Which video card to get???

[KBPERF]

I presently have a Creative TNT2 ULTRA 32mb AGP card In one of my computers but I just built a new athlon 1.2ghz system and cant decide to buy the same or a newer video card. I was thinking something with the Nvidia Geforce 2 GTS chip with 32mb or 64mb of memory. how do cards from MSI or Visiontek compare to Creative? I have liked my Creative stuff in the past but I now have learned that name dosnt always mean anything.

[snooper2]

most of them are pretty good i hear alot about the gforce 2 around here. i myself have a ati readeon 32mb ddr that i like and have no problems with. i just got a ati 16mb for my other pc.

[kingtbone]

Overall nothing really beats the sweetness of a GeForce2 card at the moment. The way prices are, and the performance you get out of them, they are at the top of the list. If you play games at all, You at least need a GeForce2 GTS, but I'd suggest a pro. I personally have a Leadtek WinFast Pro with 32MB. It has gotten good reviews, and was the right price/package for me. Here is my post from a while ago on which Geforce2 card is the best. (Here is the link in case you want the whole conversation.)


You won't find very much performance difference between any of the GeForce 2 cards at all. The way it works is, NVIDIA sends the manufacturers their reference design, and the company (i.e. ASUS, MSI, etc.) will usualy follow this design to about 90% similarity (maybe die their PCB red or blue). This results in practically identical cards, performance wise. The only way you can account for a difference in prices comes with the package they send it with.

Example

• The popular ASUS 7700 Deluxe
  
  Comes with 3D glasses,
  TV IN/OUT
  Composite IN/OUT
  DVD Software
  And a few full version games (Soldier of Fortune maybe?)
  
• The MSi Starforce 815,
  
  Basically the same card (same reference design)
  Comes with TV out, and nothing extra.

The only thing that you can really pay extra for is the package that comes with the card, and the name on the outside of the box. The manufacturers drivers don't even matter, because the NVIDIA reference drivers are always better.

Also, the difference between cards can't really be noticed unless you are playing games at resolutions above 1024X768. What I'd probably suggest, or what I'm actually going to do, is get the card that is the best deal, and not worry about the make of it.