What are the good Video Cards?

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robtgekko

What are the good Video Cards? (By brand and model)

OK, I know this is one of those questions that are answered based on
opinions and personal preferences, as well as facts. Anyhow, I am
just looking into getting a better card than the onboard one I have
now. I'm not a gamer, but I do like to view my dig. camera photos on
the screen, and run photo editing software, plus watch some of the
online movies like on "youtube.com". I want the AGP type of card,
unless there is a PCI card that is better (probably not). I dont want
to spend a fortune, but want something with a little "punch". I keep
seeing Geforce as one of those mentioned on here. Years ago, Diamond
seemed to be popular, as well as the ATI Rage cards, but this seems to
change as fast as the weather.

Bob
 
Go to newwegg.com and search by ratings/price. Lots of good ones. Forget the
brand, as they change the chipset very often....
 
What are the good Video Cards? (By brand and model)

OK, I know this is one of those questions that are answered based on
opinions and personal preferences, as well as facts. Anyhow, I am
just looking into getting a better card than the onboard one I have
now. I'm not a gamer, but I do like to view my dig. camera photos on
the screen, and run photo editing software, plus watch some of the
online movies like on "youtube.com". I want the AGP type of card,
unless there is a PCI card that is better (probably not). I dont want
to spend a fortune, but want something with a little "punch". I keep
seeing Geforce as one of those mentioned on here. Years ago, Diamond
seemed to be popular, as well as the ATI Rage cards, but this seems to
change as fast as the weather.
Click to expand...
Get an Ati x1300 its a good buy.
 
Basically, there is only one all-around good video card.
That is the nVidia 7900 GTO .. sold by either BFG
or eVGA ( and I'm not kidding about any other vendor
.... don't mess with them. They will send you a broken
refurb ... XFX being a prime example ). The GTO is
plenty fast, without a big heat problem. The 7950 GTO
is a shade better, but it is a toss up in games. Cost
is the deciding factor there. I think the 7950 is a bit
more noisy, but you should put a better fan on both.
I use the Zalman spec'd for it. None of the ATI cards
run HDR well. If anything, they run HDR terrible, and
that means they also don't run the latest shaders
either. Frankly, that is just not worth the hassle to
find work-arounds. The nVidia 8800s are overpriced
right now, and the one I tested could not beat the
7950 GTO in any benchmark. If you are considering
buying an AGP card of any kind, you need to update
your attitude about 5 years or so. Even the crappiest
picture editors want to work with a pci-e card, and
need the speed.

johns
 
Basically, there is only one all-around good video card.
That is the nVidia 7900 GTO .. sold by either BFG
or eVGA ( and I'm not kidding about any other vendor
... don't mess with them. They will send you a broken
refurb ... XFX being a prime example ). The GTO is
plenty fast, without a big heat problem. The 7950 GTO
is a shade better, but it is a toss up in games. Cost
is the deciding factor there. I think the 7950 is a bit
more noisy, but you should put a better fan on both.
I use the Zalman spec'd for it. None of the ATI cards
run HDR well. If anything, they run HDR terrible, and
that means they also don't run the latest shaders
either. Frankly, that is just not worth the hassle to
find work-arounds. The nVidia 8800s are overpriced
right now, and the one I tested could not beat the
7950 GTO in any benchmark. If you are considering
buying an AGP card of any kind, you need to update
your attitude about 5 years or so. Even the crappiest
picture editors want to work with a pci-e card, and
need the speed.

johns
Click to expand...

PCI-E card?????

Is that something that plugs into a regular PCI card or do they have a
new slot again? I have notr dealt with any of the motherboards in the
past few years. I thought that AGP was the latest and fastest, and
PCI was a thing of the past. They change this stuff so damn fast that
no one can not keep up anymore. I just looked at some new computers
at Walmart. I will never buy a computer, I always build my own, but I
was just wasting some time while the wife looked at clothing (boring).
Heck, these lastest computers dont even look like computers anymore.
They have these oddball push button bay doors that open to install
extra drives. How the heck they work is beyond me. It looks like
they are a slide in drive or something. They have some odd looking
plug on the rear. None even have a floppy drive anymore. Personally
I'll stick to the old standard cases. I think they all come with
Vista, and I'll pass on that too. Come to think of it, I dont think
I'd even want a new factory made computer.
 
johns said:
Basically, there is only one all-around good video card. That is the
nVidia 7900 GTO ..
Click to expand...

But seriously.
sold by either BFG or eVGA ( and I'm not kidding about any other
vendor ... don't mess with them. They will send you a broken refurb
... XFX being a prime example ).
Click to expand...

I had a GeForce XFX video card that served me gamer well for
a long time.
If you are considering buying an AGP card of any kind, you need to
update your attitude about 5 years or so. Even the crappiest picture
editors want to work with a pci-e card, and need the speed.
Click to expand...

The selection of PCI-E cards is relatively huge. That says something
by itself.
 
(e-mail address removed) wrote:

....
PCI-E card?????
Yes.

Is that something that plugs into a regular PCI card or do they have
a new slot again? I have notr dealt with any of the motherboards in
the past few years. I thought that AGP was the latest and fastest,
and PCI was a thing of the past. They change this stuff so damn
fast that no one can not keep up anymore.
Click to expand...

I recall sitting in a bus thinking about Intel's and others' designs
for the PCI bus slots. That was a very long time ago. In between then
and the PCI Express, there was AGP.
I just looked at some new computers at Walmart. I will never buy a
computer, I always build my own, but I was just wasting some time
while the wife looked at clothing (boring). Heck, these lastest
computers dont even look like computers anymore.
Click to expand...

Mine homebuilt doesn't have a floppy drive or a serial port.
They have these oddball push button bay doors that open to install
extra drives. How the heck they work is beyond me. It looks like
they are a slide in drive or something. They have some odd looking
plug on the rear. None even have a floppy drive anymore. Personally
I'll stick to the old standard cases. I think they all come with
Vista, and I'll pass on that too. Come to think of it, I dont think
I'd even want a new factory made computer.
Click to expand...

Think USB flash drive for easy removable media Storage. At least
Windows XP for compatibility with USB plug-in devices that have memory
like a hard drive. You can plug in your flash drive or camera and move
files to and from that device memory as if it were a hard drive.

By the way, keep a removable media copy of any important files from
your hard drive, at least one copy at all times on media you are not
currently working with. Flash drives (memory stick, thumb drive) are
very easy to use.
 
I'm not a gamer, but I do like to view my dig. camera photos on
the screen, and run photo editing software, plus watch some of the
online movies like on "youtube.com".
Click to expand...

Then you don't need another video card. If you ever start playing 3D
games, *then* you might need a new card, but until then, no.

Jon
 
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