# Graphics card
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graphics-card/94758
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [November 22, 2001, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graphics-card/94758 "2001-11-22T12:57:42Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@thecolonist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thecolonist)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2001, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graphics-card/94758/1 "2001-11-22T12:57:42Z")
I am about to buy a 64MB AGP Graphics Card NVIDIA GeForce2 MX (ah, cut and paste) for £65. This seems cheap. Am I missing something? My knowledge in this area is limited. Also, is this card actually rubbish? It is an upgrade for my 16mb ATI one.
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### Author:  [@Stupendous\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stupendous_man)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2001, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graphics-card/94758/2 "2001-11-22T13:04:10Z")
I just checked out a local merchant’s website here in Canada, and I see 64 Meg GF2 MX400 for 119.00 CDN
It’s better than what you have now, but the best thing you can do is read some reviews on the card you want to buy. Do you know what manufacturer it is? If you do, you can use GOOGLE to find yourself a review of that particular card.
I have a GF2 GTS card by Asus and it’s terrific. If you can find/afford one of those, I recommend it!
What’s the name and model of the card you want? I can help you with the review finding.
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### Author:  [@thecolonist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thecolonist)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2001, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graphics-card/94758/3 "2001-11-22T13:07:38Z")
Hmm. Not sure. I thought NVIDIA was the make and GeForce 2 MX the model. Basically, it’s in a shop window up the road from my house. I saw the magic number 64 and thought it sounded great.
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### Author:  [@thecolonist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thecolonist)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2001, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graphics-card/94758/4 "2001-11-22T13:10:32Z")
It has a dinosaur on the box. Maybe that should warn me off?
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### Author:  [@Stupendous\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stupendous_man)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2001, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graphics-card/94758/5 "2001-11-22T13:52:22Z")
## Hmm… I can only find Geforce2 GTS with a dino on the box. Of course, box design has little to do with the card. Give the shop a call and ask what the make and model of the card is. I suspect it is a Leadtek board. Once we know, we can dive into reviews! 😉
Nvidia manufactures the graphics chip on the card, and Geforce2 MX is the type of chip it features. Several different manufacturers use this chip on various boards.
Some will put on extra featues (tv tuners, etc), or make the chip and memory run at different rates. SOme will be more or less expensive, based on these added features.
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### Author:  [@thecolonist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thecolonist)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2001, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graphics-card/94758/6 "2001-11-22T14:09:49Z")
It’s made by Chaintech, apparently. No TV out. MX400. Man in the shop sounds like he knows less than I do…
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### Author:  [@Astroglide](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroglide)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2001, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graphics-card/94758/7 "2001-11-22T14:13:45Z")
NVIDIA is who makes the chipset
GeForce is the series
MX is the version
They license out the name/tech to different manufacturers.
IIRC, MX is the bottom of about 3-5 different types of Geforce2 cards, none of which are bad cards in anyway.
The Geforce2 is on the way out, since the new Geforce3’s are out, hence the low price.
I have a Geforce3. It owns.
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### Author:  [@Stupendous\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stupendous_man)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2001, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graphics-card/94758/8 "2001-11-22T14:39:40Z")
Well, i discovered that the board is a model AGP-RIA4, bases on the information you submitted.
However, I am unable to find any reviews on this piece. Not even user reviews. Also, until you mentioned it, I had never heard of Chaintech.
I would recommend that you not buy this card unless it comes with a full money-back warranty from the store. When you get it home, run it through tests. Do Quake3 Timedemos. Run videos, play games like crazy, and see if you get crashing. DOn’t forget to install the new DetonatorXP driverstoo.
Personally, if I had the choice, I’d go for the Asus V7100 ([http://www.asus.com/products/Addon/Vga/agpv7100/spec.html](http://www.asus.com/products/Addon/Vga/agpv7100/spec.html))
Asus has a reputation for making terrific cards, and writing detailed manuals. But I don’t live in your section of the world, so that is unknown to me might be well known to your area.
Let us know what you chooose.
Cheers
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### Author:  [@geepee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/geepee)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2001, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graphics-card/94758/9 "2001-11-22T14:45:43Z")
Shop from [http://www.aria.co.uk](http://www.aria.co.uk) instead parts are decent and there are user reviews for most items anyway.
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### Author:  [@thecolonist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thecolonist)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2001, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graphics-card/94758/10 "2001-11-22T15:13:51Z")
Thanks for all your help. Stupendous Man, no, I had never heard of Chaintech either and thanks for the buying tip. Now, how do I go about overclocking my AMD 550Mhz Processor?
You know, some people think I know a lot about computers…
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### Author:  [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2001, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graphics-card/94758/11 "2001-11-22T21:16:12Z")
Price seems approximately correct.
Analogous card -
ChainTech GF2MX400
64 AGP NVIDIA GeForce2 MX400 chipset
Retail - NO TV out $85 [http://www.chaintech.com.tw/PRODUCTI/vgagp/RIA4.HTM](http://www.chaintech.com.tw/PRODUCTI/vgagp/RIA4.HTM)
Live Rates as of 2001.11.22 21:13:38 GMT.
85.00 USD = 60.2228 GBP