best card for $150?

[Pilsnerpete]

I've been looking around at different reviews and comparisons, but it's still hard to decide...

Am I going to have to deal with serious driver issues with ATi? I've never used any of their cards. I've stuck with nVidia in the past. What to do? If a 9700 pro were down to the $100-$150 range, there'd be no question...I'd get it, come what may. But it's not.🙂

Sooooo, should I get a ti4600 and wait for the price to come down a bit on the higher end cards? Or is there an ATi card in the same price range that's better?


Also, what's a good cooler for the card that you recommend? Is that Zalman heatpipe contraption any good? What about for oc'ing?



Oh! and Thanks in Advance!😛

 

[Matthias99]

My suggestion with a $150 budget: a 9600XT, preferably one that includes HL2. I'd personally take a 9600XT over a 4600 at the same price. The ATI part can handle AA/AF a *lot* better, even if they're about the same speed in DX8 apps without it. ATI's more recent drivers are, in my experience, no worse than NVIDIA's.

However, if you're willing to spend $150, you should really consider that for only $50-60 more, you can get one of several cards which are a big step up from either of those. The ATI 9700Pro/9800NP can be found used for under $200, and CompUSA was running a special last week on the 9800Pro 128MB for $200 AR. Even *not* on sale the 9800Pro is only like $215-230 online. There's also the GeForceFX 5900/5900SE/5900XT, which is around the speed of a 9700Pro (a bit faster in OGL, not as good at IQ features).

The Zalman heatpipe coolers work at least as well as the stock coolers (I'm very happy with mine), but if you want to overclock, you may want to look at the VGA Silencer instead for better results.

 

[SneakyStuff]

Get the 9800 pro from compusa for $200, that is an INCREDIBLE deal.

 

[Corporate Thug]

9600XT for $150

 

[BenSkywalker]

There isn't a good deal in the $150 range. Save up a bit more and step up to the next tier or just put the money in the bank and hold on to it. The 9600XT is whipped by any of the higher end boards, and is only slightly less expensive.

 

[nick1985]

Originally posted by: BenSkywalker
There isn't a good deal in the $150 range. Save up a bit more and step up to the next tier or just put the money in the bank and hold on to it. The 9600XT is whipped by any of the higher end boards, and is only slightly less expensive.

agreed. save up for a 5900nu/9800pro

 

[BTSpope]

if 150 is your limit than a 9600xt would fit the bill. Spending 20 dollars more gets you a hell of a lot more card with the 5900's and 9700's though

 

[TheAudit]

Originally posted by: nick1985

Originally posted by: BenSkywalker
There isn't a good deal in the $150 range. Save up a bit more and step up to the next tier or just put the money in the bank and hold on to it. The 9600XT is whipped by any of the higher end boards, and is only slightly less expensive.

agreed. save up for a 5900nu/9800pro

Yeah, that's the way to go.

 

[Evdawg]

9800 pro for 200$ is quite sexy.

 

[modedepe]

Originally posted by: BTSpope
if 150 is your limit than a 9600xt would fit the bill. Spending 20 dollars more gets you a hell of a lot more card with the 5900's and 9700's though

 

[Pilsnerpete]

Hey, thanks guys! I'll see what I can get used for a decent amount of dough. Good suggestion there, Matthias. I would go for the CompUSA deal, but the closest one to me is 350 miles away...don't need one THAT badly.🙂