video card upgrade
i have an msi 850 pro5 (6545) MBd which has a 4x agp slot - 400fsb p4-478 1.8G 512L2, 1G 800 Rambus, 350W maddog PS which has 2 fans built in, case has 2 fans top/side. cpu/case temp is ~40/30 @ 30-40%cpu, ~45/35 @ 100%cpu with only side case fan on according to MbMon5.
i'm using a cheap saphire radeon 7000VE that i would like to upgrade for dvd/video playback (and encoding if graphics cards will help with that). from what i've read so far i like geforce 62/66/6800 cards for price and performance, and that comparable ati cards run hotter and require more power. i understand that an 8x card will only run at 4x - are there 4x/8x cards that will do better in a 4x slot? given the limitations of my system, is it a waste of $$ to get a 128/256bit card or DDR3 like the 6800 - or even one of the 7xxx series? i saw that cards in the same series will have different chipsets - LE/GT/GS etc - are there some to stay away from - such as an EVGA GeForce 6200 - 256-A8-N341-LX - or is it only that performance and price go hand in hand? i'll stay away from anything named "turbo" relying on "sharing" system memory.
i'm planning to build a new system sometime next year (duo core, pci-e, etc) so i'd like to get a card under $100, and $40-60 would be nice, of course. i'm not a gamer, so if there are cards more suited to video i'd appreciate any advice/recommendations. thanks
i'm using a cheap saphire radeon 7000VE that i would like to upgrade for dvd/video playback (and encoding if graphics cards will help with that). from what i've read so far i like geforce 62/66/6800 cards for price and performance, and that comparable ati cards run hotter and require more power. i understand that an 8x card will only run at 4x - are there 4x/8x cards that will do better in a 4x slot? given the limitations of my system, is it a waste of $$ to get a 128/256bit card or DDR3 like the 6800 - or even one of the 7xxx series? i saw that cards in the same series will have different chipsets - LE/GT/GS etc - are there some to stay away from - such as an EVGA GeForce 6200 - 256-A8-N341-LX - or is it only that performance and price go hand in hand? i'll stay away from anything named "turbo" relying on "sharing" system memory.
i'm planning to build a new system sometime next year (duo core, pci-e, etc) so i'd like to get a card under $100, and $40-60 would be nice, of course. i'm not a gamer, so if there are cards more suited to video i'd appreciate any advice/recommendations. thanks
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My wifes machine just has an old R8500 in it and it handles video well enough.
If you really want to go cheap then look at this for $43:
SAPPHIRE 100562L-GN Radeon 9600PRO 256MB 128-bit DDR AGP 4X/8X Video Card - Retail
Heck even that 6800 that you are looking at would work fine.
When you don't game video is easy.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103046
Cheap, and high performance.
The HD 2400 series is DirectX10, very modern, and it is kinda made for exactly what you're doing. It is more of a dedicated HTPC / Video encoder / decoder than a gaming card, but it sounds just right for you.
/me loves passive cooling.
Not stellar, but passable.
ffs.
I think reviewers are trying to review the card as a gaming card, and that's why. Reviewers tend to focus on a card's FPS rate in certain games as the only benchmark that matters.
The HD 2400 / 2600 are indeed made for what you want to do. They are not stellar gaming performers, but then you said that's not important to you anyway.
I read those Visiontek reviews on Newegg. I wouldn't worry about them too much as the drivers are several revisions newer now.
Here I got one for you ;
http://www.videocardupgrade.com/
Hope this helps.