What would be a good video card?

i would like to purchase a video card. i will use this computer for games such as COD5 and new games like that. what would be a great, cheap video card i could get for use of games.|||Depends on your budget and your needs, really. AGP cards are dead and won't be able to handle new games like CoD:WaW so PCI-e cards are the way to go.



Here's a pretty good article which suggests this year's video card releases based on price range (it's a little old so prices may have gone down):



http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gefo…



Here are my recommendations: 9600GT($~80), HD4870 ($~180) , HD4890/GTX275 ($~300), GTX285 ($~400). Of course here, the more expensive cards are faster.|||You should either get a PCI Express, or PCI Express 2.0 video card. Check your motherboard model with the manufacturer's website to see if it has either of those types of expansion bays/slots. If you do not have any PCI Express bays or PCI-E 2 bays, you should get a new motherboard, as AGP video cards are no longer made, and the ones that are made have limited compatibility with today's games. For a cheap video card that can run any game today at pretty good quality settings (most likely high on CoD 5: WaW), I would recommend nVidia's GeForce 9800 GT video card. Or you can get a slightly more powerful card for around $130, the ATI Radeon 4860. The 9800 GT 512MB is around $100 while the 1GB version (1000 MB / 1024MB) is around $130. Even though the 9800GT 1GB has more memory than the Radeon 4860, the 512MB of GDDR5 in the 4860 will beat the 1GB of GDDR3 in the 9800GT any day, due to a very large data transfer speed difference. Also the 1GB 9800GT still uses the same graphics processor as the 512MB version (of the 9800GT). So if you are tight on money, get the 9800 GT, but if you can fork over the extra $30 (it is well worth it), then get the Radeon 4860. Also, remember the 1GB 9800 GT, is the same price as the 4860, but will produce less performance. If you are looking for a cheaper video card, I would recommend an ATI Radeon 4830, which is around $100, and also will give better performance than both GeForce 9800 GT cards as well. Also, make sure that your power supply can support the video card you buy. A 375 watt power supply can power any 9800GT, while it takes a 400 Watt power supply to run a 4860. If you overclock any card, remember that your power requirements will rise, and your video card life expectancy will lower, and you may void the video card warranty as well.|||I don't think there is such thing as a cheap video card. Anything that is cheap tends to be that way for a reason.



For a graphic intensive game like COD5 try something in the Nvidia territory.

http://www.techspot.com/review/139-gefor…



COD is a pretty popular game so you should be able to find a few benchmarks like this one that tell you how well a certain video card works with a game.



Be sure to know the specs of your computer. Try to run dxdiag.exe on your computer (assuming it's a PC) and make sure you have the necessary pci, pci express, or agp slots for a new video card to fit.



This is all assuming that your talking about a desktop. If it's a laptop then good luck with that one...|||Depending on your Computer if it uses AGP or PCIe (x1,x8 or x16)

You can get NVIDIA Cards for about $65 AUS with a 512mb DDR 3 as an PCIe x16 Card and a 1Gb version for about $85,

AGP (older computers) Cards are about 30 to 59% more expensive.

You need at least 512Mb stay away from ATI they are not very long lasting|||hi

the 9600gt or 8800 series cards will play the games well and the prices aren't bad at the moment andything above 9800 series/gtx 200 series that is fine any thing below it will play at very low frame rates.

you also have the option of the ati hd 4800 series of cards.|||if you want cheap ones without sacrificing performance, get ATI video cards. i suggest the ATI radeon HD 4890.