Best gaming card for under $100? gf 2 ti ?

[XBoxLPU]

<< Get a KYRO II card. Hercules Prophet 4500 AGP. its got 32 meg SDRAM, a really sophisticated graphics engine, could be overclocked easily later on. It perform the same as the Radeon (original) geforce 2 MX (all versions) It is slightly slower than the Geforce 2GTS and Ultra. Really great bargain, plays bunch of games. I'm purchasing one (but a PCI version) >>



Ummm Kyro 2 has 64 SDRAM..

and also the tL engine is not need to run good games.

The Kyro 2 is the best cheap market AGP Video card.

 

[JBChance]

I think the release date for GeForce 4 is Feb. 5th.

It may take a little while for it to effect prices on the GF 3, but prolly not too long.

Right now the demand is so high for GF 3 Ti 500, that some are having problems finding one, at a good
price.

If you can wait, that might be the smartest thing to do.

I'm weak. I couldn't wait

 

[Auric]

I am interested in the Kyro II only because the choices of PCI cards are limited. The only other viable options are Geforce2 MX/MX400 and Radeon SDR neither of which are stellar performers.

 

[rogue1979]

The Radeon 7500 only scores better in 3DMark 2001. In all gaming benchmarks the Geforce 2 Ti wins every time. Look up all the reviews and ignore 3DMark and you will see it loses in all gaming fps benchmarks. The Inno3D 32MB version of the Ti is only $89 shipped, an easy overclock to 275/450-460. It has excellent 2D image, and if you have any doubts it is as good as a Radeon 7500, just do the low pass filter mod. Radeon superior image quality is now a myth.

 

[Innoka]

I'm not so sure about the idea. Why not just draw a line with conductive pen around the resistors? You could remove it if the card needs to be returned and risk less in the first place. Or is that impractical?

 

[rogue1979]

It's true, it will void the warrranty. On the other hand out of the 6 Nvidia cards I have owned not one has ever failed. And it is only an $89 card. I used a soldering iron to remove the capacitors. If need be, I can put them back on as well as the resistor to the original position to undo the Quadro 2 mod.

 

[Daovonnaex]

<< Do you guys agree with rollo? Is the Radeon 7500 the obvious better choice? How big of a difference is it? Are there any articles or reviews that compare the two?
Thanks again >>

The performance in gaming (in terms of frames per second) is approximately equal, but the image quality of the Radeon 7500 is generally superior, and as resolutions get higher (especially in 32-bit), the 7500 starts gaining a lead due to HyperZ. Furthermore, the 7500 has far better 2D quality and more features. As for the drivers, the issues are sorted out by now, so that's not a danger. A Radeon 7500 would definitely be a fine choice.

 

[Daovonnaex]

<< When is the GF4 coming out? >>

February 5th in the United States, and the day after than in Europe.

 

[rogue1979]

go here:

http://www.slcentral.com/reviews/hardware/video/ati/radeon7500/index.php

http://www.sharkeyextreme.com/hardware/videocards/article.php/932821

http://www.digit-life.com/articles/radeon7500/index.html

Setting 3DMark 2001 aside, the Geforce 2 Ti, Geforce Ultra, or Geforce 2 Pro clearly beats the Radeon 7500 in all gaming benchmarks.
The Radeon 7500 is a nice card, but the facts are the Geforce 2 Ti is cheaper and faster. If you choose a quality brand like Gainward or Inno3d, the image quality is easily equal to any Radeon. Nowadays you can choose a cheaper brand and remove the capacitors for the low pass filter in 60 seconds and still match or beat the Radeon 7500 image quality. I have modded a Gainward Geforce 2 Ti 500, Gainward Geforce Pro 450, and a PNY Geforce MX-200 32MB with successful results. While the Gainwards had excellent image quality before, it is even better now.

 

[nRollo]

"wadays you can choose a cheaper brand and remove the capacitors for the low pass filter in 60 seconds and still match or beat the Radeon 7500 image"
So all you have to do for the Radeon IQ is take a soldering iron to your GF2, remove some little tiny pieces and close the circuits, thereby voiding your warranty, and you're all set? Wow, why isn't everyone doing this?!

I'm being sarcastic, of course, I'd just spend the coins and get a GF3 or 8500 before I'd try to cobble a $90 vga to get $150 vga IQ

 

[Daovonnaex]

<< go here:

http://www.slcentral.com/reviews/hardware/video/ati/radeon7500/index.php

http://www.sharkeyextreme.com/hardware/videocards/article.php/932821

http://www.digit-life.com/articles/radeon7500/index.html

Setting 3DMark 2001 aside, the Geforce 2 Ti, Geforce Ultra, or Geforce 2 Pro clearly beats the Radeon 7500 in all gaming benchmarks.
The Radeon 7500 is a nice card, but the facts are the Geforce 2 Ti is cheaper and faster. If you choose a quality brand like Gainward or Inno3d, the image quality is easily equal to any Radeon. Nowadays you can choose a cheaper brand and remove the capacitors for the low pass filter in 60 seconds and still match or beat the Radeon 7500 image quality. I have modded a Gainward Geforce 2 Ti 500, Gainward Geforce Pro 450, and a PNY Geforce MX-200 32MB with successful results. While the Gainwards had excellent image quality before, it is even better now. >>

Yeah, the GF2s are a good choice if all you'll be doing is 3D gaming. However, if this is going to be your next upgrade for some time, the 7500 can make more sense, as evidenced by Anand's 15-way GPU shoot out. Finally, if you want to do more than just 3D gaming, the 7500 makes a great deal of sense.

 

[sc0tty8]

Kyro II. My fav bargin card. I love it. 60+ fps in UT, and 90+ in q3 at 1280x1024x32 everything at max. Wow.

 

[Daovonnaex]

<< Kyro II. My fav bargin card. I love it. 60+ fps in UT, and 90+ in q3 at 1280x1024x32 everything at max. Wow. >>

Wait a minute...I thought you were an ATi fanatic? Given that the 7500 is under $100, shouldn't you be agitating in favor of that right now?

 

[rogue1979]

Daovonnaex, good point. I admit my opinion is heavily biased toward playing games, that's mostly what I use my computer for.

 

[Daovonnaex]

<< Daovonnaex, good point. I admit my opinion is heavily biased toward playing games, that's mostly what I use my computer for. >>

Thank you.
Essentially, there are two choices: a GF2 Ti for games only, or a Radeon 7500 if you want games, 2D, DVD, etc.

 

[rogue1979]

Oh no! You had to bring up the Radeon 2D image quality thing. Here is a copy of my post in another forum.

Radeon 7500 is a good card. But I have to dispel the myth that it has better image quality than any Geforce. If you choose a high quality brand, Gainward, Inno3d or a few others the image quality is equal to any Radeon. This whole "superior Radeon image quality thing" stems from some board manufacturers not using top quality low pass filters for a Geforce. Seems since many different board manufactures utilize the Nvidia chipset it is required that these filters are used for quality control. On the other hand Ati until recently has always made their own boards and low pass filters where not necessary. For all Geforce cards a simple mod to remove the capacitors for the low pass filter rectifies the problem and the image quality is as it should be for all brands of Geforce cards. Like I said, not all Geforces have this shortcoming, some are perfect from the manufacturer already. I speak from experience, I have owned 6 Geforce video cards and 2 Radeon cards.

 

[nRollo]

Anybody nuts enough to look at Kyro 2s should check out how bad they get spanked in the reviews on this board.

http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=1544&p=10

 

[sc0tty8]

<<

<< Kyro II. My fav bargin card. I love it. 60+ fps in UT, and 90+ in q3 at 1280x1024x32 everything at max. Wow. >>

Wait a minute...I thought you were an ATi fanatic? Given that the 7500 is under $100, shouldn't you be agitating in favor of that right now? >>



I am a quality fanantic. I like quality at about 50fps. 100 is crazy, mostly braggin right. Hell, 30 of top notch quality frames would, make me happy, buyt for the money, you can get a kyroII for about 50-60$ used, and about 70$ for a herc. new. I am on #2 and love it.