10/6    What's a good video card with DVI output to drive a LCD at
        1600x1200? Something not too expensive, under $100? I get
        confused looking at all the brands at newegg. Maybe something
        with Nvidia chipset? Thanks.
        \_ Can't all of the ones with DVI-out do this? -!LCD user
        \_ what's the highest resolution on LCDs nowadays?
           \_ There's that insane Apple LCD which is 2500x1600, but it requires
              *two* DVI inputs, for bandwidth reasons, I believe.
        \_ I went to http://newegg.com, went to the video cards section, clicked
           the option for 1 DVI port, clicked search, sorted by Best Rating,
           and this is a 25-review 5-star-rated $51 card:
           http://csua.org/u/9cl  Sapphire Radeon 9000 Pro 64MB 4x AGP
           \_ Radeon 9000 is not DirectX-9 supporting.  If that matters to you
              (you need good T&L and vertex shader programs) then consider
              moving up to a Radeon 9600.
              \_ If you're considering a Radeon 9600, might as well get a
                 9600XT, but then that's $165 already for the genuine ATI;
                 and if you're considering a 9600XT, might as well get an
                 Nvidia FX5900XT, which performs better at about the same
                 price.
                 For a plain 9600, while you can get sub $90 cards, I don't
                 know about "Connect3D" or "Rosewill" as manufacturers,
                 although I do see a Sapphire Radeon 9600SE for $70 ...
                 op should also check if their mobo can fit the card -- check
                 the manual for whether it supports 1x-8x AGP cards and the
                 voltage, and then check the card's multiplier and voltage.
                 \_ Generally speaking, AGP cards can step down to talk at the
                    slower speed for older MBs.
                    \_ I actually had a problem where I ordered a 9600 SE
                       and it didn't fit in the AGP slot for a computer with
                       a 300 MHz Celeron.
                       \_ But was that an AGP problem or a mechanical problem?
                          \_ The mobo supported a particular voltage
                             which the card did not; the card was notched
                             in a way that prevented it from being inserted.
                             But yeah, it is primarily a voltage issue, not
                             an 1x-8x speed issue, since the card will
                             downclock
                 \_ The Sapphire non-SE is $95, which is within OP's
                   requirements
                   \_ What is wrong with the SE?
                      \_ Without looking at the specs, I can tell you SE's are
                         generally cards with a lower clock speed and/or fewer
                         vertex and texture units.  That may or may not bother
                         the OP.
                      \_ SE has bad price/perf.  I have one.  Get a 9600 or
                         some Nvidia card if you budgeted $100.  Basically it
                         is the memory bandwidth, pipelines, or clock
                         freq -- I forget, but I did look at this before.
                      \_ Whatever you pick, make sure it has at least 128-bit
                         DDR interface and don't spend extra for >128MB RAM
                         at that price point. Actually if you don't care about
                         games maybe you should just get the cheapest damn
                         thing. If you do care about games, you should spend
                         ~$150+. If you wait a bit the latest generation in
                         that price range will be out (X700 series) which
                         will have better price/performance. An X700 non-pro
                         has 8 pixel pipelines (9600 has 4) and "a lot" of
                         vertex shader power, MSRP $150.
                         \_ FYI, 9600 SE has a 64-bit memory interface.
                            9600 and 9600 XT has 128.  XT is clocked faster
                            and is on a smaller process I think.
             \_ Has anyone used Asus video cards? Asus 9520TD, $84. -op
                \_ Asus video cards are fine.  I think I have one, but not that
                   model.  Look to the user reviews for more.
             \_ I got a used 9600 SE for $45 on Ebay. -ausman
             \_ I got a used 9600 SE for $45 on Ebay. I spent half a day
                installing it because my motherboard had problems handling
                it at 4X AGP mode, but finally got it to work without
                hanging at 2X AGP mode. Now I can play BF 1942 without
                problems. -ausman