serial ATA
Memory: The 3 GB RAM
OS: Windows Vista Home Premium


it says that I have one PCI Express x1 slot (available), one PCI Express x16 slot (available).

what type of video card would I need? I guess PCI E?

what is the difference between the video cards here

http://computers.pricegrabber.com/video-cards/p/5/form_.../mode=g_us_b_s/skd=1

^ Some are slightly more crappier then the others?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102717

Check out this link:

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/graphics-cards-gaming,review-29792.html

$150 will get you low end graphics gameplay on any of the games right now, close to med tops (if you are lucky!) on some low on GRAW, GRAW 2 and Vegas. having Vista isn't helping your cause any either.

Spend a little more and get yourself the 8800GT 512MB.

quote:

GeForce 8800 GT
Codename: G92
Process: 65nm
Universal Shaders: 112
Texture Units: 56
ROPs: 16
Memory Bus: 256-bit
Core Speed MHz: 600
Memory Speed MHz: 900 (1800 effective)
DirectX / Shader Model DX 10 / SM 4.0

The 8800 GT offers incredible Geforce 8800 GTX-class performance at almost half the price. It beats the Radeon 3870 by a notable margin, so if you have £170 to spend on a graphics card, you can’t be better served than with a nice 8800 GT.

Check the Core & Memory Speeds between the 8800 gt and the ones you want to buy and you'll see why is better to pay a little more.

This is what I bought a few months ago when I was looking for an upgrade and gave myself the same budget you're working with.

http://www.pcworld.com/product/specs/id,29517/ati_radeon_x1950_pro.html

However, now the 256MB ATI Radeon HD 3850 is a better value for the same money.. I believe.

What you need to do is use search for video card reviews and comparison charts so that you can see how these cards really compare to one another.

Like this:
http://www.custompc.co.uk/news/601641/ati-radeon-hd-385...enchmarks/page1.html

Also, www.tomshardware.com has some VGA charts that are useful.

Like this one here:
http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_2007.html?modelx...odel2=1061&chart=318

And keep in mind that your PSU (power supply unit) has to be up to the task as well. The X1950 Pro I bought said it required a 400Watt PSU minimum but my 350Watt seems to be doing the job just fine.

Syfer brings up a very good point. You need to have a PSU that can handle the new video card. Most OEM PCs do not have such great power supply units and cannot be upgraded. If you have a custom built PC that can have the PSU upgraded, you stand a good chance of being able to use a newer video card.

Doesnt the GT require PCI-E 2.0 slot?