12-28-2003, 11:08 AM | #1 (permalink) |
Insane
|
video card... looking for advice
I'm in the market for a new video card. Right now I have a Xtasy 6564 GeForce3 Ti200, which is ok for the games I play (BF1942, Call of Duty) but I'm looking for something that will work well with HL2 and Doom3.
I know I've seen topics for this before but with no search I have to ask again. Sorry. Anyway, I'm looking to spend up to $200. Thanks
__________________
If I say a chicken can pull a boxcar, hitch it up. |
12-28-2003, 11:21 AM | #2 (permalink) |
Just here for the beer.
Location: Ft. Lauderdale, Floriduh
|
You can get a Radeon 9600 XT for about $170 on Price Watch. That's a good mainstream card. I run a Radeon 9500 Pro and everything is playable for now. For another $50 or so, you can get a 9700 Pro. That's what I would do. I'm going to get a 9800 Pro soon. Good luck.
__________________
I like stuff. |
12-28-2003, 12:15 PM | #3 (permalink) |
Insane
|
I think I'll just dish out the cash for the ATI Radeon_ 9800 Pro 128MB. It seems to be the best card available and gets the highest benchmarks for HL2, and it's "only" $299 at Circuit City right now.
I'll probably head to the store later this evening, so if someone wants to try and talk me out of it... you best hurry Thanks
__________________
If I say a chicken can pull a boxcar, hitch it up. |
12-28-2003, 12:49 PM | #4 (permalink) | |
Registered User
Location: Somewhere in Ohio
|
Quote:
|
|
12-28-2003, 05:11 PM | #5 (permalink) |
Knight of the Old Republic
Location: Winston-Salem, NC
|
The Radeon 9800 Pro is a very good choice. An alternative is a GeForce FX 5900 Ultra. They're about the same price. The GeForce does better in Doom 3 benchmarks right now, and the 9800 does better in Half-Life 2 benchmarks. Your choice!
-Lasereth
__________________
"A Darwinian attacks his theory, seeking to find flaws. An ID believer defends his theory, seeking to conceal flaws." -Roger Ebert |
12-28-2003, 06:31 PM | #7 (permalink) | |
Insane
|
Quote:
I have another question for all you guys. These are my system specs: Athlon XP 1700+ @ 1.47 GHz 512 MB of RAM Do you think it I would get a major boost in performance (during games) if I upgraded my processor? Is it worth it?
__________________
If I say a chicken can pull a boxcar, hitch it up. |
|
12-28-2003, 06:58 PM | #8 (permalink) | |
Misanthropic
Location: Ohio! yay!
|
Quote:
~Crack
__________________
Crack, you and I are long overdue for a vicious bout of mansex. ~Halx Last edited by crackprogram; 12-28-2003 at 07:00 PM.. |
|
12-28-2003, 07:33 PM | #9 (permalink) |
Tilted
|
Get one of these, whatever you can afford :
RADEON™ 9800XT RADEON™ 9600XT ALL-IN-WONDER® 9600 PRO RADEON™ 9600 SE (I wouldn't recommend this one, as it is supposed to be crap) According to http://www.atihl2offer.com/ , you will get a free copy of Half Life 2 with it. |
12-28-2003, 08:04 PM | #10 (permalink) | |
Knight of the Old Republic
Location: Winston-Salem, NC
|
Quote:
If you can upgrade your motherboard and CPU, then yes, it is definitely worth it. That Athlon XP is a nice CPU, but a decent upgrade would put you in the "ok zone" for games for the next 1-2 years. Your current motherboard will probably hold a 2.0 GHz Athlon XP 2600+ at 266 MHz FSB. If it supports 333 MHz FSB, then a whole new series comes into play: the Bartons. So: do ya wanna spend money on a new motherboard and CPU, or just a new CPU? Secondly, what motherboard do you have? -Lasereth
__________________
"A Darwinian attacks his theory, seeking to find flaws. An ID believer defends his theory, seeking to conceal flaws." -Roger Ebert |
|
12-28-2003, 08:43 PM | #11 (permalink) |
eat more fruit
Location: Seattle
|
I have owned a Radeon 7000, an Nvidia ti4200, and now a Radeon 9800 Pro. I don't really have a preference among card companies, but right now ATI does have the advantage in drivers.
The XT line of Radeon's don't offer a sizable performance advantage over the 9800/9700/9600 pro's. I personally think the Radeon 9800 pro is the best deal out there now given the cost and performance.
__________________
"A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows us that faith proves nothing." - Friedrich Nietzsche |
12-28-2003, 09:23 PM | #12 (permalink) |
Insane
|
I wanted to reply earlier, but I was having some problems with my keyboard. Anyway...
<b>Lasereth</b>: Yes, I do plan on replacing my mainboard if it would be a wise decision to upgrade my CPU. Actually, I was thinking about this setup: - Intel Pentium 4/ 2.4C GHz 800MHz FSB, 512K Cache, Hyper Threading Technology - Retail - Asus 865PE Chipset Motherboard for Intel Socket 478 CPU, Model "P4P800 Deluxe" -RETAIL Would it be worth it? Will my XP 1700+ hamper the true abilities of a Radeon 9800 Pro?
__________________
If I say a chicken can pull a boxcar, hitch it up. |
12-28-2003, 09:30 PM | #13 (permalink) | |
Knight of the Old Republic
Location: Winston-Salem, NC
|
Quote:
Today's games rely more heavily on the videocard instead of the CPU, but you have to have a CPU to keep up with it. The P4 will work great, but any of the AMD Athlon XP Bartons would do great as well. Hell, a 2600+ XP at 2.0 GHz would be perfectly fine. That 2.4 C core P4 is the best deal that Intel has on the market -- it would be a damn good choice. -Lasereth
__________________
"A Darwinian attacks his theory, seeking to find flaws. An ID believer defends his theory, seeking to conceal flaws." -Roger Ebert Last edited by Lasereth; 12-28-2003 at 09:32 PM.. |
|
12-29-2003, 09:03 AM | #15 (permalink) | |
Knight of the Old Republic
Location: Winston-Salem, NC
|
Quote:
-Lasereth
__________________
"A Darwinian attacks his theory, seeking to find flaws. An ID believer defends his theory, seeking to conceal flaws." -Roger Ebert |
|
12-29-2003, 12:04 PM | #16 (permalink) |
Psycho
|
The 5900 just runs. The 9800 needs attention once in awhile. Granted, it is an AIW, but it just makes too many demands and requires too much attention. I still don't see the Catalyst as being very nice.
Benchmarking aside, and flying by the seat of my pants, says my 5900 Ultra is a smoother operating, lower maintenance card even though it did cost more than my 9800 pro AIW. |
12-29-2003, 11:51 PM | #18 (permalink) | |
Psycho
Location: NY
|
Quote:
i still have never tended to it, other than those remote driver updates...
__________________
b000yahed up your w000pah!! Joygasm~!! |
|
12-30-2003, 04:02 AM | #19 (permalink) | |
eat more fruit
Location: Seattle
|
Quote:
I have a 9800 pro... I don't have to do give it any special attention other than updating drivers. Messy- That setup is pretty similar to mine: ASUS P4P800 DELUXE Pentum 2.8C Ht Radeon 9800 pro 1 GB of Corsair XMS 3200 This gets me about 44,000 on Aquamark without overclocking and 5400 on 3DMark 03 (3DMark doesn't like my comp for some reason).
__________________
"A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows us that faith proves nothing." - Friedrich Nietzsche Last edited by ChrisJericho; 12-30-2003 at 04:07 AM.. |
|
12-30-2003, 07:42 AM | #20 (permalink) | |
Knight of the Old Republic
Location: Winston-Salem, NC
|
Quote:
-Lasereth
__________________
"A Darwinian attacks his theory, seeking to find flaws. An ID believer defends his theory, seeking to conceal flaws." -Roger Ebert |
|
Tags |
advice, card, video |
|
|