Best Card around $160: 9600Pro, 5600FX, or Ti 4600? Choices, choices....

[Xtreme11]

<FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #d6d2f9">Hello Everyone,

Alright, I have to start by saying I'm just getting back into the game of things in the mid to high end graphics realm, so help me out if you so please fellow gamers....

I was thinking of buying a GF4 Ti 4600 cause it is pretty sweet, but I noticed that nVidia's latest, greatest seems to be the FX line-up now that they've fixed it up. I've tried to find a good review of all three cards being compared, but can't seem to find much of the assortment together.

Correct me if I'm wrong but,
Ti 4600 - Used to be top of the line, DX8 card, has 4x2 pipeline, slows alot in AA, faster or slower than the other two??? don't know...
5600FX - New .13 process, DX9 card, different pipeline that looks smaller but may be faster still???, speed boost for AA
9600Pro - beats 5600FX in non-AA mode, gets beat when AA is on

I'd like to be pretty set for at least adequate performance for Doom3 and HL2 when they come out if possible, I don't need the fastest thing on the block obviously, just looking for the longest lasting bang for the buck till I have to upgrade again (heck, I'm still running my GF2 Ultra right now!).

My gaming rig is all ready to rock once I get the card, I highly reccomend you guys try out a 4 drive RAID 0 array if you don't want to go SCSI, got a 40GB*4 going and it's like jumping from a K6-2 to a Athlon XP, no kidding!

All advice that will lead me down the path to quality gaming goodness in this price range is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Craig
Xtreme11
</FONT>

 

[Xtreme11]

Oh, btw, I was basically just pulling Pricewatch.com prices, I am willing to shell out another $25-50 maybe if it's worth it. Also, I'm pretty sure alot of the cards are very close to each other 'cause of reference design, which ones really stick out as good or bad? Brands?

Thx again,
Craig

 

[beserkfury15]

9600pro aint gonna get beaten by the 5600, 5600ultra maybe, but not 5600. If not the 4600 then yeah, the 9600pro is your best bet.

 

[Harabecw]

Since you're willing to spend a tiny bit more, find a 9700 NON-pro. much better performance than any of these cards with AA/AF, and all around better without.

 

[Pete]

If you want comparative benches, Digit-Life and 3DCenter.de have some detailed reviews comparing all three cards. GamePC also has some 9600P vs. 5600/U numbers.

But the best price/performance at the moment appears to be a Radeon 9700 (non-Pro) for ~$200. It'll be much faster than the three cards you listed at high res and with AA+AF, as the GamePC benches should indicate (look at the gap between the 9600P and the 9700P). Mwave offers a Sapphire OEM, GameVE, a Powercolor retail.

 

[Blastman]

Nice find Pete (the PC review), I don?t regularly visit that site. Always nice to see some reviews with some ? ?other? ? game benchmarks like NOLF2, Vice City, etc. rather than the regular Q3 etc.

 

[Xtreme11]

Ok, from what I read there and some other places, plus what you guys have said, it looks like the Radeon 9700 non-pro is my way to go when compared to the FX5600. Has anyone seen any comparisons of the GF4 Ti4600 with either the FX5600 or 9700??? I'd really like to see how much of a difference there is....

Craig

 

[Pete]

Well, the last two GamePC reviews (Tyan 9600P and eVGA 5900U) show the 9700P and the 5600U, but only with AA&AF. It's pretty clear the 9700P is in a different class than the 5600U. The 9700 will be up to 15% slower than the 9700P.

 

[Tab]

9600 Pro, you should also be able to get 100Mhz out of it by o/c'ing it.

 

[Xtreme11]

I'd still love to find a comparison to a Ti series card, perferably the 4600 if anyone has seen one....

Also, what's up with the GF4 Ti 4800, it's cheaper than the 4600 and always seems to have a SE after it? What gives?

 

[Lonyo]

Ti 4800SE is the AGP 8x version of the Ti 4400, so is slower than the Ti 4600.

 

[Xtreme11]

Thanks for the info. on that, way to go on the marketing for that one nVidia! WTF. Last I heard, AGP 8x is basically still in the hype phase and not able to be practically utilized yet...

 

[Pete]

The recent Digit-Life Gainward 5600U review includes a 4600, 9600P, 5600, and 5600U.