What video card to get until G80?

[cyrax]

Ok, I want to get a video card to keep my happy until G80. But I don't want to spend alot of money, obviously, saving most of it for a new G80 card. Here are my options:

GeForce 6200TC Turbo Cache PCI-Express
GeForce 6200 128MB PCI-Express
GeForce 7300 GS 128MB PCI Express
GeForce 6200 256MB PCI Express
GeForce 6500 128MB PCI Express
GeForce 7300 GS 256MB PCI Express
GeForce 6500 256MB PCI Express
GeForce 6600 256MB PCI Express
GeForce 6600 128MB PCI Express

If anyone could reccommend which is the best out of these cards, it would be much appreciated.

 

[Shumway]

Out of those the i say the 6600,Either the 128 or 256 it dosen't really matter,But i would spend a little extra and get a GT instead

 

[003]

Get the 7300 off the list, it's ***. 6600.

 

[cyrax]

Out of those the i say the 6600,Either the 128 or 256 it dosen't really matter,But i would spend a little extra and get a GT instead

A 6600GT goes a little bit over my budget, which is $150 NZD.

So it doesn't matter what vanilla 6600 I go with? Wouldn't the 256mb version of it be better?

EDIT: Any ATi cards worth considering in this type of price range?

 

[Nitestick]

X1300 perhaps....its better than the 6200 and if you look around it can be had for about $10-$15 more (aus dollars so similar)

 

[cyrax]

Ok, so I've narrowed it down to these ones.

GeForce 6600 256MB PCI Express
GeForce 6600 128MB PCI Express
Radeon X1300 128MB PCI Express
Radeon X1300 Pro 256MB PCI Express

 

[Nitestick]

the x1300 isn't exactly brilliant so if you can afford the 6600 i would get that. i only mentioned the x1300 because you asked about ATI cards in that range and that was the only one that came to mind, but i don't know ATI cards very well. i was looking at the x1300 to replace my 6200 mainly to setup dual monitors as my card only has a single DVI output.

 

[cyrax]

Since your setup is going to nearly just like mine, nitestick, can you mention some of the latest FPS games and what FPS you get on them with that card? I'm curious as to what FPS you get on HL2 for example, and BF2.

 

[Nitestick]

because HL2 is mostly cpu intensive, you can get pretty decent FPS with a low card. at 1024x768 i think i average around a minimum of 35-40fps and up to around 70fps. absolute minimum it dips to for short periods of time is about 19fps. this is with most of the settings except AA maxed. i can't remember exactly because its been a while since i've played and i don't use fraps anymore becasue having it installed somehow interferes with my video encoder. BF2 can get decent fram rates over 30 FPS with low settings and a few at medium.

 

[cyrax]

Wow, that's a better FPS rate than I expected. I may just get a 6200TC, it costs under $100 over here, and it only has to last me until G80, which is supposedly June.