ATI 3650 an ok upgrade for the 9600??

[Kevstir]

Hi Guys

My ATI 9600 (non pro or SE) 128MB died today , would the ATI HD 3650 512 DDR2 be a good upgrade? i only play halflife 2 and command and conquer 3 so nothing to taxing (got a 360 for gaming), systems not the best so not willing to spend a great deal.

system specs are

amd 64 3700 single core (clocked to 2.4ghz)
2gb ddr2
asrock dual sata2 mobo

the mb has agp and pcie so have the slot for the 3650.

iv seen the 3650 for £45 delivered and that's basiclly all im willing to spend.

also found an xfx 8600gts for £43 delivered is this better still???

so have i made a good enough choice??

Cheers

Kev

 

[Sylvanas]

Originally posted by: Kevstir
Hi Guys

My ATI 9600 (non pro or SE) 128MB died today , would the ATI HD 3650 512 DDR2 be a good upgrade? i only play halflife 2 and command and conquer 3 so nothing to taxing (got a 360 for gaming), systems not the best so not willing to spend a great deal.

system specs are

amd 64 3700 single core (clocked to 2.4ghz)
2gb ddr2
asrock dual sata2 mobo

the mb has agp and pcie so have the slot for the 3650.

iv seen the 3650 for £45 delivered and that's basiclly all im willing to spend.

also found an xfx 8600gts for £43 delivered is this better still???

so have i made a good enough choice??

Cheers

Kev

Both of those cards will do what you want them to so it is really a matter of preference. According to this review the 8600GTS is generally a bit faster in modern games at resolutions higher than 1024x768. The 3650 however will run cooler, quieter and consume less power due to it's 55nm process opposed to the GTS' being built on 80nm.

 

[ther00kie16]

Actually 3650 isn't quiet or cool at all and isn't much of a card seeing as how it doesn't improve at all upon 2600pro/xt. So if you can get a 2600 pro or xt for cheaper get 1 of those. Otherwise, aren't the 3850 and 8800gs supposed to be like 65 euros? That would be way better than a 3650/8600.

 

[Kevstir]

Thanks m8

Went for the 8600gts , a wee bit extra power wont go a miss lol

Kev

 

[JPB]

Or you could go with something like a 2600XT. That should be a bit faster, and maybe a little cheaper.