Video card for new comp

Hello forum members, a newbie here, building a new computer and would like some suggestions for a video card.
Question, will a ATI card of 128megs be sufficent? Building Athlon XP or 64 in the 2800-3200 area, 1gig of 3200 or better,Win XP, Photoshop 7., new monitor. I don't believe I can afford a $400 card.
Any suggestons would be helpful Thanks

Wrong forum. This should be in Computers/OS no clue why you put it here. I'll move it before everyone starts screaming.

too late:

Aaaaaaa!!

The most noticeable change will be in the AGP slot. If you have an 8x's slot on the mobo (which it should) then getting a card that is 128MB @ 8x's AGP will be plenty fast. A card that is 128 MB @ 4x's AGP will be noticeably slower. But you got to realise when I say slower it will be noticable with games.

If you aren't a heavy gamer and don't plan on playing Doom3 at 1024x768 at full resolution, then getting a bleeding edge card is not a priority.

So getting an ATI 9700 at 128 or 256 and 8x's should be mid priced and also quite good. Note get the "Pro" versions.

If your mobo can support it, definately go to the new PCI Express Cards from nvidia. I don't know about ATI and if they sell them yet though.

[QUOTE=Marble]The most noticeable change will be in the AGP slot. If you have an 8x's slot on the mobo (which it should) then getting a card that is 128MB @ 8x's AGP will be plenty fast. A card that is 128 MB @ 4x's AGP will be noticeably slower. But you got to realise when I say slower it will be noticable with games.

If you aren't a heavy gamer and don't plan on playing Doom3 at 1024x768 at full resolution, then getting a bleeding edge card is not a priority.

So getting an ATI 9700 at 128 or 256 and 8x's should be mid priced and also quite good. Note get the "Pro" versions.[/QUOTE]

Thats not really true, a 4x is around 1-3% slower. You really wont notice much at all.

I've heard mixed things about this. Some of it was (from what I read) due to software and hardware taking advantage of the double output, but since 8x's has been out for some time you'd think it would be taken advantage of by now. If you aren't going for a gaming box the difference from 128 to 256 won't be a big deal either. Also I have heard 8x's cards perform better with higher resolutions. So if that is true, that is something to consider.

I was down on nVidia cards when they started their bloated FX series, but now it's been refined and prefer it over ATI. Plus nVidia has always been consistent about drivers for many different OS's. Which is a big plus in my mind.

Dont really worry about agp ratings right now, all cards from the last ~2 years have been 8x. If you really want the newest things go with PCI-Express which will call for a whole new motherboard also. A radeon 9800 pro or a Geforce 5900XT will be a good card for you. They will last for atleast 2 more years in gaming and many more for just photoshop work. If you really want to goto the next step I would go with a Geforce 6800 Non-Ultra. They are 300 bucks and a lot better than both the 9800pro (~$200) and 5900xt(~180). If gaming isnt really a need you dont need anything big at all. A geforce 2 mx from 4 years ago can still hammer with photoshop, but I wouldnt recommend that. heh. Geforce 5600 or even a 5200 will do perfectly fine with photoshop.