# What is a good graphics card for $70-100
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-graphics-card-for-70-100/274104
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [November 10, 2004, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-graphics-card-for-70-100/274104 "2004-11-10T23:43:15Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)
#### Post date: [November 10, 2004, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-graphics-card-for-70-100/274104/1 "2004-11-10T23:43:15Z")
I have a GeForce 2 Titanium and I want to replace it soon. I usually just play counterstrike but I may also want to play Half Life 2 on my new card but that is not a necessity. Plus I just looked it up and it was said you don’t need a super system to run Half life 2.
Are the Geforce 4 TI 4800 or the GeForce FX 5700 256MB good cards? they run at about $80 each.
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### Author:  [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)
#### Post date: [November 10, 2004, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-graphics-card-for-70-100/274104/2 "2004-11-10T23:56:10Z")
Hubby suggest looking at ATI cards. He thinks one of the 9600 cards might be available for under $100. If you can go higher (like $200), get the 9600 XT.
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### Author:  [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)
#### Post date: [November 11, 2004, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-graphics-card-for-70-100/274104/3 "2004-11-11T00:44:43Z")
Yep there are several 9600s on pricewatch
$54 - RADEON 9600 SE 128MB
$91 - RADEON 9600 Pro 128MB
$85 - RADEON 9600 256MB
$47 - RADEON 9600 128MB
I’d rather stay a year or two behind the times and spend under $100 though. I remember a few years ago when I bought my titanium people were telling me to spend $300+ on new cards that are only worth $60 now.
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### Author:  [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)
#### Post date: [November 11, 2004, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-graphics-card-for-70-100/274104/4 "2004-11-11T01:56:26Z")
The 9600 is a year or two behind the times. The current gold standard is the X800.
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### Author:  [@Toddly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toddly)
#### Post date: [November 11, 2004, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-graphics-card-for-70-100/274104/5 "2004-11-11T02:09:53Z")
If you are buying through Pricewatch I would recommend that you check the reviews of the vendor before purchasing. I always check with [Reseller Ratings](http://resellerratings.com/) before using a new source. I would not fully trust the ratings in Pricewatch. I would urge you not to buy an SE version of the 9600 as well because they are not as good. You should consider spending a bit more for the 9800.
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### Author:  [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)
#### Post date: [November 11, 2004, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-graphics-card-for-70-100/274104/6 "2004-11-11T03:27:50Z")
> [@Wesley Clark](#):
>
> Yep there are several 9600s on pricewatch
>
> $54 - RADEON 9600 SE 128MB
> $91 - RADEON 9600 Pro 128MB
> $85 - RADEON 9600 256MB
> $47 - RADEON 9600 128MB
>
> I’d rather stay a year or two behind the times and spend under $100 though. I remember a few years ago when I bought my titanium people were telling me to spend $300+ on new cards that are only worth $60 now.
This is a “you get what you pay for” grouping. The 9600 Pro is a very nice card that will handle games including Half-Life 2.
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### Author:  [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)
#### Post date: [November 11, 2004, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-graphics-card-for-70-100/274104/7 "2004-11-11T14:08:51Z")
You can find some performance numbers [here](http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20041004/index.html). They tested a lot of cards including the 9600’s and comparable GeForce cards.
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### Author:  [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)
#### Post date: [November 11, 2004, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-graphics-card-for-70-100/274104/8 "2004-11-11T14:49:34Z")
Also with pricewatch, be very careful. When I was buying a new video card, I found that people advertised inferior cards inside of categories: if you weren’t careful, you’d end up getting a GeForce 5600 w/ 128 MB instead of the 5600SE with 256 MB that comprised the category.
But you may already know that.
Daniel