7600 gs finally kicked it, now what?

[phonb]

I got almost half a decade outta my Nvidia 7600 gs 256mb card and finally I boot my system to 1 long 2 short beep post error. I'm finally willing to give in and get a replacement.

MSI NEO-F P965 Intel S775 Motherboard
Intel Pentium 4 630 3.0GHz HT (2MB)
1GB PC2-5300 667MHz DDR2 RAM (planning on adding 2-3gb)
350W Antec Power supply
I live in the US.

I only game 2007-8 and earlier. Actually I'm pretty retro though I'd like to maybe play say Oblivion for example on descent settings (nvm the ram).
Also HD video playback is fairly Important as well. The highest resolution I would be running is 1440/900 with maybe a second monitor or television running lower. Prefer also a quiet card or at least not a super noisy one.

I've spent most the day scouring pricewatch and amazon only to achieve a headache. From what I've seen I think I can get a card for $20-$40 but there are so many holiday specials I can't decide.

 

[Dannyk0ed]

If your looking for a decent and cheap video card i prefer you to buy the ATI HD 5450, around 40 bucks but upgrade your PSU. I also game 2008 and lower.

 

[cliffordcooley]

The HD 6450 performs less than a 7600 GT. However the HD 6450 uses less power and for what it is worth a directx11 card.

For $40 you are not going to get a better performing card than the 7600 GT. You can double your performance for around $60. You would have better options if you could spring for a $80 card. The Radeon HD 6670 seems to be the best performer for around $80.

Benchmarks were compared from this site. PassMark - G3D Mark

 

[phonb]

If your looking for a decent and cheap video card i prefer you to buy the ATI HD 5450, around 40 bucks but upgrade your PSU. I also game 2008 and lower.

Looks like about my needs but I've read it runs quite hot which worries me.

For $40 you are not going to get a better performing card than the 7600 GT. You can double your performance for around $60. You would have better options if you could spring for a $80 card. The Radeon HD 6670 seems to be the best performer for around $80.

I'm really not looking to upgrade from the 7600gs, just need a replacement that is a mid-low level card somewhat equal to the 7600gs.

I'm looking at the hd5450, geforce 8400, and geforce 210 right now which are cheap with rebates which I like.

 

[dmill89]

I would probably go at least 1 step above entry level. You get a significant performance improvement for a minimal or no price increase. Here are some examples:

ECS N9500GTC-512QZ-F GeForce 9500 GT = $40 ($20 after rebate)

ZOTAC ZT-50603-10L GeForce GT 520 = $50 ($25 after rebate)

XFX PV-T96O-YHFC GeForce 9600 GSO 512MB = $50 ($20 after rebate) [decent card but reviews say fan is loud so it depends whether noise is an issue for you]

 

[fimbles]

I have an agp 7600 gs in my sons pc, Cracking little card for its age!

Useless post i know