Very Nice Price/Performance Margin..Apr 28 '01 Write an essay on this topic.
Popular Products in Graphics Cards
The Bottom Line Good Price/Performance Margin, Some Smaller brands may be difficult to install/configure, If Upgrading Video Only on an older system you may want to go up a level.
For Most people, upgrading your graphics card is always a "Tug of War"... Price vs Performance. On the price side you can go from the "Bargain Basement" for below $50 to the $300+ "Elite" cards. The other side is performance- For most of us that's the primary reason for upgrading, So we can get the most out of that new 3d Shoot em Up or Flight Simulator game. The key in this situation is to get the performance and features you need without falling into the trap of spending a small fortune to get the new "Golly Gee Whiz!". The GeForce2 MX Places very Nicely in this mix- with many manufacturers selling these boards for $80-100, and the GeForce2 MX Chipset is Quite Capable for smooth gameplay on the newer games. So where is the "Niche" for the GeForce2 MX? It fits very nicely in the "Upgrade on a Budget" catigory with good performance for a very reasonable price. I am running a Gigabyte GF1280 GeForce2 based board ($99 in Jan 2001) with a Duron 750 on an Asus A7V motherboard and am quite comfortable with the combination. TIPS: I do have a couple of things to keep in mind in general when looking for a video board upgrade that might help you make the right choice for your needs on video boards in general- 1. If your a Novice Upgrader, you may want to stick with the mainstream name brands, not because of Quality- but because of Software/Driver installation. Many of the non-mainstream boards can be buggy/troublesome to get to work properly because of the install software/drivers (my Gigabyte GF1280 was not easy install- but performs fine once properly set up). 2. If your system is a little older and your not upgrading your CPU, or are upgrading only to a low/mid range processor, spending a little extra on the video board might be well spent money- a good video board will unload more of the graphics functions off of your processor, giving you more available horsepower for applications (this applies primarily for GAMES! and other graphics intensive apps). So if your not upgrading your CPU too (or plan to in the near future), I would go a step up from the MX. 3. Two of the best resources I've found for researching potential upgrades are www.pricewatch.com (for best prices- Don't forget shipping & handling! it can be a real "Gotcha!") and www.tomshardware.com (for technical reviews etc.)  |
| Write the first comment on this review! |
|
Ads by Google
|
