GeForce 5500: Good for gaming?

[alphabravo]

Is this a very good video card if I want to play games? I don't wanna spend a ludicrous amount on money just for a video card and right now I'm stuck with the vga attached to the motherboard, so is there a good video card that fits my budget? (Around 100 dollars)

 

[LeeJend]

Re: GeForce 5500

No, expect to pay $160 USD or more for a minimum performance card (7600GT, X800XL) to play the current games. Good cards (Nvidia 7900GT, ATI 1900GT) start just under $300.

The 5500 card is 4 generations old (5500, 5700, 6800, 7800 7900 (latest) not recommended for new purchase for gaming.

What games, how much graphics detail, how much screen resolution?

 

[alphabravo]

Re: GeForce 5500

Well, I'm not talking about the new games such as BF2 and such, but games like WoW, CS(Maybe even source), and the like, but $160? Wow things just keep on getting more advanced and more expensive...

 

[LeeJend]

The price of video card has doubled in the last 12 months. Lots more RAM, and much faster RAM, better coolers, etc have driven prices up some but mainly the manufactureres just seem to feel they can get away with high pricing. They are also packing more multimedia stuff in that drives up GPU prices and size whether you want the features or not.

The old mid range cards that used to be about $129 are long gone.

The 7600 GS at $115 is might be acceptable for you but I would not recommend it since it is 50% slower than the 7600 GT. The ATI 1600, 1300, 700 series all have half the performance of the 7600 GS or less.

If you just want a fairly fast card and don't care about the lattest texture features look for a used 9800 PRO or 6600 GT card. They can be had for $80 and both were "classics'.

Make sure you get the right card socket type also. There is AGP and PCI-e (not to be confused witht he ancient PCI socket type). AGP is the older one and about dead. Prices are skyrocketing due to dying demand.