Re: Shopping for a good cheap video card

Adam Glauser wrote:

Probably. Video cards become obsolete at an astonishing pace when you're talking about gaming, let alone the potential quality problems with a budget-focused manufacturer. Tom's Hardware has a useful tool for comparing cards: http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/graphics-cards/3dmark06-v1-0-2-hdr-sm3-0-score,538.html

I love Tom's Hardware. I use it all the time; I get custom built machines from various vendors and I use Tom's to help me compare components. I just got an incredible Sager laptop (the old laptop is going to be the console for the new i).

But back to the video question, I've found that *every* time I tried a cheap, clever solution I've been burned. Granted I do bizarre things (like try to put a high-end video card into an xSeries, or try adding a video to a motherboard with onboard graphics and then overclock it), but I've always had troubles with the cheap route.

Now, that being said, I've NEVER been able to force myself to spend $250 for a video card. So I usually end up with middle of the road graphics. Perfectly fine for programming, not so for gaming.

Joe