Curse

MedicalEntropy · May 03, 2005, 11:14 AM // 11:14

Ok, since everyone is asking people "Will my video card run" or "will my PC run" or "what video card should i get" and so on.

Note: These figures are in USD and in current market value as of May 1, 2005.
Here's my list for prices and comparitive video cards (older cards price may not be posted due to unknown current market value of "unopened/non-refurbished cards"

AGP Cards (AGP cards are fitted onto older motherboards. Only the newest Intel and Athlon64 have PCI-Express. AGP cards run from 2x, 4x, and 8x Bus speed. PCI-express run on 16x.)

PCI-Express Cards
In order to have a PCI-express Card fit into your computer, you must have a PCI-express motherboard. Nforce 4 is an example of a PCI-express Athlon64 motherboard chipset.
Most PCI-Express cards that have AGP equivalents have nearly the same price.
The only PCI-E cards are the X-series from ATI and 6000 series from Nvidia.

High End:

ATI
X850XT Platinum Edition 256MB AGP Version - $465 to $600
X850XT 256MB (PCI-E only) - $460-550
X800XT Platinum Edition 256MB - $500-800 (Yes, 800. It's due to the low supply and high demand of this card. However, prices might drop drastically due to the introduction of the x850xtpe agp version. This card used to be the top of the line AGP.) This is what I have, and I love this thing
X800 XT 256MB - $430-490
X800XL 256MB - $350
X800 Pro 256MB $360-400

Nvidia
6800 Ultra 512MB - Around $900 to 1200 USD. Very rare, and some vendors will only sell it with a complete Computer. They may not sell it separately.
6800 Ultra Extreme 256MB - Unknown on sources. Around $500
6800 Ultra 256MB- $450 to 550
6800GT 256MB- $290 - 350
6800 256MB - Estimation of 250 to 300 USD. Unknown on sources.

Mid-Range

ATI
X700 (XT or Pro) 256MB - $150-200
9800XT - Not sold any longer.
9800 Pro 256 - $200
9800 Pro 128 - $150
9700 Pro - Not Sold any Longer

Nvidia
6600 GT 128MB - $150-190
FX 5950 256MB - $300 (Comparable to 9800 Pro)
FX 5900 128MB - $150

Low-range

ATI
X600 Pro - $100-180
X300 50-100 USD
9600XT 256MB - $100-150
9550 Pro 128MB - $80-100

Nvidia
6200 TC and Non-TC 128MB - $60 - $100(TC is Turbocache, which shares Memory from system memory. I'd recommend the non-turbocache.)
FX 5800 Series
FX 5700 Series
FX 5600 Series

Entry-Level

ATI
9250
9200
9100
9000

Nvidia
FX 5200
Geforce 4 TI series

Incredibly Low Level

You are REALLY pushing it if you have these cards to play Guild wars
Radeon 8500
Radeon 7000
Geforce 4 MX
Geforce 3
Geforce 2

Some concerns for Video Card buying:
Some cards come in 64-bit, 128-bit, and 256-bit. I don't know exactly in terms of what the bits are for Nvidia cards, but for ATI cards, most cards at 9700 Pro and beyond are usually 256-bit cards. 9600XT and below are usually 128-bit cards. (thanks for adam.skinner for reminding me)
Another is that SE cards for ATI are usually really low quality. I know there are some softmods or voltmodding into an XT or regular version, but usually, the SE versions are downgraded regular versions, and are usually cheaper. some examples are X300SE, X600SE, 9600SE, 9800SE. The 9800SE in particular is a 128-bit, while the Regular 9800 non-pro or Pro is 256-bit and is MUCH better in performance. the 128-bit 9800SE is actually worse in performance than the 9550.

If you want a good listing of recent cards
http://www.anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.aspx?i=2398

Please PM me or post here for corrections.

adam.skinner · May 03, 2005, 11:35 AM // 11:35

I'd like to point out that you want to make sure you're NOT getting a 64-bit card. Those cards are gimped and might cost a few bucks less. If you are in the market to purchase a new low end card, pick up one that is 128-bit. I'd suggest the nVidia 6600 or the ATI 9550.

keywin · May 03, 2005, 12:00 PM // 12:00

hmm i was wondering if i could run GW on my laptop which holds a Mobility Radeon 7500 with 32mb ram...

other specs:
Intel Pentium M 1500MHz 1.50GHz
512 RAM

EnDinG · May 03, 2005, 01:05 PM // 13:05

No, that wouldn't run GW. A 64M card is needed at least.