Video card help?

Question

I am looking for a new video card.

What should I look for?

I play a large variety of games.

I run Windows Vista.

A 2600PRO card with 512MB of DDR2 Ram wasn't nearly good enough for my use. Was that the speed of ram or the GPU?

It has to be less than $150.

Please give me recommendations.

I am going to play DirectX 9 games primarily, but I'd like to be able to tap into the benefits of DirectX 10 in the future.

Is 256MB too little memory?

Is DirectX 10 worth it?

I don't even know what it is, but I know it is good and is only for vista.

Answer 1

For 150$ , forget about DX10 , it's not gonna happen.

Why you ask, because you end up with cards like the 2600PRO, that are too weak.

You need 512MB of RAM on the cards today , cause the games contain huge textures.

I would suggest you stick with DX9 , and maybe you can find a X1950 Pro (512MB) version for 150$.

Answer 2

what resolutions were you trying to play the games at? I'm looking at a 2600pro on newegg and cant see how you'd have any problems unless you're trying to play at incredible resolutions (I have a 256 MB 7600gt and i can play just about everything with zero issues at my 19" WS LCD's native res of 1440x900.. example.. 75fps in WoW..)..

that being said..the best native dx10 cards besides that 2600pro you already have(1 each ATI and Nvidia) I can see on newegg under 150 is either an ati x1650 pro(1st link below)

or this nvidia 8600gts (ok, this ones a little over 150.. but there is a $15 mail in rebate.. second link)

Edit: where you have Vista, DX10 is simply a way of life for you.. having a native DX10 card now will give you a leg up when games using it come out (sometime in the next 6-7 months from what i understand).. as far as 256 MB not being enough memory.. that mainly depends on the resolution your trying to do everything at... the higher the res, the more memory you'll want to have access to.. 256 seems more than capable up to 1600x1200.. you might need to tweak a few settings down a little running at 16x12, but otherwise it shouldnt be much of a problem

Answer 3

Well your requirements have put you into a corner. You want a DirectX 10 card better than 2600Pro for less than $150, sorry but no such card exists. This card:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102061
will meet two of the three, outperforms the 2600Pro for less than $150, but is not DirectX 10. Other than that, you are going to have to spend more than $150, and if you need something a lot better than the 2600Pro, your gonna need to spend $300+.

Answer 4

go crossfire man, thas where its at, ur gpu aint ideal but if u have 2 that would be sweet, as long as you have you buy the exact same thing as you had before you should be ok, check to see if your mobo has an extra slot to support it (most decent mobos have 2 pci-e x16 slots) if you get it right you will have like a gig of gfx memory, if that it is not fast enough for you, think about your budget and up it to around $1000, and get 2 2900 1gb gfx cards, that will run a **** load faster than anything. but if your budget is already maxed than get another of your gfx cards and overclock the **** out of it using river tuner. that should do, if not, well its the question HOW MANY FPS DO WANT YOUR GPU TO DO? AND AT WHAT RESOLUTION?

Answer 5

What resolution will your monitor support? Don't go out and get a high resolution video card if your monitor will not support it.

Answer 6

listen to titokhan he knows what hes talking about.