would do the trade up if he had an ATI card to trade in. My friend is half blind (literally) so he wont mind running a game in 800x600 or even maybe 640x480. And the budget just got a little bigger, so 9700 might be possible.
Well I have a Geforce 3 TI 200 and tried running Half Life 2 Demo on my computer. I also have only 256 mb of ram and a 1.7ghz P4 proc. Having said that, it took about 3 minutes just to turn it on, and about another 3 minutes to load single player. I got about 10fps on lowest settings at 800x600, and it was very laggy, basically unplayable. That's just my expereince.
Well, I run HL2 at 1024x768 c/ the following settings: Model Detail=Medium, Texture Detail=Medium, Water Detail=Simple, Shadow Detail=High, Antialiasing=None, Anisotropic=2x, Shader Detail=High, V-Sync=Disabled. The game looks very good and runs at very good frame rates.
My son's Ti4200 ran the game fine, though not as pertyful as my 9800 Pro.
I hear the Ti4200s go for 50 bucks or so on ebay these days. thats pretty cheap...
I hear the Ti4200s go for 50 bucks or so on ebay these days. thats pretty cheap...
hands down, GF4 4200.
can be had for around $65-80 for the 64mb version.
check newegg for refurbished models.
if you cant find one of those, 9600 pro, there is no question.
with your budget concerns and request, forget about the other suggestions.. 9700 pro ect... yes that would be ideal.. but for sub $100 gaming nothing compares to the power of the 4200 or 9600 pro (if you can find that one for under 100).
can be had for around $65-80 for the 64mb version.
check newegg for refurbished models.
if you cant find one of those, 9600 pro, there is no question.
with your budget concerns and request, forget about the other suggestions.. 9700 pro ect... yes that would be ideal.. but for sub $100 gaming nothing compares to the power of the 4200 or 9600 pro (if you can find that one for under 100).
right here. http://www.shentech.com/bfgasti124xa.html
$80 brand new. 128mb 4200. BFG.
lifetime warranty.
unstoppable.
you wont match that card man. no one will be able too without some crappy rebate or sheninigans.
$80 brand new. 128mb 4200. BFG.
lifetime warranty.
unstoppable.
you wont match that card man. no one will be able too without some crappy rebate or sheninigans.
and btw, thats what i use.. right now to power my 2005fpw LCD widescreen at 1680x1050. plays HL2 every single day awesome@ 1024x768 at medium settings.. can go higher but you lose the fluid FPS.
i run at 960x600 (a widescreen resolution).. beautiful.
9600 pro = 4200 (speed/performance wise)
besides the 9600 pro has DX9 support with no performance loss for the most part. but i would NOT pay more for a 9600 pro personally.. esp considering your situation.
heres the cheapest 9600 pro i could find http://www.axiontech.com/prdt.php?src=FG&item=45981
its up to you if its worth $20.. from the sounds of it.. no probably not.
but i'll tell you this, my friend has a radeon x800 pro.. and theres little difference between DX8 and 9 mode.
in fact, in counterstrike source i play in DX7 mode so i maintain well into the 100s.
my friend is in CAL-Invite, and he plays in DX7 with his x800 pro.. it does not look that much worse even in DX7 mode.. which is always an option.
but in HL2 we run full DX8/9 cuz all i care about in CSS is killing and want absolutely nothing in my way.
Plus, I like the look DX7 mode gives it, much cleaner like CS 1.6
those are just the opinions of a pretty decent CSS'er and a CAL-Invite clan leader.. dont take our opinions.
i run at 960x600 (a widescreen resolution).. beautiful.
9600 pro = 4200 (speed/performance wise)
besides the 9600 pro has DX9 support with no performance loss for the most part. but i would NOT pay more for a 9600 pro personally.. esp considering your situation.
heres the cheapest 9600 pro i could find http://www.axiontech.com/prdt.php?src=FG&item=45981
its up to you if its worth $20.. from the sounds of it.. no probably not.
but i'll tell you this, my friend has a radeon x800 pro.. and theres little difference between DX8 and 9 mode.
in fact, in counterstrike source i play in DX7 mode so i maintain well into the 100s.
my friend is in CAL-Invite, and he plays in DX7 with his x800 pro.. it does not look that much worse even in DX7 mode.. which is always an option.
but in HL2 we run full DX8/9 cuz all i care about in CSS is killing and want absolutely nothing in my way.
Plus, I like the look DX7 mode gives it, much cleaner like CS 1.6
those are just the opinions of a pretty decent CSS'er and a CAL-Invite clan leader.. dont take our opinions.
You don't have to trade in an ATI card. They'll give you $50 credit for ANY video card. Even a 10 year old 1MB PCI card.
and probably cheaper too.
9700 are old now though and you never know how much longer they might last.
another option might be a 6600 nongt, if it comes in an AGP variety.
Well i would strongly prefer to buy the card in store, I'm going to the store tomorrow to build the computer and I'm most likely putting a 9600 in it. Does it matter if its an Xtasy card with the ATI chip, because its on sale.
Newegg was selling the Rosewill Radeon 9600 for $70 the last time I checked. I've got a Radeon 9600 in my box and it runs HL2 very well at 1024x768x32 no AA/AF. I think the CounterStrike: Source stress test showed about 45 FPS, and 60 or more at 800x600.
Make sure to get one with 128-bit memory.
Make sure to get one with 128-bit memory.
DanDaMan315 was the guy asking for advice for a lowbudget gaming PC earlier, right?
Well, I'm going to give you another advice, if you're considering anything less than R9600pro (which is considerably better at HL2 than anything cheaper) then you've had very bad luck with finding the rest, or are spending the money unwisely.
I kinda want to stress this, try to make that videocard. It's the most important component of a cheap game PC. Go down to Sempron 2200+, get a cheaper and noisier Fortron 300W, I've think I've seen models down towards $20. Also, I've seen KT400A MBs for $36. Try to save on something else than the video card.
Edit: standard R9600 will do too, but R9600pro is IMO more cost effective, as well as better.
Well, I'm going to give you another advice, if you're considering anything less than R9600pro (which is considerably better at HL2 than anything cheaper) then you've had very bad luck with finding the rest, or are spending the money unwisely.
I kinda want to stress this, try to make that videocard. It's the most important component of a cheap game PC. Go down to Sempron 2200+, get a cheaper and noisier Fortron 300W, I've think I've seen models down towards $20. Also, I've seen KT400A MBs for $36. Try to save on something else than the video card.
Edit: standard R9600 will do too, but R9600pro is IMO more cost effective, as well as better.
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