# Video card bargains **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 11, 2005, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-card-bargains/321112 "2005-09-11T17:01:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2005, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-card-bargains/321112/1 "2005-09-11T17:01:44Z")
I;ve lost touch with the video card updates and upgrades and so on, and I’m really just out of it now. What video cards are considered hot and not, and are there any quiet bargains on solid cards that will last for a few good years? I ask this because I’ve got a an ATI 9600SE, which just isn’t quite cutting it anymore (though she’s done a yeoman’s job so far). I’m an ATI fan, but I understand the Nvidia line has edged them out a bit. ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2005, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-card-bargains/321112/2 "2005-09-11T18:25:20Z")
Moved to IMHO. - **xash** General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Harmonix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Harmonix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonix)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2005, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-card-bargains/321112/3 "2005-09-11T19:31:10Z")
the nvidia 6600 GT PCI-E is the current best price(~140)/performance video card. There is an AGP version, but it’d be useless in any modern computer(as we are migrating to PCI-E). ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2005, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-card-bargains/321112/4 "2005-09-11T22:14:34Z")
> [@](#): > > but it’d be useless in any modern computer Since I have no PCI EXpress slot, the AGP version would be dandy for me. How does it stack up against the top-rated cards? ---
**Author:** ![Harmonix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Harmonix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonix)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2005, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-card-bargains/321112/5 "2005-09-11T22:34:41Z")
My point was that you won’t be able to use it when you upgrade the rest of your computer. Here are Tom’s VGA charts. [http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20050705/index.html](http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20050705/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2005, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-card-bargains/321112/6 "2005-09-11T23:48:53Z")
> [@](#): > > My point was that you won’t be able to use it when you upgrade the rest of your computer. Ah, but I don’t intend to do that for several years anyway, by which time it will probably be time to upgrade my card again. 2.2 Ghz might not feel like a lot, but I’ve never had any real troubles and don’t expect any more several more years. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-card-bargains/321112/7 "2005-09-12T03:51:52Z")
> [@Harmonix](#): > > the nvidia 6600 GT PCI-E is the current best price(~140)/performance video card. There is an AGP version, but it’d be useless in any modern computer(as we are migrating to PCI-E). That is the correct answer. A few days ago, I ordered an Albatron 6600GT PCI for a computer I’m upgrading. I looed at the offerings for quite a while, along eith the various reviews and benchmarks, and the 6600GT seems to hit the price/performance sweet spot. ---
**Author:** ![RandomLetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8edcca/32.png) [@RandomLetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandomLetters)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-card-bargains/321112/8 "2005-09-12T13:02:04Z")
You also might want to look at the mildly faster [Geforce 6800.](http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150106) $162 at Newegg, plus has a $20 mail-in rebate. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-card-bargains/321112/9 "2005-09-12T13:21:27Z")
Hmmm… thank you for the heads-up. I just may gt one of those. Sigh, now if I can get a job real job, I could buy ahe computer stuff I want\* - Note: I don’t want much. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-card-bargains/321112/10 "2005-09-15T04:00:37Z")
I got a catalog from JourneyEd and glancing through it I saw a listing of a couple different video cards in the engineering section. How would a card like [this one](http://www.journeyed.com/itemDetail.asp?T1=53536804N) work as a general purpose graphics/computer game card? ---
**Author:** ![Harmonix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Harmonix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonix)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-card-bargains/321112/11 "2005-09-15T04:23:41Z")
like crap. Quadro’s while based off the geforce line run significantly slower. They’re designed to be percise, not fast. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-card-bargains/321112/12 "2005-09-15T06:35:01Z")
I wasn’t really considering it. It more amused me than anything else. So, all my polygons and wireframes would look nice and pretty but take ten minutes to render each one? ---
**Author:** ![Harmonix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Harmonix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonix)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-card-bargains/321112/13 "2005-09-15T06:52:57Z")
Thats my understanding.