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I'm thinking of buying one of these cards in the near future, but the problem is that the chip is offered on different cards from different companies. How do I know which one is a good or best buy? Does anyone have any suggestions?

There are, as always, several good choices - but the one considered to be the best is the Gainward. I have the Ultra 750XP "Golden Sample" PowerPack - inside is Serious Sam, a IEEE 1394 Firewire card (nice!). Iam also sure there is a version limited edition which includes 3-D glasses from some highly regarded manufacturer.
As far as graphic power is concerned on my system, the card is being held-up by the rest of the computer!

you can research this issue a bit by reading some buyer's reports on Tom's Hardware site or Tech Tv's website among many others. they compare chipsets implemented by various manufacturers.

i am not sure how accurate they are - i wind up reading everything i can, then seaching on pricewatch to find the best price. and then i flip a coin anyway and cross my fingers. i haven't been burned yet.

Grifter,

I sent you a PM, check out the info I sent you there. From what I have read, and the best bang for the buck (including the bundled software) is the MSI GF4 Ti4800SE (Essentially a 4600Ti but with 8x AGP capability). I was going to buy this card when I got my ABIT GF4 4600Ti, but it was out of stock.

Personally I have found (in the past) that the MSI stuff is overpriced...but it depends on if you are looking for a card or a bundle of stuff.

Reputable card makers are Gainward, Chaintek, and Visiontek. Abit is new to it for video cards, but their motherboards are pretty solid.

If this card is too high, you might look at a GF4 4200 128MB AGP 8X card. I think that the increment in price between the 4200, 4600, and 4800 are not worth the small improvement in performance...relative to the price difference.

Of course all my opinion!

I found an MSI GF4 4800SE for $169 online, not a bad price at all for that card IMO. It's not likely that I would use any of the bundled software that comes with a GF4, but it's nice to know that they throw it in the package. With the release of the 5000 series cards, the 4000 series cards are dropping more and more each week/month. I wish I had waited an extra few months, oh well.

That is a good deal for a 4800SE...if it is still available where you found it. Prolly can't beat that Grif...(the 4200's I mentioned are usually around $130).

bought it today. It was sent from the company to Fedex. Should be hear in a few days or so, but with Good Friday, may not arrive until Monday.