$200 to spend on a Video card

[IdBuRnS]

I'm not very familiar with the Radeon cards as my last 3 cards have been GeForces. I'm looking for something for my dad that is as fast as my GeForce4 Ti 4200 w/ 128MB of ram. Basically I'm going to give him my GeForce4 and get something for myself, at the very least another 4200 with VIVO. Suggestions?

 

[dfloyd]

Radeon 9500 Pro, Stomps even the 4600 if you turn on FSAA/AF, either way its still right at as fast as the 4600. I think its right at $200 if you check pricewatch.

 

[IdBuRnS]

I just found mention of that card at a few websites, sharky has a direct comparison here where they say:

"At a street price of under-$190, this compares to a name brand, retail GeForce4 Ti 4200-8X ($150-$160), GeForce4 Ti 4400 ($200-$210) and the GeForce4 Ti 4600 ($240+). Using this scenario, the Radeon 9500 Atlantis Pro is an excellent value, as the card equals the performance of a GeForce4 Ti 4600, yet can outperform it when anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering are brought into play, and is fully DirectX 9 compatible. "

Unless anyone has a better suggestion I think I'm going to go with a 9500Pro, anyone have suggestions on board manufacturer? What is the deal with Saphire, they've had a few reviews up at different sites?

 

[AnAndAustin]

Manu makes very little diff, Connect3D tend to o/c the best but all semm good for that So Rad9500PRO is the clear winner, always play with 4xAA & 8xAF and still outperform most GF4TI cards running without any AA or AF!

 

[MarkFahey]

Looks liek the 9500 Pro is the clear winner. But and a big BUT, it seems that they are very hard to find? Newegg.com dosen't even have a 9500 Pro catagory any more. And I have read from others peeps in the forums here that they have ordered 9500 Pro's (some 8 weeks back) and are still waiting...

 

[IdBuRnS]

I just ordered from MWave for about $170.