-=BEST=- PCI Graphics Card...???

[MatrixmaN]

I've been using AGP for so long that I don't know what the good PCI cards are.

Need one with alot of features, can play the majority of games out there and isn't a crappy, lame, voodoo3 3000.

What do you think.

My other comp has no AGP slot (no clue why) and I need better than onboard for it.

Suggestions highly regarded.

[JPMiller]

Cheaper...
http://www.amamax.com/vdspecialg4m440a273.html
Better...
http://www.amamax.com/vdspecialg4m440a285.html
http://www.amamax.com/intogemx4401.html

[Peter M]

There are PCI Radeon 9100 cards that run circles around these. Visiontek I think that was.

[rourkchris]

PNY makes an FX 5200 128MB DDR PCI card for $106.00 @ newegg.

The PCI FX cards are clocked down from the regular versions for power consumption issues which do not plague the ATI PCI cards.

As Peter M said, Visiontek makes very acceptable Radeon 9100 PCI cards.

Specifications
• ATI® RADEON® 9100 VPU
• 250 MHz VPU core
• PCI
• 128MB DDR Memory
• 128-bit memory path
• Memory Clock: 250MHz (500MHz DDR)
• 400MHz DAC
• API Support: DirectX® 8.1, OpenGL® 1.3
• Connectors: VGA, DVI-D

[durante]

Originally posted by prexaspes
The PCI FX cards are clocked down from the regular versions for power consumption issues which do not plague the ATI PCI cards.

As Peter M said, Visiontek makes very acceptable Radeon 9100 PCI cards.

Specifications
• ATI® RADEON® 9100 VPU
• 250 MHz VPU core
• PCI
• 128MB DDR Memory
• 128-bit memory path
• Memory Clock: 250MHz (500MHz DDR)
• 400MHz DAC
• API Support: DirectX® 8.1, OpenGL® 1.3
• Connectors: VGA, DVI-D

Thanks for the information as I also need urgent the best PCI graphic card out there since my Geforce 2 MX 440 is crap. Regardeless to the Nvidia FX card, I saw it @newegg but I think and I agree with you guys that maybe the FX in PCI isnt that worth the price. So I was thinking of the ATI Radeon 9100 PCI card. Visiontek huh? where can I find it? Since @newegg I couldnt find visiontek. A question:
Do I search for the PCI Radeon card or is the FX okay? Which one is better?
I think the Radeon is cheaper or am I wrong? Thanks again for the information.

durante

[durante]

Hey Mates,

Finally searched the web and found it, @CompUSA, the Radeon 9100 PCI card, and I got a surprise. Its cheaper than the Nvidia FX PCI

Nvidia FX 5200 PCI: 128 MB, 106 $ @newegg
ATI Radeon 9100 PCI: 128 MB, 80 $ @CompUSA

So my question is: Which one should I buy? Many believe ATI is better than Nvidia but I have heard bad things about the ATI's drivers. I currently use XP/2000 Pro. Im still in doubt for which one. Although I still lean on ATI's side for both price and quality. Is the FX PCI card clocked down from the original one? Is the ATI also clocked down? Which one would satisfy me more? Which one would give me better fps?

durante

[durante]

Great news my Friends!
I didnt notice but there is a better and a little more powerful ATI PCI card than the 9100 stated above! I just started searching the visiotek site and I found this:

ATI 9200 SE 128 MB PCI:
Specifications
• ATI® Radeon® 9200 SE VPU
• 200 MHz VPU Core
• PCI
• 128MB DDR Memory
• Memory Clock: 166MHz (333MHz DDR)
• Dual 400MHz DACs
• API Support: DirectX® 8.1 (works in DirectX® 9.0), OpenGL®
• Connectors: VGA, DVI-I, TV/S Video

I was so happy about it that I needed to post my happiness
Unfortunately my computer that I bought doesnt come with AGP ports support so I can only use PCI. When I bought the computer I must say I was a noob. If I would buy one now I wouldnt have bought this one that I have...
Although I actually didnt know that there are good PCI cards available out there! So im pretty happy about it. And the best part is that comparing the 9200 PCI to the 9100 PCI I saw a difference: The 9200 supports DirectX 9.0! Thats great for people that like the new version of DX. I still though need to find this card in a site that sells it, I will post a reply when I find it and I will post the price of it, hopefully its still cheaper than the Nvidia FX card...

durante

[durante]

Found it and the best part is:
Its still cheaper than the Nvidia FX 5200 PCI Card!
The Nvidia as stated above costs 106 $ @newegg and the ATI 9100 PCI costs 80 $ @CompUSA. Now this one: ATI 9200 SE PCI costs 99 $ @CompUSA! Isnt it a great news for the people that prefer ATI! Now my doubts are which one of this 3 should I choose? All of them are 128 MB.
One difference that I just discovered between the 9100 and the 9200 SE was the memory clock:
9100: Memory Clock: 250MHz (500MHz DDR)
9200: Memory Clock: 166MHz (333MHz DDR)
Im not a techie in this so I must ask, whats the difference? Is higher better, since the 9100 is higher?Does this make any difference in quality/speed/results?

And should I consider the FX as an option or should I just consider the ATI's?

durante

[JPMiller]

Ok... just a thought but if your computer doesn't have an AGP slot and is older....you may be spending alot of money on something that will be heavily bottlenecked by the PCI interface, slow memory,CPU, etc.
If you upgrade anytime soon you will have a PCI video card that you wont want to use in the new system...just something to consider before you through down alot of money on something that wont make it into the next upgrade.