very cheap video cards

WhiteFireDragon

WhiteFireDragon

New Member
i just got a new maximus II formula, and i cant test out all the tweak options yet because it doesn't have onboard video. my 7900gt is not available at the moment, so can someone recommend a video card under $30 from newegg? i wont be gaming on it or anything, i just need a display until i can go home and get my 7900gt. i dont keep up on old technology so i dont know anything below 7900gt for nvidia and HD3000 for ati (or how much they are really worth). here are my picks only based on core and memory clocks:

1) Radeon X1550 256MB $27 ($17 after rebate)
2) Radeon HD 3450 256MB $30 ($20 after rebate)
3) GeForce 7100GS 128MB $20
4) Radeon X1550 Support up to 512MB $26 ($16 after rebate)

if anyone know of any cards that are better for the money, please let me know! OR, if anyone has a cheezy outdated card that still works, i'll buy it off you also, even if it has like 2mb of memory. thanks!
 
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ah that's a good one too. but is the price difference worth it over all the other cards that are under $20 after rebate? and the asus HD3450 has pci-e 2.0 so does that mean it's newer than that saphire x1650?
 
yes, but I don't think pci-e 2.0 would mean such difference in performance right now,.....my vote goes for the HD3450
 
The 1650 would murder the other cards in a gaming environment. The other cards might perform better with HD acceleration, not sure. If you're not gaming or HD'ing, the cheapest is the best.

The 3450 is newer, hence the better HD acceleration, but it isn't more powerful.
 
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If it just a temporary solution it doesn't really matter to much. Just go with the cheapest on you can find. I'm all for the 3450, if your lucky there might be a copy of power DVD in there.
 
i'm having a hard time differentiating between HD acceleration and 3D rendering. does better HD acceleration mean image quality will be better when watching 2D movies vai HDMI cable to the monitor?

most likely, i'll just give this card to my little bro who plays WoW (world of warcraft) and watches youtube a lot. 3D rendering will be for WoW and the youtube will be for regular movie clips? for these applications, which card will be better between the HD3450 and x1650pro?
 
IQ, theoretical load, probably a couple other esoteric things. HD accel. really only applies to HD content, obviously. I did a quick check, the x1650pro does not actually have HD accel. but it does have a SD accel.

If you're giving it to your bro for wow and youtube, the x1650pro would be best and, for $10 extra, it's not gonna break the bank (any further than it is already :P).
 
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