My brother wants to get a new AGP graphics card for his computer--1.1Ghz AMD Athlon, 512 MB PC 133 RAM, Windows XP, etc.

1.)Is it even worth buying a card for $100?

2.)What the hell is the difference between a GeForce 4 and a GeForce 4 MX?!?! I mean, the "MX" sure does seem to mark the price down, but what price do you REALLY pay?

3.) On a $100 budget, what should I prioritize on in the graphics card--memory speed/DirectX9 support/amount of memory?

If it were my card I'd be spending a little more cash and waiting another month, but I can't find any sites for decent video card comparisons AT OR UNDER $100. I saw a review in a recent Maximum PC magazine, but I don't know what to think about that...

Thanks,
Greydawg

first off what do want out of the card? is it for hardcore fragging, or just for word docs? that makes a big difference

Gaming and visualization plugins, but he knows he's only got a 1.1 Ghz Athlon

A Geforce 4 MX is a type of card that that would play like a Geforce 2 card. It will be good for gaming, but the results will not be the best. Heck, my Geforce 2 ultra is even faster!

Get an ATI 9000 for 80 bucks. The results will be much better then if gone with an mx card

For $80 after rebate at BestBuy this week, you can get a GeForce 4 Ti4200. The downside is that it's a PNY.

If you go over to Newegg, you can get a good-brand GF4 Ti4200 for around $125. Or if $100 is the absolute maximum, GoogleGear has a Gainward Geforce3 Ti200 for $83 shipped. They also have Chaintech GF4 Ti4200's starting at $115 shipped.

I second the Radeon 9000 vote.

Or pick up a GF3 card ....... You could likely find a GF3 TI 4200 cheap.

Edit: I meant GF3 Ti 500 NOT 4200 !!!!!!

How come there are so many different "GeForce4 Ti4200" cards? I mean, what's the difference? What's "PNY"?

Are there any GOOD, comprehensive websites for video card reviews and such?

Thanks for your help though--I'll most likely get a Ti 4200, but I still have to figure this out.

There are many brands. Basically different brands make boards for their video card but use the ATI or Geforce chip.
These cards differ in preformance.

Listen, a good suggestion is to get a ATI 9000 Pro.
a 9500 is also great and not costly.

How big of a difference is Geforce 3 from GeForce 4?

How big of a difference is GF4 from GF4MX? It sounds to me like it's just a ploy to sell graphics cards. Is that true?

Websites?

Do not get confused by the GF4 TI vs the GF4 MX nomenclature!

The difference is substantial ..... and they truthfully do not even belong in the same class of cards.

A GF3 would be much closer to a GF4 TI than a GF4 MX could ever hope to be.

The GF4 MX line ought to be grouped along with the GF2 MX line and the old 7000 series Radeons.

At a price of around $100 - $140 you should be looking no further than a GF4 TI 4200 (Funkey Fresh already gave you several good links.)

If you really want to get it down below $100, I would look to the Radeon 9000 Pro or a GF3 Ti 500 (if you can still find one!)

Right on putwig, Ti 4200 with 64megs vram is g00d, and that pny is nt bad, ive had several PNY cards and there were all satisfactory so i would grab that 80 buck ti 4200 quick!
i have a used ge3ti500 thats been overclocked to hell (from 240core/516mem to 290/580 ) but you probably dont want that

What the hell does "PNY" mean anyway?

PNY's just a brand name. Some have had great luck with that brand; others say they've had problems. Personally, I've never had a problem with them, and $80 is, as they'd say here in Maine, a wicked pissah of a deal.

compusa had the ti4200 128mb for 79 bucks monday.

The difference between GF4Ti and GF4MX :

GF4 Ti series cards are Direct X 8 parts (like GF3 before it), and perform MUCH faster than GF4 MX cards. GF4 MX cards are only Direct X 7 parts and like stated above, are closer to the GF2 series. All the different names are brands. Most are similar in performance, although some use higher speed RAM and better cooling, but you will pay a premium for what IMHO is not that big of a performance boost. If you can scrape together a few more bucks, check out this card.

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduc...fer=pricewatch

Price/performance= GF4 Ti4200 is the best (once again IMHO).

if you dont wanna scrape up that much more, and would like to have DVI, CRT, and TV out, and are also willing to wait till more of these get in stock, then.....

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduc...ion=14-160-003

Broken arrow, that link was a damn motherboard...

Greydawg, scroll down!
That link works!

Yah, what he said. The top part is an add for something else on their website. Scroll down a bit to see what I was referring to.