do I want ATI vs. NVIDIA, details inside :P + more

[jbubrisk]

Hey guys,
I'm a first timer here, but I have a few questions that maybe you could help me out with. Currently, I have a 2.26 Ghz P4, Dell , with 512 RD RAM and a agp x700pro. THe x700pro I bought recently in april, and it really doesnt seem to be working that great. I dont have exact figures, but running WoW, BF2, and HL2, (source, hl2 and dod:source), all on BARE MINIMUM settings, with the actual card settings all on performance, I get pretty crappy frames. I keep hearing great things about the 6600 GT and I figured I could just upgrade to that (even though its not relly an "upgrade"). Because my lame system is Dell, I can't upgrade anything without upgrading EVERYTHING (witht the exception of the gfx card, or more RAM which is expensive) so here is the question:

Should I get a 6600GT to play WoW, BF2, and HL2?
If so, what brand should I get?
Does 256mb vs 128mb matter? (someone told me it doesnt :/ )
Buy on NewEgg?
Would upgrading from 512MB to 1GB of 800Mhz RD RAM make a big difference?

 

[jbubrisk]

ohhhh also, if you guys have any other recommendations for sub-$200 cards, feel free...

 

[Kogan]

Yeah, the x700 was a dissapointing card by any gamer's standards. As for video memory, you won't notice a big difference between 128mb and 256mb unless you use super-high quality textures in some games (like doom3).

Upgrading from 512mb to 1gb will make a pretty big difference with hard drive caching with the games you mentioned. If you can find 512mb pretty cheap, I'd go for it in an instant. Edit: It looks like the cheapest 512mb stick of rdram is $94 on pricewatch.com - Instead of paying that, you may want to just upgrade the whole system..

As for video cards, any of these will be good. I'll list about their best prices you can find them as hot deals or used: (listed based roughly on speed from slowest to fastest)

6600gt $110
6800le $125 (50/50 chance of being unlockable)
x800pro $180 (very slight chance of being unlockable)
6800 $145 (50/50 chance of being unlockable)
x800xl $215
6800gt $230


As for price/performance goes, a used 6800, or 6800le (if unlocked) may be the best deal.

Afterwards, look into getting a cpu/system ugrade, but your current one should last at least a year and still be playable with new games (playable being around 40-50fps).

 

[jbubrisk]

Thanks a ton man!!! I have a couple comments about what you said though:
Where did you get your prices?
Unless Im mistaken the RD RAM will need to be bought in 2-256mb sticks, because of the matching system.

Thanks again!!!

 

[BenSkywalker]

Taking a look at your overall situation, you need to improve your graphics and upgrade your RAM. Unfortunately moving to 1GB of RDRAM for your system will cost you ~$160 for the least expensive option I was able to find(2x256MB RIMMS from NewEgg). For that price you could buy yourself something like an ASRock 775Dual-880Pro which packs both an AGP and PCI-E slot along with 1GB PC 3200 DDR RAM for about the same price as the additional 512MB of RDRAM would cost you.

If that was a viable option for you, the x800GTO2 for $200 would man handle any of the other boards in its price range.

 

[Yuriman]

Upgrading your ram would make a huge difference, as would upgrading your processor. Up until 2 days ago, I used an X700pro for everything (about 10% faster than the X700np), and the only game I was not able to max out was F.E.A.R., everything else plays smooth as butter, max settings, 16x AF.

But then, I also have 2gb of ram and an Athlon64 @ 2.52ghz.

My recomendation: Leave the card, upgrade the rest of your pc. RDRam is far too expensive, you are better off buying a new board + some DDR or DDR2, it would be cheaper. Also, I'd suggest a minimum of an Athlon64 3000+ or P4 ~3.2ghz. AMD would probably be the faster and cheaper route.

 

[VIAN]

Should I get a 6600GT to play WoW, BF2, and HL2? NO, too little an upgrade, especially now, get at least a X800 Pro or X800 XL or 6800GT.

Buy on NewEgg? Yes

Would upgrading from 512MB to 1GB of 800Mhz RD RAM make a big difference? Big difference especially in battlefield 2.