PHP: Check if file exists at url - php

Question

I have a small problem of needed to check which of 3 possible file paths relates to the correct image. I've always used get_headers for this in the past - but there are up to 100 images to load on any given pagination - so thats a potential of 300 get_headers in a worst case scenario and its painfully slow on my university server space.
However for any given steam_id there is the potential for images to exist at 2 of the possible file paths. Which means if I just include all three of urls and use Jquery to hide the on errors, for around half the results I end up with 2 images (which is in all fairness faster then what I'm doing currently, but at least the get_headers method looks fine.
Here's what I'm using so far:
//Use Header Response to determine which img to use
$url1 = 'http://cdn4.steampowered.com/v/gfx/apps/' . $row -> steam_id_clean . 'header_292x136.jpg';
$url2 = 'http://cdn4.steampowered.com/v/gfx/apps/' . $row -> steam_id_clean . 'header.jpg';
$header_response = get_headers($url1, 1);
if (strpos($header_response[0], "404") !== false) {
// File does not exist at url1 - recurse.
$header_response = get_headers($url2, 1);
if (strpos($header_response[0], "404") !== false) {
//File does not exist at URL - Therefore must be at URL3
echo '<img src = "http://cdn4.steampowered.com/v/gfx/subs/' . $row -> steam_id_clean . 'header.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: auto;" >';
} else {
//File exists at URL2
echo '<img src = "http://cdn4.steampowered.com/v/gfx/apps/' . $row -> steam_id_clean . 'header.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: auto;" >';
}
} else {
// File exists at URL1
echo '<img src = "http://cdn4.steampowered.com/v/gfx/apps/' . $row -> steam_id_clean . 'header_292x136.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: auto;" >';
}
This data is too dynamic - so I can't write a scrape to grab the images. Any Suggestions in a better method than get_headers would be appreciated. I don't have access to curl (unfortunately) on my university server either!