|
|
Buy a graphics card according to your budget and needs!Mar 18 '01 Write an essay on this topic.
Popular Products in Graphics Cards
The Bottom Line Find out what the best graphics card are for your budget and needs!
It’s that simple, buying according to your needs. Not too many of us these days have more than $300 to spend on a single computer component, I can't find too many reasons for spending that amount these days, especially when there are so many great choices for the budget-minded users out there. Now there are a few of us that certainly want the best, have the will and size of wallet to spend for the best, I will address that to the end, but for now, lets see what your needs are... Obviously, if you looked this far for opinions on graphics card, you probably want one that can do more than just web browsing, and your average day word processing, no? You want some fast smooth 3D action, and smooth DVD playback, and smooth everything! There's millions of video cards out there (okay maybe less than a hundred) which one do you choose? Which one is right for you? The budget limited users who don’t want to spend any more than $100. You still want some 3D gaming action going on, but you don’t want to let the parents, wife, or husband to yell at you for spending that much. The card to look for would be a GeForce 2 MX 32MB SDR and a ATI Radeon 32 MB DDR. If you trust online buying and know how to distinguish between sites with probably good service and etc. you should start looking up prices for these cards at www.pricewatch.com Currently, the GeForce 2 MX 32 MB SDR runs for around $80-90 with shipping (if you look hard enough, and for online stores out of state so you wont have to pay extra for tax). The ATI Radeon 32 MB DDR runs for around $90-100, and the extra 10 dollars brings the price pretty close to our limit for our budget minded users. Why the GeForce 2 MX? First off, you’ve probably heard of nVidia, if not, they are currently the biggest graphics chip producer on this little planet, and they have a great software driver team onboard. They keep their card up-to-date with features, bug-fix, and improvements with their release of Detonator Drivers. (drivers improve hardware stability, bug fix, faster performance, etc. etc.) Comparing to the ATI Radeon, the GeForce 2 MX probably have much more lasting values due to the fact that all future Detonator updates can be use in all levels of nVidia chipsets (although there will be a point where drivers wont do anymore to the card) So far, ATI has shown a poor performance in their driver update department, (shown in their release of drivers for Rage 128, Rage MAXX) but so far they are doing a decent job for the Radeon, but still not on par with nVidia. The Radeon, is still a faster card than the GeForce 2 MX, due to its higher memory bandwidth that comes from its DDR memory architecture, and overall its still consider to be a high-end/mid-range card, but its price has fallen significantly since its release. Avoid buying the GeForce 2 MX DDR version as that is only a sales pitch. The GeForce 2 MX DDR versions have a 64-bit memory rate, and compare to the 128-bit SDR version, there will be no speed difference. In fact, you get better overclocking yield and performance from the 128-bit SDR versions. Currently if you want faster frame rate, you would go with the Radeon, as it has greater speed, better DVD playback. If you don’t mind the frame rate much, and wont mind saving some money, grab the GeForce 2 MX, as it is still a great graphics card for its price. The mid-range user who doesn’t mind spending $100-200 will have much more choices. These people want speed, and some extra features that comes along with the amount they will be spending for. The cards listed above will be perfect buy for them, especially the Radeon 32 MB DDR due to the fact that it is still consider a mid-range card. But some other cards to look for are chipsets base on the GeForce 2 GTS, the newly released KYRO II chipset and the Radeon 64 MB DDR with VIVO. Once again, you have solid driver updates and performance from the GeForce 2 GTS, brute speed, faster than Radeon 32 DDR, one of the fastest card out there today. The KYRO II, an updated version of the KYRO, uses technology such as tile-base rendering to achieve efficiency in rendering 3D frames. So far, base on reviews from hardware sites, the KYRO II edges out the GeForce 2 GTS in many test, though it does have its pro and cons when compare to the GeForce 2 GTS (don’t really know the ability of ST Microelectronics or Hercules in updating their drivers and the KYRO doesn’t have T&L support, which greatly increase frame rates in software that support hardware T&L). The Radeon 64 MB with VIVO is faster than its little brother, the Radeon 32 MB, it has higher clock speed and memory speed, and it includes with it TV-in and TV-out capabilities. (So you can watch TV in your computer or have the computer output to a television screen.) The price of the GeForce 2 GTS runs for around 130-150 depending on the manufacture of the card, and the newly released KYRO II (so far, only manufacture is Hercules, so look for the Hercules 3D Prophet 4500) will be released at a MSRP price of $150. The price of the Radeon 64 MB DDR with VIVO falls a lot higher than either of the cards mentioned earlier, it ranges at around $190-200, this is due to the fact that it has more features such as TV in/out. You can also find GeForce 2 GTS with TV in/out function, but that will significantly drive up the price of the card. For our high-end user who doesn’t have budget issues, the Radeon 64 MB with VIVO is actually also considered a high-end card, especially with its digital flat panel output capability. Our high-end users want the fastest and have the will and means to pay for it. The current high-end-top-of-the-line-wallet-draining-graphics-card would be any card base on the GeForce 2 Ultra chipset. These ranges from $340-400, they are quickly depreciating in price, and I think their value for their price is hardly anywhere near good. But it is the fastest card out there, it has a faster core, faster memory than a regular GeForce 2 GTS, and it comes in many variety, some with TV in/out, digital flat panel support, etc. Personally, I think if you wish to buy a top of a line card, you should wait for the release of GeForce 3, which should be debuting soon. Its capability would be far ahead of a GeForce 2 Ultra, but so will its price. MSRP is around $500, but you will be paying for the fastest and latest. So now you know some of the graphics chipset out there. There are still something you need to know before you head off in search of these cards, Radeon is manufactured only by ATI and as far as I know, and one other OEM company, which made a Radeon VE or something. The nVidia’s GeForce’s cards are produced by many manufacture, and the difference between them is little, some have TV in/out and some doesn’t, at the end, you should just buy from a manufacture with good technical support and warranty. Before you purchase anything online, make sure it is what you think it is. There are many different technical spec and little difference in the cards out there, as OEM cards are sometimes in lower-speed than retail cards, but also cheaper in price. This little guide was written on March 18, 2001, and it is decently updated to current prices. The prices will lower in given months, but the information here should be fairly reliable for the next coming months. In the event of a drastic change in prices or such, I will update it accordingly. The computer industry moves along fairly fast, but this shouldn’t discourage you from upgrading your graphics card when you need to. As long as you are sure that you need something faster, and you buy according to your present, and future needs. As of today, the GeForce 2 MX SDR and Radeon 32 MB DDR for the low-end, budget minded consumers. The GeForce 2 GTS, KYRO II, and Radeon 64 MB DDR with VIVO, for the mid-range users. And finally, the GeForce 2 Ultra for those who want maximum speed, and can afford it. (Although the GeForce 3 will be will on its way to retailer’s hand in the coming months. So high-end users should seriously wait for cards basing on that chipset.)  |
| Write the first comment on this review! |
|
Ads by Google
|
