Hey I need to buy a new PCI video card because the one I have now doesn't cut it. I know PCI cards don't have as good of performance as AGP cards but I don't have an AGP slot. SO what are the best PCI cards to get?
It's kind of a tough question, because PCI video cards are not cost effective for gaming. If gaming's what you want to do, I'd get a new motherboard with PCIE, and worry about the video card at that point. Just my honest opinion... -AT
AT is right, but if you absolutely can't get a new motherboard and can't use the video you have now, I believe the Nvidia Geforce fx5200 is the best card.
if you have a low budget then the above card looks quite good and seems to have quite a few happy customers playing doom 3 on it.
Nice find! That's the best PCI (non express) card out there, I didn't know it went beyond the 5200/Radeon 9200 league. I definately suggest you buy this one dude.
The biggest detractor for PCI cards isn't the lack of good chipsets, it's the lack of bandwidth for the buss it's on. In other words, games with high polygon count, lots of T&L operations, pixel-sharers, etc. will choke compared to AGP or PCIe cards with the same exact chipset/RAM. Some games will not work with a PCI card at all! That being said, depending on the card gaming can still be a much more enjoyable experience than with integrated video.
