best v-card for around or under $200

ZL1

Diamond Member
Oct 4, 2003
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Hi

guys what would be the best v-card for gaming for around or under $200, looking to upgrade from a long overdue TNT2 :)


please help me out


Thank you
Dan
 

ZL1

Diamond Member
Oct 4, 2003
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Originally posted by: venk
9700 pro

Hi

do you know where I could find some benchmarks comparing it to the GeForce4 TI series ?



Thank you
Dan
 

McArra

Diamond Member
May 21, 2003
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I think 9700 pro is more expensive. For that price 9700np.

It wiil blow every Ti card with eye candy and it is DX9.
 

ZL1

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Oct 4, 2003
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Originally posted by: McArra
I think 9700 pro is more expensive. For that price 9700np.

It wiil blow every Ti card with eye candy and it is DX9.

how about the 9600PRO ? reasonable price and it says "PRO" :)
or is the 9700 NP still faster ?
 

ZL1

Diamond Member
Oct 4, 2003
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by the way found some test reviews that have both the 9700PRO and the TI4600, ouch, the difference is huge most of the time, but I was wondering about something, I know for example that MSI comes with fast ram which allows a pretty good overclocking, or chances are it still wont come close ?

another thing, how do they do these bench marks ?? I see Quake 3 benchmarks, well i got Quake 3 can I run some tests ? :) I know this might sound stupid :)
I actually know how to check the FPS durring a game but is that it ?


Thank you
Dan
 

ZL1

Diamond Member
Oct 4, 2003
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Originally posted by: mikeford
Don't some cards work better than others depending on which game you play?

thats so true, just found reviews in which in some cases the ti4800 beats the 9700pro, this is uppsetting
so what is it with ti4800 then ? is there a clean version that is top of TI line ?


Dan
 
Apr 17, 2003
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Originally posted by: ZL1
Originally posted by: mikeford
Don't some cards work better than others depending on which game you play?

thats so true, just found reviews in which in some cases the ti4800 beats the 9700pro, this is uppsetting
so what is it with ti4800 then ? is there a clean version that is top of TI line ?


Dan

lol, a majority of the time the 9700 pro will eat up a 4600 and have a 4200 on the side
 

ZL1

Diamond Member
Oct 4, 2003
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Originally posted by: shady06
Originally posted by: ZL1
Originally posted by: mikeford
Don't some cards work better than others depending on which game you play?

thats so true, just found reviews in which in some cases the ti4800 beats the 9700pro, this is uppsetting
so what is it with ti4800 then ? is there a clean version that is top of TI line ?


Dan

lol, a majority of the time the 9700 pro will eat up a 4600 and have a 4200 on the side


you are right, it was only one test, but it upset me cuz it was Serious Sam and I like that game
 

cockeyed

Senior member
Dec 8, 2000
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Try to find a 9800np return at Best Buy ~$200-$220. People were buying the cards and returning them only because they didn't have Samsung memory which they wanted for OCing. There is nothing wrong with a stock 9800's prerformance! Otherwise you might be able to find a 9700 or 9700pro in that price range. In either case they will be hard to find. If not, go for a 9600pro. The Ti4600 is a terrific card, but it can't compete with these cards when you turn on AA/AF and the Ti does not have DX9 support.
 

ZL1

Diamond Member
Oct 4, 2003
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Originally posted by: cockeyed
Try to find a 9800np return at Best Buy ~$200-$220. People were buying the cards and returning them only because they didn't have Samsung memory which they wanted for OCing. There is nothing wrong with a stock 9800's prerformance! Otherwise you might be able to find a 9700 or 9700pro in that price range. In either case they will be hard to find. If not, go for a 9600pro. The Ti4600 is a terrific card, but it can't compete with these cards when you turn on AA/AF and the Ti does not have DX9 support.

thanks for the tip, I will definetly try that, but I was wondering would a 9800NP beat a 9700PRO ?
oh yes how do I try that ? just go and ask if they want to sell the returned ones ?

yes I like the TIs alot and here is the thing - whats AA/AF ??? :) sorry, but I really dont know


Thank you
Dan
 

lifeguard1999

Platinum Member
Jul 3, 2000
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The core/mem frequencies are as follows :

9800 Pro : 380 core / 340 mem
9800 NP : 325 core / 290 mem
9700 Pro : 325 core / 310 mem

As such, the 9700 Pro has no core advantage, and only a slight memory advantage over the 9800 Non-Pro. The 9700 Pro has 19.8GB/sec of memory bandwidth versus 18.6GB/sec in RADEON 9800. However, the 9800 NP has advantages of being an improved core. As such it has an improved memory controller among other things.

What does this mean in terms of the real world? The 9700 Pro and the 9800 NP are within 3% of each other in many benchmarks. Sometimes one wins; sometimes the other. In essence, they are equal at stock speeds.
 

cockeyed

Senior member
Dec 8, 2000
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AA = Anti-Aliasing AF = Anisotropic Filtering AA + AF = Better picture quality

A google search will turn up much info re: A/AF

Best Buy usually has a shelf in the store with boxes maked as "open box"; these are the returns.
 

Stradx

Junior Member
Sep 19, 2003
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These I think are your best choices in order

1) Used or BB Open Return 9800 non-pro for ~$220

2) Used 9700 Pro for ~$210

3) Wait for 9600XT if you cant get above 2 for ~$200


While the 9600XT probably wont perform as well as the 9700/9800 especially with AA/AF enabled it will still be a great card that should overclock well if you are in to that and will include a coupon for HL2 single player.
 

Emultra

Golden Member
Jul 6, 2002
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Originally posted by: Stradx
These I think are your best choices in order
While the 9600XT probably wont perform as well as the 9700/9800 especially with AA/AF enabled it will still be a great card that should overclock well if you are in to that and will include a coupon for HL2 single player.
All good n' dandy, but that deal seems to have lost some of its appeal since the leak was announced...


 

ZL1

Diamond Member
Oct 4, 2003
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Guys thank you so much !! I think I'll probably go with 9800 non-pro or 9700pro, depending on how lucky I get :)


Thanks again !
 

ZL1

Diamond Member
Oct 4, 2003
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Originally posted by: Emultra
Originally posted by: Stradx
These I think are your best choices in order
While the 9600XT probably wont perform as well as the 9700/9800 especially with AA/AF enabled it will still be a great card that should overclock well if you are in to that and will include a coupon for HL2 single player.
All good n' dandy, but that deal seems to have lost some of its appeal since the leak was announced...

which deal ?