Good graphics card for light 3D gaming?

[cascade9]

I just bought a 9800GT 1GB and its GDDR3. I bought it for $90 at Tiger Direct, but im sure similar deals will be afloat.

Also, i got the "energy efficient" model from PNY... and boy is it silent @__@ I might just get another one soon and do SLI on that pretty thing

Nothing wrong with the 9800GT, but if the OP is going to spend in the $100 price range, the GTS250 is a slightly better choice. GTS250 is the same basic chip, but some minor improvements over the 9800GT.

If less than $100, then I'd go for Temüjins advice.

GT220 or GT240 will handle WINE gaming and also have the best video playback capability

+1

[PresenceofMind]

GTS250 is the same basic chip, but some minor improvements over the 9800GT.

Mate, that's a bit like saying a Ferrari Enzo is "slightly faster" than a Ford Mondeo......

250 GTS is a really potent card and will do a lot more than a 9800 GT can ever hope to. So yes, it would be an excellent choice over a 9800 GT.

[rosehipzero]

Nothing wrong with the 9800GT, but if the OP is going to spend in the $100 price range, the GTS250 is a slightly better choice. GTS250 is the same basic chip, but some minor improvements over the 9800GT.

If less than $100, then I'd go for Temüjins advice.



+1

I do budget builds mostly from clearance parts all the time ^_~ so i know how to build a fast PC pretty cheap. the 9800GT is just the start, in a few, im going to buy another and SLI that schnazz.

current build:

AMD Phenom II X4 925 (2.8Ghz quad) for 70
4GB DDR3 1333 for 70
500GB 7200RPM HDD for 42
and so forth.

^_^ i love it, and yeah, nothing wrong with it... but im going to have SLI soon

[cascade9]

@ rosehipzero- No idea why you got a 9800GT instead of a GTS250, they were only a few dollars more and worth it. They are better SLI cards from the benchamrks I've seen.....not that I care about SLI, or crossifre.

Mate, that's a bit like saying a Ferrari Enzo is "slightly faster" than a Ford Mondeo......

250 GTS is a really potent card and will do a lot more than a 9800 GT can ever hope to. So yes, it would be an excellent choice over a 9800 GT.

More likely saying that a 09 mondeo is faster than a 08 mondeo. (Actually, I have no idea if 09 mondeos are faster LOL)

GTS250 is faster than a 9800GT, but its not anywhere near "ford vs ferrari". About 10-20% difference normally, which makes sense- its got a bit over 20% faster core, and some extra shaders/texture mapping units/render outputs (112/56/16 for the 8800GT/9800GT, 128/64/16 for the 9800GTX/9800GTX+/GTS250).

A GTS250 is just a 9800GTX+ with slightly newer firmware.

[rosehipzero]

@ cascade9, its simple... im a college student that's always broke. if i can save even 30 bucks now, i'll do it... then 1 year down the line i might upgrade with another improvement that is still a budget "upgrade"

plus, i have friends who i either sell or give away the old parts to. (i dont sell it for much, maybe 20-30 bucks)

[Tycho59]

Sounds like the GT220 is a great card. Is it an AGP or PCI card?? Can't seem to find any info that says it is either way.

[cascade9]

@Tycho59- GT220 is PCIe only AFAIK. he might be a PCI version at some point, but never, ever an AGP version. nVidia hasnt made an AGP card since the 7XXX series.

@ cascade9, its simple... im a college student that's always broke. if i can save even 30 bucks now, i'll do it... then 1 year down the line i might upgrade with another improvement that is still a budget "upgrade"

plus, i have friends who i either sell or give away the old parts to. (i dont sell it for much, maybe 20-30 bucks)

Fair enough....personally, I would have saved my money and bought a single GTX465 over 2 x 9800GTs in SLI, but that involves waiting, some people arent good at that