best sub 80 video card

[Nab]

I'm looking to upgrade my video card (from a GeForce 2 ), but I only have at most $80 to spend. Any ideas on what and where I can get it? I'm thinking of newegg.com. Oh my system specs might help:


2.1 Ghz
512 RAM
Asus PB533 Motherboard

Anything else? Thanks.
:thumbsup:

 

[Gothgar]

radeon 9550

edit: http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=14-121-511&depa=1

make sure you pick up a 128 bit model.

 

[Matthias99]

A used Ti4600 is actually likely to be your best bet. No DX9, and horrible AA/AF performance, but it does DX8.1 without AA/AF about as fast or slightly faster than a 9600Pro (depending on the game).

 

[Thegonagle]

Originally posted by: Gothgar
radeon 9550

edit: http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=14-121-511&depa=1

make sure you pick up a 128 bit model.

Why not a 128 MB, 128 bit 9600? Newegg link: http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=14-164-022&depa=0

EDIT: I'm not sure what the difference is between the standard 9600 and the 9600LE is, but DO NOT get the 9600SE. And also, I've read pretty much everywhere that the 128MB model is just as good as the 256MB model because the 9600 isn't really fast enough to make good use of 256MB.

 

[Nab]

Originally posted by: Matthias99
A used Ti4600 is actually likely to be your best bet. No DX9, and horrible AA/AF performance, but it does DX8.1 without AA/AF about as fast or slightly faster than a 9600Pro (depending on the game).

I just searched Ti4600 on newegg but i didn't see anything under 80.

 

[Nab]

what's the difference between asus, rosewill, etc. Should I be looking at the brands like that?

 

[Thegonagle]

Originally posted by: Nab
what's the difference between asus, rosewill, etc. Should I be looking at the brands like that?

In general, not much. Most of the manufacturers just copy the reference design from ATI. You'll most likely want to use the reference drivers from ATI as well, so you needn't worry about driver support from the various brands.

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: Nab

Originally posted by: Matthias99
A used Ti4600 is actually likely to be your best bet. No DX9, and horrible AA/AF performance, but it does DX8.1 without AA/AF about as fast or slightly faster than a 9600Pro (depending on the game).

I just searched Ti4600 on newegg but i didn't see anything under 80.

You won't be able to find them new anymore, at least not at reasonable prices. They're relatively 'old' at this point, but were the fastest DX8 cards produced. Try the For Sale/Trade forum here, or EBay. They can't run DX9 shaders, but are significantly faster than a RADEON 9600 or 9550 in terms of raw fillrate. They're more on par with a 9600Pro or 9600XT when running DX8 games (or DX9 games in DX8 mode) without AA and AF.

Try some searches in the Video forum if you're looking for more information (the sticked threads are a good place to start). This question gets asked weekly, if not more frequently.

 

[Gothgar]

Originally posted by: Matthias99

Originally posted by: Nab

Originally posted by: Matthias99
A used Ti4600 is actually likely to be your best bet. No DX9, and horrible AA/AF performance, but it does DX8.1 without AA/AF about as fast or slightly faster than a 9600Pro (depending on the game).

I just searched Ti4600 on newegg but i didn't see anything under 80.

You won't be able to find them new anymore, at least not at reasonable prices. They're relatively 'old' at this point, but were the fastest DX8 cards produced. Try the For Sale/Trade forum here, or EBay. They can't run DX9 shaders, but are significantly faster than a RADEON 9600 or 9550 in terms of raw fillrate. They're more on par with a 9600Pro or 9600XT when running DX8 games (or DX9 games in DX8 mode) without AA and AF.

Try some searches in the Video forum if you're looking for more information (the sticked threads are a good place to start). This question gets asked weekly, if not more frequently.

yes, and you can get a 9600 pro for used that price as well...

so, if he wants new, like I said before. 9550 for 79$, if he wants used, he can go with 9600pro...

as I recall, the 9500pro blew away the ti4600, and the 9550 is only a tad slower than the 9500 pro

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: Gothgar
yes, and you can get a 9600 pro for used that price as well...

Sometimes, but not nearly as readily. The lowest price in FS/T currently appears to be $90. EBay has a handful that have gone for under $80 in the last month (and I'm not sure that all of those were full-speed Pro cards), but the majority of 9600Pros are going for 90-110.

The average on EBay for 4600s is about $75. There aren't as many available to buy, however.

so, if he wants new, like I said before. 9550 for 79$, if he wants used, he can go with 9600pro...

as I recall, the 9500pro blew away the ti4600, and the 9550 is only a tad slower than the 9500 pro

The 9550 is slower than the 9600, which is *significantly* slower than the 9500Pro. The 9500Pro is about as fast as a 9600XT, and while it was faster than the 4600, it didn't exactly blow its doors off unless you turned on AA and AF.

digit-life roundup

A bit dated, but it has the Ti4600, R9600, and R9600Pro/XT (the 9550 wasn't out yet). The 9550 is a bit slower than the 9600; you can look at their later 3Digest reviews to confirm that.

 

[Gothgar]

wow, that is some article you found there... pretty cool stuff

hell, I would still say go for the 9600pro used, as you get the dx9 support, the benchmarks might say that they are very close, but picture quality will be much better on the 9600pro in dx9 games, etc.

if he doesn't want used though, I still stand firm on the 9550, for a brand new card, you really would be hard pressed to beat it...

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: Gothgar
wow, that is some article you found there... pretty cool stuff

Gee, it's like I actually know what I'm talking about or something. :disgust:

hell, I would still say go for the 9600pro used, as you get the dx9 support, the benchmarks might say that they are very close, but picture quality will be much better on the 9600pro in dx9 games, etc.

If you could actually get a full-speed 9600Pro for $70-80, it would be a tossup. The 4600 is slightly faster most of the time, but the 9600Pro looks better (and actually has usable AA/AF, at least with older games). I just think you'll have a hard time *finding* one at that price that isn't cripped somehow.

if he doesn't want used though, I still stand firm on the 9550, for a brand new card, you really would be hard pressed to beat it...

Can't argue there; there isn't really anything else worth buying for under $80 new (unless you just want a dirt-cheap GF2MX or something like that). *Maybe* a 128-bit 5700LE. But if you're on a budget, you can get much better bang/buck by picking up a used or refurb card.

 

[formulav8]

Just get a Radeon 9600 Non-Pro (or maybe even a 9550 since the clocks are 250mhz core instead of 325mhz core that the non-pro is). I had one and edited the bios and changed the clocks to 425 core(Would do 452mhz no probs, just didn't want to take a chance) and the memory to 500-512mhz. The core clock is above Pro speed, the memory clocks is below pro speeds.

I just changed to a 9600 Pro and I CANNOT tell any difference in performance between the 9600 Non-Pro I had with the overclocked core and memory and this Pro I have now.

So, you can easily get a Non-Pro to 90%-95% the performance of a 9600 Pro for ALOT less money. This is just my opinion and experiences



Jason

 

[Nab]

That means that my choices are narrowed down to 9550 if new, 9600/9600se if I get it new/used. I looked on pricegrabber and saw that they have a 9600se for 86 (after s/h). Do you think that's a good deal?

http://www.tigerdirect.com/app...p;CMP=OTC-PRICEGRABBER

that's the link to it...

Thanks for all of the suggestions, and that website is very helpful.

 

[Thegonagle]

No. You do not want the SE! I'm not sure what ATI thinks SE stands for, but the general computer hardware comminity knows it as the "Sucky Edition."

I will post this link one more time: New ROSEWILL RADEON 9600 Video Card, 128MB DDR, 128-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP, Model "RW9600-128D" -RETAIL $80.99 including shipping.

Note the 128 bit memory bus, which is what you want. Note also that it is NOT the SE Sucky Edition.

For a NEW card for $81 shipped, this is a good deal. If you want a 9600 PRO or XT (XT=), you're probably going to need to go used. Once again, do not even consider the 9600 SE

 

[Nab]

Originally posted by: formulav8
Just get a Radeon 9600 Non-Pro (or maybe even a 9550 since the clocks are 250mhz core instead of 325mhz core that the non-pro is). I had one and edited the bios and changed the clocks to 425 core(Would do 452mhz no probs, just didn't want to take a chance) and the memory to 500-512mhz. The core clock is above Pro speed, the memory clocks is below pro speeds.

I just changed to a 9600 Pro and I CANNOT tell any difference in performance between the 9600 Non-Pro I had with the overclocked core and memory and this Pro I have now.

So, you can easily get a Non-Pro to 90%-95% the performance of a 9600 Pro for ALOT less money. This is just my opinion and experiences



Jason

How do I overlclock video cards? Is it similar to overclocking cpu's?


edit: How do i know if my motherboard will support 8x AGP if I don't have the manual? i have a Asus P4S533.