Best Graphic card for HL2 on a budget?

[o_puppy_chow]

Originally Posted by Thursday

My ATi Radeon 9550 cost me £69. Runs smoothly on 800x600, all medium settings. 40-70FPS dependant on large areas.

I haven't been able to squeeze any more out of it though, and dropping resolution makes the FPS lower for some reason.

ur running hl2 on 800x600? Wow, there's a waste......

[o_silver]

once my tax refund comes in, i'm gonna buy a X800 and 4 512 sticks of ram.

[o_catzeyes93]

My Radeon 9800 Pro 128 MB version works like a charm. I know I am not seeing uber cool stuff in game cuz this isnt top of the line, but I am extreamly happy with it.

[o_|404|innoc-tpf-]

I love my Radeon 9700 Pro. Works well and smooth though I know it's day is coming where I retire it to my son's computer.

[o_bobserversupport]

I'm an nVidia fan all the way but HL2 was made in conjunction with ATI, its taylor made to work and look better with their cards. I had a Gigabyte 9800 Pro b4 this GeForce 6800 GT and it worked like a charm

[o_thedarkone]

Originally Posted by bobserversupport

I'm an nVidia fan all the way but HL2 was made in conjunction with ATI, its taylor made to work and look better with their cards. I had a Gigabyte 9800 Pro b4 this GeForce 6800 GT and it worked like a charm

From what I remember from the news before the game was released, Valve actually spent more time with nVidia than they did with ATi to try to get the FX line's performance up. Their 6xxx line is much improved- except for the 6200/TC (but that thing's garbage with almost every DX9 game).