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best value in an nvidia card?

R

roark

Junior Member
I'm getting a new card to replace my gf2 mx. I'll be using it in school for CAD and 3d modeling as well as for games. I don't however use any of the specific programs that the Quadro line is geared towards. I've heard ATI cards aren't as good at openGL and so I don't want to risk it. That said, what's going to be the best bang for my buck in terms of video card. My options seem to bethe gf4 ti4200 for around 140, the fx 5600U (new) for around 200-220, or the 5800nu for around 260-270. What do you guys think?
 
ti4200 definitely has the best cost/performance ratio out of those three. And yeah, they cost closer to $100
 
Or you can get an Asus V8420S which is a Ti4200, but is almost a guaranteed overclock to the speed of a Ti4600. $146 shipped... not bad for a Ti4600.
 
I don't know, $146 is getting awfully close to 9600 Pro territory. A ~$100 4200 is good deal, though, and probably the best in Nvidia cards.
 
Most of the 4200s o'c by quite a bit, there's no point in paying a lot more for a 1-2% addt'l gain.

Newegg often has 4200 refurbs for <$75, delivered. Sure they're often only 64MB, but at that price you can afford to replace it again when needed. Right this minute they still have 2 of them for $69 each.
 
No clue, but I think they only come with a 15-day warranty, so you'd better be able to test the card early and often to ensure nothing's defective.
 
I have a Ti4200 in my 3 year olds computer, it is not what I'd consider an adequate gaming card. I actually gave up gaming online at UT2003 when I was reduced to using it while my basement was under construction. It's just too slow.

I have a FX5800 till next week anyway, and can honestly say I've really liked the card. If nVidia wouldn't have pissed me off by not answering my emails about their handling of the whole 5800 situation, I would have kept it till the next gen cards come out, and I was used to playing on a 9700Pro for the 8months before that.

You want to throw away money on a card you won't be satisfied with? Get a Ti4200 or 5600. You want a card you can actually USE for the next year because it has double the fill rate of these two? 5800.

Better yet, get a 9700 because I'm pissed at nVidia. LOL

BTW- I ran that 4200 in my 3 year olds 1700+/nForce1/256MB PC2100 and my P4 2.53/512 PC2700/P4PE- it doesn't matter what computer you have, that card is too slow for current games. Spend the extra $150 bucks and actually have a usable card for a while.
 
ehhhh
i like my gf3
and especially my bros gf4 4200, you must have had a bad card, or drivers or some other issue cause the gf3/4's have worked quite well for me, especially for the price


personally i dont like spending monstrous amounts of money on one piece of hardware, and when a piece costs more than my months utility bill i think its a bit too much, maybe thats just me. 100- 150 should get you a good card without a problem

of course, the system you use it in could have an effect on how much youre going to get out of the new card
 
Originally posted by: fell8
5600 Ultras are going for well under $140 from decent etailers.
Click to expand...

Holy crap, that must have just happened within the last few days. 5600 Ultras were going for well over $200 just one week ago.

I'd definitely take a look at the 5600 Ultra if you're going to buy a mid-range card. Although, it's hard to tell which ones are 400MHz core clock and 800MHz memory clocks and which ones are the downclocked non flip-chip versions.
 
Originally posted by: fell8
5600 Ultras are going for well under $140 from decent etailers.
Click to expand...
As the saying goes "show me the money" because me thinks you have confused the true ultra with the Gainward FX PowerPack! Ultra/760 TV/DVI GeForce FX 5600 128MB DDR AGP8X TVO/DVI which is a deceptive advertising ploy by using the term ultra when it's a 5600 😉 I'd be happily proven wrong about it too! as that price would rock! 🙂
 
personally i dont like spending monstrous amounts of money on one piece of hardware, and when a piece costs more than my months utility bill i think its a bit too much, maybe thats just me. 100- 150 should get you a good card without a problem

of course, the system you use it in could have an effect on how much youre going to get out of the new card
Click to expand...

Errr, like I said, I use(d) it in a P4 2.53 with 512PC2700, and still use it in a XP1700+, if it can't game well in that, the card is slow, not the system. There's nothing wrong with the card either, it works like it should, it's just 2 year old technology that doesn't have the cajones to play a new game like UT2003 at any res but 10X7, lower detail settings. AA/AF is out of the question with that card, as is DX9.

-------------------------

 
Take a look at what card the guy is using: GF2 MX.

Ti4200 would be the best value for him for his use for school and gaming. It's plenty fast for every game out at decent resolution. Most users still use 1024x768 or lower resolution. Same with AA/AF. Most don't use it. Sure it would be nice but games still look nice without it.

Sure some people will pay $400 for videocard. Nvidia and ATI thank you and laugh at you. The rest of us or (90% of the majority) are happy with our $100 or less videocard. Heck, most users are still using IGP.
 
Originally posted by: fell8
5600 Ultras are going for well under $140 from decent etailers.
Click to expand...

Um, no. That $140 Gainward "Ultra/760" is not an Ultra--read the fine print.
 
Rollo, how loud is your 5800?

The other thing is that I have some money to spend now, ie before grad school/ after working, but in a year I'll probably be broke. I'm wondering if that shouldn't factor into my decision. I just put together my new system.

is7-g w/GAT
p4 2.8
1g corsair xms 3200
2 x WD raptors raid 0
lite-on CD-RW and DVD
Antec trupower 430

Thanks for all the info guys. I'm just lacking a video card to finish it all out.
 
Rollo, how loud is your 5800?

The other thing is that I have some money to spend now, ie before grad school/ after working, but in a year I'll probably be broke. I'm wondering if that shouldn't factor into my decision. I just put together my new system.

is7-g w/GAT
p4 2.8
1g corsair xms 3200
2 x WD raptors raid 0
lite-on CD-RW and DVD
Antec trupower 430

Thanks for all the info guys. I'm just lacking a video card to finish it all out.
 
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