Admiral Odin Posted October 1, 2002 Share Posted October 1, 2002 I'm debating about upgrading my video card. Anyone have any recommendations? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commander 598 Posted October 1, 2002 Share Posted October 1, 2002 I need a new Vid Card to, but i'm getting a new system with it.(I advise the same.) My choices would be: Nvidia Geforce 4: Ti4200 Geforce 4: Ti4600 ATI Radeon 9700 There all 128MB Cards. The Radeon 9700 is the best.(Or so I heard...) I have a thing about sticking with Brand names like Nvidia and Pentium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admiral Odin Posted October 1, 2002 Author Share Posted October 1, 2002 Geforce 4 Ti4600 is a tad to much for my budget. Although I have read great review about the 4200 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jem Posted October 2, 2002 Share Posted October 2, 2002 Radeon 9700 IS the best but at a price, about 800$ The Radeon 9700 is the vid card used for playing DOOM III. I'm getting my new computer on the 3rd and I wanted a Radeon 9700 at first but it's price alone just killed the mere thought of owning it. So I just went along with the Geforce 4: Ti4200. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyan Farlander Posted October 2, 2002 Share Posted October 2, 2002 $800? Isn't it really more like $350? That's still too high, but hey... I'm still running my good old TNT2 There aren't really any games I want to play that require a better card to be played at maximum detail (you can probably guess what I think of today's games). I was thinking about upgrading it for Jedi Knight II, but the demo just didn't impress me that much. I plan to upgrade my video card (the rest of my system is fine) and maybe pick up JKII when Doom III comes out, if I decide to buy it. It's the one PC game I sort of care about. But who knows what great graphics cards will be out by the time Doom III is released, so there's no point in buying one now. It'll just be a waste of money and it won't be all that great when Doom III comes out anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikhnaton Posted October 2, 2002 Share Posted October 2, 2002 if you're looking to get the best, don't get ATi. the 9700 may have all the benchmarks now, but nVidia will make it worth your wait because they will be back on top. I just recommend you find a GeForce 4 with at least 64 megs of RAM (DDR preferrably) and run with it. I myself am running a gF 4 with 64 megs of regular SDRAM and it works great most of the time (except during JK2 when i have a room full of baddies all shooting at me, but my processor is only an Athlon classic at 700 mhz). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle d'Tana Posted October 2, 2002 Share Posted October 2, 2002 Well it depends of how much money you will spend... Ok these are the best: nVidia Quadro4 750XGL 128MB nVidia Quadro4 900XGL 128MB 3D Labs Wildcat III Dual Processor 128MB (Expensive) Good Cards are: nVidia Quadro4 550 XGL 64MB nVidia Quadro 2 EX I resell these typs of cards... Look for the prices. I know, maxbe they are a bit expensive... Oh, Asus has cheap graphic cards.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle d'Tana Posted October 2, 2002 Share Posted October 2, 2002 Oh, I found the Prices, I changed it from Swiss Franks in USD: WildcatIII: about 2200$ nVidia 900 XGL: about 1500$ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ****HIGH END CARDS**** They're so good graphic cards. I became the nVidia 900XGL from my Company cos a client wishes the WildcatIII, so I bought it for less than 500$...... The other are between 300 - 600$ i guess... And these are all very well cards.... hope you find one!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zargon Posted October 2, 2002 Share Posted October 2, 2002 Originally posted by Jem Radeon 9700 IS the best but at a price, about 800$ The Radeon 9700 is the vid card used for playing DOOM III. I'm getting my new computer on the 3rd and I wanted a Radeon 9700 at first but it's price alone just killed the mere thought of owning it. So I just went along with the Geforce 4: Ti4200. A) Radeon has TERRIBLE driver support. B) DOOM III is being developed with DX 8.1, so the card really doesn't matter(atleast this is what I have been told) C)NVIDIA is a tiny god of a corporation...........they will always be on top, and they have best driver support EVER. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gold leader Posted October 2, 2002 Share Posted October 2, 2002 ad A) ATI has learned from their consumers problems with the Radeon 8500 driver support. 9700 driver support is much better now. It the fastest card on the market and it's directx 9.0 compatible. The only reason not to buy this card is budget limitations. ad B) That may be the case, but still the 9700 is up to 50% faster on resolutions of 1600x1200 with 4x FSAA enabled. That does matter ad C) NVidia has excellent cards, service and support. Certainly true. What I think which card you should get depends on 2 things: what you can afford and what you want with it. The Nvidia 4600 and ATI 9700 are both very fast, but also very expensive, so I think you can leave these out of the consideration. The same goes for the suggestions by Kyle. Nice cards, if you're in the modelling industry. Not really for games and home users. The GF4 MX cards are good and relatively cheap cards, but don't support directx 8.1. For a few bucks more you have a GF4 4200. A far better choice, IMO. The 4200 comes in two tastes; 64 MB and 128 MB. The 64 MB version has faster clock speed and performs slightly better in the current benchmarks than the 128 MB version. But the 128 MB version is better prepared for games like Doom III, which will require a lot of texture memory. Keep in mind that the GF4 4200 cards are easy to overclock, without much danger. It takes little effort take take them beyond the performance level of the often forgotten GF4 4400. The 4400, just like its number says, lies between the 4200 and 4600 cards. It has fast clock speeds and 128 MB memory. Overclocked cards surpass regular 4600 cards. My advice would be to get a GF4 4200. They have a great performance/price ratio, are easy to overclock and have directx 8.1 support. Excellent value for money, whether you choose the 64 or 128 MB version. p.s. don't let yourself be talked into purchasing a 8x AGP version, even if your MoBo supports it (only the newer ones do, btw), it's completely unnecessary as you won't gain any performance by it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zargon Posted October 2, 2002 Share Posted October 2, 2002 Originally posted by Gold leader ad B) That may be the case, but still the 9700 is up to 50% faster on resolutions of 1600x1200 with 4x FSAA enabled. That does matter Fow now.........................untill NVidia out does them again......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gold leader Posted October 2, 2002 Share Posted October 2, 2002 They probably will with the upcoming NV30 core. It's going to take at least a month till its release, though. It's like the Intel-AMD battle, ATI already has a follow-up for the 9700 in the pipeline. I'm sure they'll announce it as soon as the GF4 successor comes out. That is the downside of these tech races: upgrading or waiting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikhnaton Posted October 2, 2002 Share Posted October 2, 2002 to me, ATi = apple. too damn proprietary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyan Farlander Posted October 2, 2002 Share Posted October 2, 2002 Originally posted by Gold leader It's like the Intel-AMD battle, ATI already has a follow-up for the 9700 in the pipeline. LOL! He mentioned companies that make CPUs and used the word "pipeline" in the same sentence! You see it's...and he's...so it's funny...you get it? Never mind - I'm easily amused... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admiral Odin Posted October 2, 2002 Author Share Posted October 2, 2002 I'm basically sure that I'll be getting a Geforce4 4200. Seems to be the best buy for my budget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gold leader Posted October 2, 2002 Share Posted October 2, 2002 Originally posted by Keyan Farlander LOL! He mentioned companies that make CPUs and used the word "pipeline" in the same sentence! You see it's...and he's...so it's funny...you get it? Never mind - I'm easily amused... Shh! Back into your cache! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psycho Tycho Posted October 2, 2002 Share Posted October 2, 2002 If you want a good video card, but an inexpensive one then go for an ATI Radeon 8500. It's only about $125-150, but its 128 DDR with TV out. Radeon 9700 is way overboard, unless you, yourself is a hardcore gamer with like a $4000 Alienware computer. I've seen the dislikes about Radeon around here, so the Nvidia Geforce 4 MX 440 64 MB DDR is also a good pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jem Posted October 2, 2002 Share Posted October 2, 2002 Originally posted by Admiral I'm basically sure that I'll be getting a Geforce4 4200. Seems to be the best buy for my budget. yup, that was my choice... My new computer will be ready tomorow!!!!!! Youpi!!!!! /*Runs around in cercles...*/ Whatever you do don't go for the Matrox Parhelia... I won't waste my time explaining why, just don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zargon Posted October 3, 2002 Share Posted October 3, 2002 Originally posted by Psycho Tycho If you want a good video card, but an inexpensive one then go for an ATI Radeon 8500. It's only about $125-150, but its 128 DDR with TV out. Radeon 9700 is way overboard, unless you, yourself is a hardcore gamer with like a $4000 Alienware computer. See, but proving that you have THAT MUCH money to burn and no intellect as how to spend it, you might as well. Alienware makes the most overpriced overrated machines that I have ever seen. Believe me, atleast 2/3'rds of the people here shold easily be able to make their own, and it costs EONS less. If you need warrenties, dont buy OEM. And it takes much less time than waiting 3 weeks for those dillholes to 'process' your order.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admiral Odin Posted October 3, 2002 Author Share Posted October 3, 2002 The 4200, is just as good if not better then the Radeon 8500. There really isn't a need to spend that much money on a computer. The only reason I'm upgrading my video card now is because when I bought my new comp, I couldn't afford a good card. I would never spend 4 grand on a computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogue9 Posted October 3, 2002 Share Posted October 3, 2002 just get yourself a Radeon 9000 Pro comes with 128 megs of ram and is only 115 dollars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admiral Odin Posted October 5, 2002 Author Share Posted October 5, 2002 I don't trust Radeon. Should pick up the card tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superthrawn Posted October 7, 2002 Share Posted October 7, 2002 most overpriced overrated machines that I have ever seen. Believe me, atleast 2/3'rds of the people here shold easily be able to make their own, and it costs EONS less. First off, it's Aeons, not Eons, and secondly, and Aeon is a measure of time, not money. Secondly, PCGamer, the only magazine I trust to be accurate in their reviews (they've never steered me wrong) has given every new Alienware PC a 90+ score. (Which is incredibly hard to recieve from them) Why? Because those PC's are made to play games. Online or alone, they are created specifically for someone to game on. So, that having been said, I'll tell you what they say for good video cards. Entry-level system: GeForce4 MX440 64MB DDR $75(US) Mid-level system: NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4200 $149(US) Dream-level system: NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4600 $300(US) So, there you have it. That's what PCGamer recommends for your gaming needs, out of all of the stuff they've tested (and they test everything, that's what they recommend as the easiest, cheapest, and most reliable, while still being readily available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zargon Posted October 7, 2002 Share Posted October 7, 2002 Originally posted by superthrawn First off, it's Aeons, not Eons, and secondly, and Aeon is a measure of time, not money. Yeah, I spelled it wrong, but its a figure of speech that is commonly used in the english language.......... Secondly, PCGamer, the only magazine I trust to be accurate in their reviews (they've never steered me wrong) has given every new Alienware PC a 90+ score. (Which is incredibly hard to recieve from them) Why? Because those PC's are made to play games. Online or alone, they are created specifically for someone to game on. They also get cash enema's from companies for advertising. I didn't say they weren't good computers, but they ARE a ripoff. Last august my roommate bought a 4400 dollar alienware computer, I took all of his componets and added up retail cost, it was a bit under 2000 bucks. That my friend, IS a ripoff. Retail parts come with as good of a warrenty as any DELL or Gateway or Alienware warrenty. However of all the big built to order computers, they are the only company that uses decent mobo's.... So, that having been said, I'll tell you what they say for good video cards. Entry-level system: GeForce4 MX440 64MB DDR $75(US) Mid-level system: NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4200 $149(US) Dream-level system: NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4600 $300(US) So, there you have it. That's what PCGamer recommends for your gaming needs, out of all of the stuff they've tested (and they test everything, that's what they recommend as the easiest, cheapest, and most reliable, while still being readily available. I would to go anandtech.com for any hardware review over a company that gets advertising money and does reviews..........however I do like PC Gamer ALOT, but business is business. However, for an entry level machine, I would get a GF2 GTS, they run around 50 bucks and do everything the GF4 MX does, b/c a GF4 MX is a GF2 chipset Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gold leader Posted October 8, 2002 Share Posted October 8, 2002 A dream level system with a Ti 4600? Are you sure they've tested everything? BTW. Zarg is right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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