Good Cheap PCI-E16 Video Card

[rmdl51]

Hello! I'm planning to build a new PC but I'm on a tight budget right now, I don't want to go cheap with MOBO, so, I'm probably getting E6750 and Asus MOBO, (still not sure which one) maybe P5K, P5N i don't know but for sure I want dual PCI-E16 for future SLI, since I want the computer for gaming purposes and video editing I need a good video card, but for the moment, I want a "meanwhile" video card and maybe "meanwhile RAM" but I don't want to get a really low end card, maybe 8400? 8600? can you suggest something maybe around 90-100, and for memory I think 2x512 will be ok in the mean while since I want to get 4x2GB when I have the funds, and for video card definitely 8800Gt or Gtx, so as you see that why I don't want to spend a lot right now on a "meanwhile" video card and memory.

All advice, opinions, suggestions highly appreciated Thanks!

 

[Cinders]

The P5K is a Crossfire motherboard and the P5NSLI dosen't support the E6750 Processor.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188015
EVGA Motherboard with SLI & E6750 support 2 PCI-E slots at 16X each $177.00 retail 147.00 after rebate

Or if you just gotta have ASUS

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131153
ASUS Motherboard with SLI & E6750 support 2 PCI-E slots at 16X each $188.00

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146673
2GB Mushkin DDR2 800 with SLI profiles $68.00

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150197
XFX 7950GT with 512MB of DDR3

The above is a good gaming card you'll be able to SLI with if you feel the need. Video cards with 128 bit memory bus (like the 8400, 8500, 8600) aren't usually good video cards for games, but if you insist:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130297

 

[rmdl51]

Well, Thanks a lot cinders! those are great suggestions for everything, but this black friday I went out there 5am to get myself a good deal and I seurely got it, I got the Q6600 instead of the E6750 for even a cheaper price.

Ok so, now I'm deciding which motherboard, should I go with the same one you suggest for a Quad core? To be honest with you, yes it gotta be ASUS I trust them so much 90% has been good experiences with ASUS, maybe EVGA is my first choice for video cards but I don't know for MOBO's yet and definitely I didn't like those fans in the one you suggest.

The P5N32-E seems great, but I feel it lacks a lot of ports or maybe is just me but I need one eSata, 6 USB ports and I'm concerned about the orientation of the internal SATA ports.

As of the video card, I think I'm pretty much broke right now so maybe I will just buy something to just turn on the PC, maybe I'll get the 8600 I don't know maybe I'll go cheaper and won't game in the meanwhile I got the 8800GT.

Thanks for all Input

 

[pdyckman@comcas]

Use the ASUS P5N-E SLI. Wait on that 8600 (waste of money). The EVGA 7650 GT has good numbers for $89-$15 rebate @ Tiger Direct .com. It's GDDR3/500mhz+core/1400mhz memory/22.6 GB/sec Bandwidth/128bit/256MB/this will present most games pretty smoothly. You can SLI it if you want but you're on the right track with the 8800 GT selection in the future. Check out EVGA's warranties. My 8800 GTS 320MB has a lifetime warranty and they don't mind if you overclock the card. That's the best warranty in the world I think. The EVGA 7650 GT has standard 12 months P&L Good Luck P.S. When you get the 8800 GT ...XFX has a 8800 GT XXX with lifetime. The EVGA 8800 GT only has 12 months! Maybe that lifetime warranty they have on the 8800 GTS cost 'em too much. [P.P.S (I hate PS's)].

 

[alisbin]

if your purely looking for a for now card, i can deffinately reccomend the xfx 7600 gt xxx edition, it can run most games at high with nary a hiccup on lower resolutions (read 1280x1024 or so).
not so great with current games, but i play oblivion on it. you can probably get one for around $100 + a rebate ($20-30)
but you might want to just wait and get an 8800 gt, its basically double the card (2.5-3x in some areas ) and after the christmas rush it should go back to around $200-230 often with a free game thrown in.
oh and as for RAM i reccomend corsair ram, and i'd say, get yourself 2x512 of whatever speed you want for your system then just get a 2x 1024 in 6 months

 

[_FAKE_]

For a graphics card I would get the HD3850. Its definitely the best bang for the buck. It outperforms all the last generation graphics cards (Geforce 7 series and ATI X1k series) by quite a large margin. And is as cheap as the 8600GTS which it demolishes in ALL games and benchmarks.

 

[Cinders]

You gave me the willies when you asked for an intermediate card. Real gaming cards IMHO start with a 256 bit memory bus. The 7600GT is a good fast card for running Windows, but it's not really a gaming card with its 128 bit memory bus. The memory bus (memory interface) really helps determine how long a video card will provide playable frame rates in newer games. If I where going to buy a intermediate video card my choice would be a Radeon X1950GT with 512MB of DDR3 (about $130.00) or a Radeon X1950Pro with 512MB of DDR3 (about $170.00) or Radeon 3870 with 512MB of DDR4 at about $230.00. All of the cards I have recommended have 512MB of DDR3 or better. The extra memory will allow greater frame rates at higher screen resolutions. The only problem with all of these cards is that they are Crossfire cards not SLI cards. They will run on the motherboards that have been recommended to you, but you will not be able to add a second video card to them to enhance their performance without a change in motherboards, so they will become an expensive intermediate item unless you manage to sell them when you no longer need them.

The GeForce 8800GT is very good card. It outperforms the 8800GTX (between $450.00-$580.00) in a few tests and places a close second in most of the others. It costs about $270.00 for the vanilla version and goes up to $400.00 for an over-clocking and moder friendly version.. The 8800GT is an SLI card, so you'll be able to add an additional card in the future if you need it.

 

[rmdl51]

Ok Cinders! Thanks again, you make a good point I might need that extra memory because I have a 22" at 1680x1050, but then again I think I need something that doesn't necessary runs all games at max settings, I just need an average card that let me play a few games while I get some money and I'm able to get Dual 8800GT for SLI. Maybe I'll get the X1950GT or anything that goes under that price will do the job, right now I'm focused on the MOBO, I rather spend $200 on my motherboard than my video card (for the moment)