Topic: New Video Card - Opinions Welcome

[Dracho]

Well, I've decided my GEForce 5600FX is a little old and I'm thinking about upgrading, but I can't afford a top-of-the-line card.  I can maybe afford $200, so I'm looking at cards a generation back (but still 2 generations newer than the one I have).  The system I own is a 2.8 ghz Pentium IV with 512K of system cache and 1GB of DDR Ram.  The video slot is an AGP 8x.

I'm thinking about leaving Nvidia and going to a Radeon for a change.  My last 5 cards have been Nvidia.  Maybe something like a Radeon X700 Pro Video Card, 8x AGP, 256MB GDDR3 for $199, or a All-In-Wonder X600Pro Video Card, PCI Express, 256MB DDR for $229.


Anyone more current on thechnology able to give me a little guidance?

[toasty0]

My New Video Set Up

Jerry

[Dracho]

LOL

[Javora]

LOL  That's funny Toasty.



As for video cards if you are going to go with ATI then here are a couple of choses:

ATI 9800 with a 2X/4X AGP and 128MB of Ram

ATI 9800 with a 4X/8X AGP and 128MB of Ram

ATI 9800 with a 4X/8X AGP and 256MB of Ram

IMHO I would get the 9800 with 256MB of Ram, it will go over your budget by about $40USD (not including shipping) but I think the extra 128MB of Ram is worth it.  I have this video card now and love it.  The card is not the greatest but then I don't have the $500USD for a top of the line X850 either.  Hope this helps.

[Dracho]

Why would you go with the 9600, rather than an X700 or X800?

LOL  That's funny Toasty.



As for video cards if you are going to go with ATI then here are a couple of choses:

ATI 9800 with a 2X/4X AGP and 128MB of Ram

ATI 9800 with a 4X/8X AGP and 128MB of Ram

ATI 9800 with a 4X/8X AGP and 256MB of Ram

IMHO I would get the 9800 with 256MB of Ram, it will go over your budget by about $40USD (not including shipping) but I think the extra 128MB of Ram is worth it.  I have this video card now and love it.  The card is not the greatest but then I don't have the $500USD for a top of the line X850 either.  Hope this helps.

[Javora]

Why would you go with the 9600, rather than an X700 or X800?

It was the 9800 not the 9600.  The first time I looked I didn't see any X700 or X800 with a AGP connector it was all PCIe.  This time around I did come across this X800 that is about in your price range.  It is not the Pro version but it does have the AGP that you are looking for.  I don't know why I missed it the first time but there it is.  I wouldn't bother with an X700 if you can find a X800.  Although if you are going to go with the current generation video card I think I would go with nVidia.  Overall they seem to be making better cards this time around.  Even though the ATI X850 is the fastest right now, it is around $500USD and it was only released to recapture the crown from nVidia.

[E_Look]

I don't know if this applies, but according to some (people I read on the Internet), at least with a Radeon 9600 XT card (yes, "6", not "8"), the extra 128 Mb RAM doesn't really do much to make the card faster in practice, and maybe this is dated now, and that there aren't too many games around yet that could take advantage of the extra RAM.  Of course, this may not apply to the 9800 series at all.

[Sirgod]

Why would you go with the 9600, rather than an X700 or X800?

It was the 9800 not the 9600.  The first time I looked I didn't see any X700 or X800 with a AGP connector it was all PCIe.  This time around I did come across this X800 that is about in your price range.  It is not the Pro version but it does have the AGP that you are looking for.  I don't know why I missed it the first time but there it is.  I wouldn't bother with an X700 if you can find a X800.  Although if you are going to go with the current generation video card I think I would go with nVidia.  Overall they seem to be making better cards this time around.  Even though the ATI X850 is the fastest right now, it is around $500USD and it was only released to recapture the crown from nVidia.

I'm using the X800 Pro, and I love the card. It runs my Dual monitor system Better then ever. However, when I bought mine It was about $450.00 last year.

Stephen

[E_Look]

$450??  Yeeeowtch!

[Sirgod]

Yeah I spent around 5 Grand on my system back last August.

From Belarc...

Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 1 (build 2600)         MSI MS-6702 1.0
Processor a         Main Circuit Board b
2.20 gigahertz AMD Athlon 64
128 kilobyte primary memory cache
512 kilobyte secondary memory cache         Board: MSI MS-6702 1.0
Bus Clock: 200 megahertz
BIOS: American Megatrends Inc. Version 07.00T 04/02/01
Drives         Memory Modules c,d
160.03 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
44.12 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space

AOPEN COM5232/AAH [CD-ROM drive]
LITE-ON DVDRW SOHW-1213S [CD-ROM drive]

WDC WD1600JB-00EVA0 [Hard drive] (160.04 GB) -- drive 0         1536 Megabytes Installed Memory

Slot '0' has 512 MB
Slot '1' has 512 MB
Slot '2' has 512 MB
     Local Drive Volumes
     
      
c: (NTFS on drive 0)    160.03 GB    44.12 GB free
     Network DrivesRADEON X800 PRO [Display adapter]
RADEON X800 PRO Secondary [Display adapter]
Proview AY965C [Monitor] (19.1"vis, s/n 308006195, September 2003)
Proview AY965C [Monitor] (19.1"vis, s/n 308006198, September 2003)
Creative Game Port
Creative SB Audigy 2 ZS (WDM)
Realtek AC'97 Audio for VIA (R) Audio Controller

Stephen

[Khalee1]

Yeah I spent around 5 Grand on my system back last August.

From Belarc...

Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 1 (build 2600)         MSI MS-6702 1.0
Processor a         Main Circuit Board b
2.20 gigahertz AMD Athlon 64
128 kilobyte primary memory cache
512 kilobyte secondary memory cache         Board: MSI MS-6702 1.0
Bus Clock: 200 megahertz
BIOS: American Megatrends Inc. Version 07.00T 04/02/01
Drives         Memory Modules c,d
160.03 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
44.12 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space

AOPEN COM5232/AAH [CD-ROM drive]
LITE-ON DVDRW SOHW-1213S [CD-ROM drive]

WDC WD1600JB-00EVA0 [Hard drive] (160.04 GB) -- drive 0         1536 Megabytes Installed Memory

Slot '0' has 512 MB
Slot '1' has 512 MB
Slot '2' has 512 MB
     Local Drive Volumes
     
      
c: (NTFS on drive 0)    160.03 GB    44.12 GB free
     Network DrivesRADEON X800 PRO [Display adapter]
RADEON X800 PRO Secondary [Display adapter]
Proview AY965C [Monitor] (19.1"vis, s/n 308006195, September 2003)
Proview AY965C [Monitor] (19.1"vis, s/n 308006198, September 2003)
Creative Game Port
Creative SB Audigy 2 ZS (WDM)
Realtek AC'97 Audio for VIA (R) Audio Controller

Stephen

All that power and all you do is use it to surf for porn.

[Sirgod]

Priorities Tim, Priorities.

Stephen

[Elvis]

its the wrong time to switch to ATI, the Nvidia cards in this generation are better than the ATIs for the most part. Meaning the 6800 and 6600 series cards are better than ATIs offering in the same category.

Not to belabor a simple point if you do buy a PCI express card your also going to have change your M/B. I would look for a vanilla 6800 or a 6600GT AGP card.

[E_Look]

Yeah, Elvis, but in my scoutings 'round (midnight) the 'Net, it seems that while spec-wise you're right, ATIs currently still give a bit more bang for the buck... and in my house, the buck is stretched.

[Iceman]

I don't know if this applies, but according to some (people I read on the Internet), at least with a Radeon 9600 XT card (yes, "6", not "8"), the extra 128 Mb RAM doesn't really do much to make the card faster in practice, and maybe this is dated now, and that there aren't too many games around yet that could take advantage of the extra RAM.  Of course, this may not apply to the 9800 series at all.

LIES! My roommate and I had the same card (9600XT) and I had the 256, he had the 128. I can run Doom3 and Half-Life 2 a good deal better than he can. It does help, it's just not necessary.  The systems were also comprable (until he got a watercooler and decided overclocking was a fun hobby).

[E_Look]

Really!

I guess the graphics must be INTENSE in those games.  I've only seen Doom 3 on my brother in law's comp and he has an older nVidia card (I forget which one) and the game runs okay.  I don't know what Half Life runs like.

[Iceman]

Probably just a hair slower, if not an unnoticeable difference.

[E_Look]

But you say the extra 128 Mb makes a real difference, right?

[Iceman]

I would say that it's a balance. It works for me cause my processor is a bit slower. So the game runs smoother but loads a bit slower ya know? 

If you're got a topnotch processor, you probably won't notice a difference.

Otherwise (and most likely) spend the extra $30-50 and get the 256 model.

[E_Look]

Aw, I already bought and installed the 128 Mb version in my kid's PC, but the CPU is the AMD Athlon XP 2500+ with the Barton core, the one running at 1.833 GHz withe 333 MHz FSB.  That, I think is a pretty good chip, so the load will probably shared better between CPU, GPU, and any RAM anywhere.