Whats the best budget graphics card?

[o0Ron0o]

hey peeps
Whats the best budget graphics card to play half life 2 that will run smoothly with a good fps because i have a gforce fx5200 that is pooh.
If any1 knows a site to where a can buy a cheap graphics card can u post a link plz and delivers to the UK
thx

edit:i found this geforce card would this run half life 2 smoothly?or should i go for a ATI Radeon?

Product Description XFX GEFORCE 6600 PCI-E 256MB TV + DVI
Device Type Graphics adapter
Enclosure Type Plug in card
Interface Type PCI-E
Graphics Processor / Vendor GF 6600 - Nvidia
API Supported Microsoft® DirectX® 9.0 64-Bit Shader Model 3.0 Support, OpenGL® 1.5 Optimisations and Support Ensures the best performance and application compatibility for all OpenGL applications.
Video Memory Installed ( Max ) 256MB High-Speed DDR Memory
Video Output 1 x DVI Output, 1 x VGA Output + Super-Video Out, Incl. 1 DVI to VGA Adpater
TV Interface S-video
Package Type Award Winning Retail - X-Pack
System Requirements Microsot Windows 95, Microsot Windows 98, Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows ME, Microsoft Windows NT 4, Microsoft Windows XP, Linux

General
Device Type Graphics adapter
Enclosure Type Plug in card
Interface Type PCI-E
Compatibility P.C.

Processor / Memory
Graphics Processor / Vendor GF 6600 - Nvidia
Video Memory Installed ( Max ) 256MB High-Speed DDR Memory

S-video
API Supported Microsoft® DirectX® 9.0 64-Bit Shader Model 3.0 Support, OpenGL® 1.5 Optimisations and Support Ensures the best performance and application compatibility for all OpenGL applications.
TV Interface S-video
Analogue Video Format PAL

Expansion / Connectivity
Interfaces 1 x DVI, 1 X VGA, 1 x TV-out (Extra DVI out with Incl.Adapter)
Compatible Slots PCI-E

Miscellaneous
Package Type Award Winning Retail - X-Pack
Cables Included S-video + 1 DVI to VGA Adapter

Software / System Requirements
Software Included Full Version Game Included - Nascar 2004, XFX Driver, and Overclock Utility
OS Required Microsot Windows 95, Microsot Windows 98, Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows ME, Microsoft Windows NT 4, Microsoft Windows XP, Linux
System Requirements Microsot Windows 95, Microsot Windows 98, Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows ME, Microsoft Windows NT 4, Microsoft Windows XP, Linux

Features
CineFX Engine CineFX 3.0 Engine - Delivers up to 8x the shading power of previous generation products for screaming gaming performance.
Intellisample Technology Intellisample 3.0 Technology - The industry’s fastest antialiasing delivers ultra-realistic visuals, with no jagged edges
DirectX 9 Microsoft® DirectX® 9.0 64-bit Shader Model 3.0 Support
AGP PCI-E x16
Process 0.11 Micron Technology
Pixels/Clock 8 Pixels per clock
Memory 256MB High-Speed DDR Memory
RAMDAC Dual 400MHz RAMDACs

[mod_silver]

Hey... Try this one...

http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=7944

Its the same as mine, apart from I've flashed mine to a 9800XT's bios, + ive got a huge heatsink and fan on mine...

Nice card, you should be able to play HL2 with medium texture detail on high resolutions, like 1280*1024..

Have fun :)

[[oC]pingu]

HL is made for ATI cards, so go with an ATI

[Kane]

Asus ATI 9800XT with latest Drivers, and I stay at a steady 60FPS with HL2 all settings on High

[GameWizard]

i hope you realize that PCI-E is PCI-Express..... meaning 2 cards. So unless your motherboard can support that, get a regular 6600, i have an FX5600 256mb right now, i can run the game fine at high settings. But it also depends on how much ram and speed you got, not only your gfx card.

[DarkShadow9081]

Actually, you know. I play my HL2 with everything highest, using nVidia GeForce FX5200. It must be something about your computer or something.

[Sergeychik]

man what are you talking about? I'm currently using Gforce fx 5200 and I have 90-70 fps around water as well. It runs smoothly on my pc.
My computer's specs:
P4 2.8
Gforce FX 5200
1gb of ram
80 gb hard drive.

[o0Ron0o]

man what are you talking about? I'm currently using Gforce fx 5200 and I have 90-70 fps around water as well. It runs smoothly on my pc.
My computer's specs:
P4 2.8
Gforce FX 5200
1gb of ram
80 gb hard drive.

thx for all yours replys,
im running
p4 2.6
1.25GB of Ram
120 HD
so ur saying it will run smoothly with fx 5200,what is ur quality setting?

i havent got hl2 yet cuz im getting it for christmas,so i think im gonna test it out first b4 i go and spend money but i dont really want to play the best game in the world in low or medium settings :P
oh man i should have thought about getting a good graphics card when i first built my computer cuz i had the money then,i didnt realise how good a graphics card
should be.it was my first computer that i built and i had no knowledge about building them either.
heres just a little peak at what i made for my first try :classic:
do u like the extra feature on there my lighter :O) lol

[bombaider]

get a new case that thing is fugly dude try the nxt guardian its a pimp case

[NightCrawler]

The 6600GT will play Hl2 on high with 4xAA and 8XAF like a 9800Pro and XT, and advantage to 6600GT to use Smart Shader 3.0 for DX 9.0c ;)

Makes a diffrence

[o0Ron0o]

i hope you realize that PCI-E is PCI-Express..... meaning 2 cards. So unless your motherboard can support that, get a regular 6600, i have an FX5600 256mb right now, i can run the game fine at high settings. But it also depends on how much ram and speed you got, not only your gfx card.

i search the net trying to find out more about pci-e,it didnt say anything about having two cards.
how do i know if my mother board is compatible with a pci-e express card?

night crawler now ur tempting me to get it or should i w8 till i get more cash and get a ATI Radeon X800 XT 256MB, im sure that would run anything lol.
oh well i hope i win the lotto. :D
or plain and simple i need a job :cry:

[coolbananas]

ok a little message.

pci-e (pci-express) is the new format of motherboards. i am also confused what GameWizard was on about. maybe it's the new SLI features. but anyway.

to tell whether your motherboard is pci-e compatible, look for your mobo box and see whether its AGP. even better check your gfx box or something whether its agp. because pci-e motherboards have pci-e gfx slots and run at x16 rather than the usual x2/x4/x8 agp are supporting.

you're most likely running a "normal" motherboard (non-pci-e) because of the current fx5200 you have.

because you have a "normal" mobo, try going for one of the nvidia series. as they are competing on the agp market as well as the pci-e.

anyway, a good gfx card, would be x800 pro..AGP version. unlock the 4(?)pipelines using a program, overclock it a tiny bit. then be happy its running like an x800xt pe. :)

if its too much money still, go for a 6600gt. runs fairly well on the newer games. i think the x700? (i think) competes with the 6600gt. currently the x700 > 6600gt. but later on, when games starts using shaders. the 6600gt is the one to get.


ok. pci-e version 6600gt supports SLI. which is pretty much combining 2 gfx cards on the one motherboard.(mainly pci-e mobos) so its got lots more bandwidth to play with.

long story short. good budget card. 6600gt (AGP), is the one to get.

[v0dka]

ON ur comp. tidy the inside.. and outside.. put the waires tight down.. the wires make it look shit.. otherwise it'd be ok

[MinorThreat]

the more flashy yer case looks the bigger your _ _ _ _ is

[coolbananas]

you mean e-*****.

6600gt! go get it.

[NightWing007]

i'm using an ati radeon 9800 pro, great card, you should get that one. All my games run really smooth. :)

[o0Ron0o]

i just played the demo with my fx5200 and i was getting 30 to 55 fps on high settings.i didnt notice any lag or anything it was playable but probarly when im near water thats where fps will struggle or when theres a lot on the scene.
the reason why i thought it would be unplayable is because when CS:S beta was out i would play it and would lag from low fps, maby cuz its online or somin,it impacts more on ur fps?

[Terminator4U]

I also have a Geforce 5200 128ddr ram card and it works great for me too,even on the Doom 3 ,I wonder why guys say that that card suks and doesnt work well,I have never had a problem with it ,I also see that there are some other guys here that say the same thing as me about that card