need a budget video card for a friend

[b-man1]

i want to get my friend a video card for his bday...and keep it at $75 or under....

i've checked newegg and there are way too many radeon cards to choose from! 7000, 7200, sdr/ddr...blah, blah....and then the gf2's as well.

any opinions on the stripped down radeon cards? there are 2 or 3 in the $50-ish range that look good...but i want opinions.

he is currently using a V3 3000 pci, so any will be a great improvement i'm sure. he games occasionally (UT mostly) and the V3 does a good job at low resolutions...but he just upgraded to an XP1600 so he deserves a little better than the V3.

thanks!

[FlyingPenguin]

Leadtek GF2 MX400 is nice for $65 or the Leadtek GF2 MX 200 for $45. No TV out on either unless you want to spend more.

Just do a search on Newegg for "geforce mx"

[b-man1]

thanks FP. so you say go for the gf2 mx's over any of the budget radeons?

[FlyingPenguin]

I'm biased. I don't like Radeons. Every one I've tried has been a dissapointment.

The Geforce line is a rock. Unless your friend is adamant about 2D visual quality (and if he's using a V3 now he's not - that GF2 will look at least as good as a V3) then he'll be very happy with a GF2 MX for that price range.

[sbp]

Radeon 7000 - 1 pipeline / 183MHz core / 183MHz 64-bit DDR-SDRAM (same as Radeon VE but no dual monitor)
Radeon 7200 - 2 pipelines / 166MHz core / 166MHz 128-bit SDRAM (same as Radeon SDR)

The Radeon 7000/VE is not a gaming card.
I would not get a GeForce 2 MX 200.

The cards curently available that stand out in your price range are:
ATI OEM RADEON 7200 64MB SDR $58.00
ATI Radeon 32MB DDR OEM $59.00
CardExpert GeForce2 MX 400 retail $65.00

[dadx2mj]

Go for a GeForce MX I have tried the budget Radeon and was very disapointed. Like FP said the nvidia cards are a rock with great driver support.

[b-man1]

thanks guys...i'll give the mx400 a shot.

[Sean]

I got the non-tv mx200. I bought it because I needed a video card and was low on cash... Works pretty well, in low resolutions... (LOL in the NASCAR 2002 Demo I was getting an average of 21fps.. guess that's what I'm used to, as the game looked fine to me... Has to be down to 10fps for me to notice it...CAN'T WAIT until I get my ti200!!)

[ji1831]

at newegg.com they sellin a geforce 2 gts-v 32meg ddr for 49$

[Jethro Bodine]

If I were getting this gift, I would want a Radeon 32DDR, a GF2 DDR, or a Kyro2.

I would make you eat a GF2 MX, explaining how they're no good for 32bit or resolutions over 8X6 while doing so....

My .02

Just kidding on the MX, but the DDR or tiler boards will stomp a mudhole in an MXs butt. I had a Radeon 32DDR for a bit, and it kicked ass. That is your best buy at this price point.

[FlyingPenguin]

NewEgg has a Geforce2 Titanium for $95. That's a nice card for the price.

[Bimmer318i]

ATI Radeon 32MB DDR OEM $59.00

at newegg.com they sellin a geforce 2 gts-v 32meg ddr for 49$

There's the 2 cards I'd be looking @ over an MX400, forget the MX200 or the Radeon VE or SDR

I think I'd go for the Radeon myself, although i run Nvidia cards all around, I've seen the difference in 2D quality.