   Good PCI-E x16 gfx card?
  I've been making a list of GREAT pc parts I'd like to buy for a new pc, but unfortunately it comes up to ~1100 USD.  But, I decided to do something else.I can buy a few good parts on the lower end of things (AMD 64 3000+, 1GB ram, etc.) for ~550 USD.  However, these parts would be able to upgrade with the higher-end parts I selected before.  So now I can have a fast system that can be upgraded with my other parts that I selected later.So far, these are my parts:Processor: AMD Athlon 64 3000+ - $99.99Motherboard: Abit - $82.99Ram: OCZ 1GB (2x512MB) - $88.79Case: Cooler Master - $49.99PSU: PSU - $69.99DVD RW: DVD RW - 39.99$Floppy: Flash + Floppy - 19.99$Total: $451.73So, 452 USD is great.  I only need to find a good gfx card (PCI-E x16) that costs ~100 USD so I don't bump up the price beyond 570$.  Do you know of any good cards that aren't that pricy?  I don't need the latest technology, just a fast card that isn't too pricy.  Later it will be replaced with a newer card.  I'll probably do so with a Radeon X850XT, or maybe one of hte x1*00xt ones.Thanks in advance!   
  I suspect NVidia is going to bump up their cards soon seeing as the 7950 (two GPUs, 1GB of VRAM) is just about to come out, which means older cards will probably drop in price. If you can afford to wait, I'd do so.You might even be able to use the extra time to earn some more cash to get a bigger video card when that happens.   ;  Radeon X8?? is a good bet for a budget card. If you're planning to upgrade later, though, $50 will buy you a GeForce 6200TC which--while not quite powerful enough to yank your eyeballs out--will run current releases at decent quality settings and will leave you with enough extra cash to buy a better card later on.   ;Quote:Original post by Ravuya... the 7950 (two GPUs, 1GB of VRAM) is just about to come out ...newegg already has 8-9 of them in stock.agi_shi: don't get the 3000+. the 3200+ and 3500+ are only a few bucks more now and i'd suggest getting the 3500+ instead. it would be well worth it.i have that motherboard (abit kn8 ultra) and it's damn good for the price. the overclocking abilities are superior to most boards twice the cost. what i don't like is the sound chipset. it works flawlessly in windows xp with the realtek driver (downloadable from abit) but has issues with the generic nvidia sound driver, so i can't get proper sound in linux or vista. also note the awkward position of the floppy connector and the ide connectors. you may have minor issues with certain cases. overall, it's a great mobo.the ram i'm not sure about. i went with the 2x512mb corsair value select and i've had 100% stability and haven't failed memtest at all.a 7600gt might be a good deal if you go with an nvidia card, but i'd expect more drastic price cuts in the very near future. i can't comment on the ati cards as i don't have any personal experience with any recent ones.   ;  @Ravuya:  I understand.  However, since I would like to build a system in the very near future, I'm looking for a good graphics card that I will later (when I get the money for it) replace with a great one.@Sneftel:  I'll look into that card, since the X850XT is (well, one of the models atleast) 184$, which is pretty far above what I want to spend for an "upgrade-path" system.@gumpy macdrunken:  Ahh, good point about hte 3200+ and 3500+.  I just want to spend as little now as possible for a good system so then later I can upgrade (probably to an X2 3800+).  The motherboard seems quite good, and hearing from you, it has a 98% chance of being bought by me :). I'm not so sure about the ram right now either.  I want to run two 512mb's in dual-channel right now so later I can replace them with two gold versions (OCZ) of 1gb in dual-channel.  As for the 7600GT, I'll look into it.  However, since (I think) it's one of the higher-end nvidia cards I might get it later as a replacement rather than now as an upgrade path card.Thanks guys, and if you have any other opinions I'm ready to hear them :).   ;  For a 100$ or less card how's this one:Here.It seems pretty good, and even though it maybe not be that good it should be good enough for now (until replaced).(Actually, this has Shader Model 3.0 and HDR, and the X850XT card I was talking about doesn't...  But then again, I prefer speed over newest features [wink].)   ;  If you want to upgrade it in the future, you really should go with the AM2 socket instead of S939 depending on how long you will wait for that upgrade. So I would suggest:Processor: AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Orleans 2000MHz HT 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor - Retail 123.00 + FreeMotherboard: MSI K9N Neo-F Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 550 MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail 79.99 + 6.67 *The user who rated it down a ton did not realize that 400 Mhz DDR2 = 800 Mhz*Memory: GeIL 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Unbuffered DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail 94.99 + 4.99 *When on your 3500+ bump down the speed to 533 and decrease the timeings to 3-3-3-12-T2*Video Card: Leadtek PX6600TD-256 Geforce 6600 256MB 128-bit DDR PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail 75.99 + 5.46 *This is a desent card and will get you through most current games*CD/DVD ROM/R/RW: ASUS Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 5X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-R 32X CD-RW 40X CD-ROM 2M Cache E-IDE/ATAPI DVD Burner - Retail 42.99 + 6.67Floppy/Card Reader: MITSUMI Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal USB 2.0 digital card reader with Floppy Drive Model FA404M BLK - OEM 19.99 + 5.46Case/PSU: Antec Lifestyle SONATA II Piano Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450Watt SmartPower 2.0 ATX 12V V2.0 for AMD & Intel systems Power Supply - Retail 99.99 + 17.99 *You can never go wrong with Antec cases and power supplies*Total with shiping: $584.18A machine able to get you by until AMD releases a new architecture: $584.18 Compatability with future AM2 processors *may require BIOS update* *not guarenteed all processors*: $584.18This is just my opinion, but if you are wanting a computer to upgrade in the future, AM2 and DDR2 are the way to go right now and at a price that is right. (You were not taking shipping in account with your previous calculations)On another note, you could get slightly cheaper ram with slower timeings, but do not go any slower than DDR2 533 with 4-4-4-12 or your preformance will suffer.Of course I am selecting the nVidia card to allow for compatability also in linux.  You can select a different card with a similar price from ATi.  I would suggest a X1300 such as:Alternate Video Card: MSI RX1300Pro-TD256E Radeon X1300PRO 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail 81.99 + 5.46Total with alternate Card: $590.18The choice between nVidia and ATI is up to you.I hope these suggestions have helped.