"LRW" wrote in message
om...
Well, my old card finally gave up the ghost (I was long overdue for a
new card anyway being a Radeon 7500,) but I can really only spend less
than $150 for a new card.

Looking at a couple reviews, I've seen good things about the ATI
Radeon 9600. A little more than $150, but supposedly excellent for the
price.

But, I've had GeForce chip cards before, and have been very impressed.
Plus I can find the FX5200 and Ti4200 both for $115 or less.

AND here's what I found techspec-wise:

Radeon 9600Pro: $160 / Core/Memory clock 400MHz / 300MHz / Memory
Interface 128 bit

FX5200: $68 / Effective Memory Clock: 400MHz / RAMDACs: Dual 350MHz /
Graphics Co 256-bit

Ti4200: $115 / Effective Memory Clock Rate (MHz): 512 RAMDACs (MHz)
(each have 2 RAMDAC): 350 / Graphics Co 256-bit

I really want to get the Radeon because anecdotally I hear good
things, but from the numbers, the FX5200 seems much better, AND much
cheaper (which is really surprising, because isn't the Ti4200 a
generation behind the FX5200??)

So, what am I missing here? Why does the more expensive card have
seemingly less power?
And if anyone knows of where I can get any one of these cards for less
than those prices, please let me know! Thanks. =)

In order of performance is just like the price ranking, the Radeon 9600 will
be the fastest, with the Ti4200 coming in second and the FX5200 last. The
Radeon will have better image quality -- and it's definitely the pick of
this litter.