Hey, what up people?  Just a quick question.  I don't know too much about video cards and I'm hoping to upgrade my standard factory video card to something better.  What are some affordable (and by affordable I mean less than $100) video cards that will help widen my gaming experience?  I don't need something SUPER awesome, but right now I can't even play The Witcher.  Help?

Maybe this? 
 
Search around Newegg a bit. You can sort by price, rating, etc. It's easy to find what's considered good by the ratings and reviews.

" You think you got it bad here are my PC specs : Pentium 4 processor, Nividia Ti 4200, 128 MB RAM , and a fucking sound blaster so ya my PC was great like 9 fuckin' years ago plus the real shitty part my favourite genre's are RTS, and Simulation Games. "

" Maybe this?  Search around Newegg a bit. You can sort by price, rating, etc. It's easy to find what's considered good by the ratings and reviews. "

 I have a Pentium 4 3.2ghz. I just bought a PNY Geforce 512mb GT 240 for $99/US and it runs most games well. The Witcher runs great as does Dragon Age Origins.
 
The cool thing about about the GT 240 I bought is its low power consumption. I only have a 350 watt power supply and my new video card needs very little to run. You don't even need to connect it. I also bought the card at Best Buy.

"  I have a Pentium 4 3.2ghz. I just bought a PNY Geforce 512mb GT 240 for $99/US and it runs most games well. The Witcher runs great as does Dragon Age Origins.  The cool thing about about the GT 240 I bought is its low power consumption. I only have a 350 watt power supply and my new video card needs very little to run. You don't even need to connect it. I also bought the card at Best Buy. "

" @Claude said:

"  I have a Pentium 4 3.2ghz. I just bought a PNY Geforce 512mb GT 240 for $99/US and it runs most games well. The Witcher runs great as does Dragon Age Origins.  The cool thing about about the GT 240 I bought is its low power consumption. I only have a 350 watt power supply and my new video card needs very little to run. You don't even need to connect it. I also bought the card at Best Buy. "

Holy crap dude. You should seriously consider upgrading that PSU. 350 is kinda low this day and age. "

" Maybe this?  Search around Newegg a bit. You can sort by price, rating, etc. It's easy to find what's considered good by the ratings and reviews. "

" @JJWeatherman said:

Not worth it with the P4. I plan on buying a new PC one day. The one I have now runs the games I need to run fine. "

Just get the HD5770, you have to spend a bit of money to get some performance. I think the hd4850 runs a bit too hot, stutters non stop for alot of ppl, especially crysis. Maybe you can find the HD5770 at $159, it has DX11 and it probally runs faster and cooler.

 
Before anyone says, why am I recommending an ati card over nvidia since lots of ppl thinks i'm an nvidia fanboy, it's only because they need to release the gtx460 before I can even recommend those lower end cards. You have to make sure you have a good enough power watt supply and also a pci express slot with your old pc, or it won't work.

you can grab an 8800gt for about 60$ on ebay, 2 generations behind but it plays witcher just fine, i recently upgraded to gtx 480 from an 8800gt.

" you can grab an 8800gt for about 60$ on ebay, 2 generations behind but it plays witcher just fine, i recently upgraded to gtx 480 from an 8800gt. "

look at toms hard ware they have great charts from comparting video cards and which are the best to do surtend things and they have infomration on video cards.

" @Marz said:

" you can grab an 8800gt for about 60$ on ebay, 2 generations behind but it plays witcher just fine, i recently upgraded to gtx 480 from an 8800gt. "

Yeah the 8800GT is a great card and will run games with great performance. What are the specs of your computer though? "

...Well it looks like you are using a laptop, duder.  Upgrading the video card (if your model can) might be expensive and not worth it.

" ...Well it looks like you are using a laptop, duder.  Upgrading the video card (if your model can) might be expensive and not worth it. "

 You'd be better off getting a new laptop.  Assuming that you can upgrade the gpu on your laptop (which is unlikely), I'd seriously doubt you could find a half decent mobile gpu for $100.

my advice, save up for awhile, i know it sucks, but then you can build your own gaming tower which a decent one can be actually pretty cheap. thats what I'm doing, I found a site that breaks down gaming PC's by how much you're willing to pay to build one. And yeah only certain laptops can be upgradeable, just how they're made.

If you've got an integrated Intel video card, which it seems you do, you're likely stuck with it. 
 
There's always Warcraft 3, though!

Why are mobile graphics cards more difficult to acquire compared to desktop ones? newegg doesn't even sell them

All right.  Well, it looks like I can't do much.  You guys really gave me a lot of insight.  My cousin had told me at the beginning that he wasn't sure if I could get a video card for my laptop, so I came here.  I do have a PC as well, it's just OLD.  I probably am better off getting something new.  Thanks to everyone!!

yah unfortunately it's going to be difficult to upgrade that laptops video card.  You probably are better off saving and buying a new one.

This could net you a decent $400 gaming rig if you are looking for that route. Nothing special but will be guaranteed to play anything current and then some.

I don't think the guy from 2 years ago still needs a graphics card. At least I hope not.

Also that processor could not even run my favorite snes emulator.EDIT: Rereading that came off dickish, its more of a comment on the emulator itself than anything else.