Need Advice On Video Card

[garmanma]

Finally figured out my taxes and we're getting back more than expected, so my wife is throwing me a bone for being a good boy. I've been wanting a flat screen monitor for awhile and I chose a Viewsonic 22" wide screen. It has both VGA and DVI outputs and I figured I might as well take advantage of the DVI, so I'll need a new card. I'm not a gamer mostly web surfing, some streaming video and an occasional DVD movie. I figured nothing drastic. I was looking at an ATI radeon 9550, 256mb. My reasoning being it doesn't take a separete plug from the power supply. It's a 400W but of questionable quality. Would this setup be OK or should I just use the VGA hook-up with my old Radeon 7500?

Thanks

Mark

[Falcon1986]

1. How much are you willing to spend?

2. Do you need an AGP card?

3. What is the brand on the PSU?

4. What is the screen resolution you will be using on your new monitor?

[garmanma]

$100 give or take

AGP

Allied (4 years old)

Whatever easy to read Right now I use 1024 x 768

I'll probably just stay with the old card

Mark

[shanenin]

I don't think you will notice any difference using dvi, I would not spend the money.

[Falcon1986]

The Radeon X850XT AGP-4X/8X graphics card may be more power than you need but for $65 at Newegg.com that's a pretty good deal (and a steal!). "Re-certified" isn't necessarily something to be afraid of (you'll be the judge of that). The card has just gotten a warranty from the manufacturer. It is out of stock at the moment, so you'll have to wait if you want to get that.

Although not as good as the X850XT, the Radeon 9600XT ($60) is plenty power for your needs.

At eWiz.com there is an PowerColor ZOGIS 6800XT for $71, which is a step up from the 9600XT.

There are cards that are just borderline on your budget but you can check those out for yourself. I figured that you would want to have shipping covered in that budget too so I stayed away from those.

[garmanma]

Well, like I said, I'm no video freak. I'll probably just skip the card. My wife could use a flat screen also. Her desk space is limited anyways. I built hers not too long ago, so it has a DVI connection. If I see a big difference, I'll swap cards with hers. She'll never know She hasn't missed her other hard drive yet. I've been meaning to get her used to poking around the forums. Glad I haven't yet

Mark