FX5200, 5600 or a Radeon?

[relentless0202]

I've got around $100-150 to spend and I am considering on buying a new video card, but which one? I'm using a really horrid GF4 MX440 right now. Should I go for a FX5200, 5600 or just a Radeon (or perhaps a Ti series card?), or is it better to upgrade my CPU/RAM (Right now it's 1.7 ghz, Corsair 256 MB DDR PC2700 Ram). Some games I play are Warcraft 3, CS, UT2k3 and I plan on playing Doom3/HL2.

 

[modedepe]

An fx5200 would hardly be an upgrade from your current card, except it would have better aa and af support. For $150 you should get a 9600 pro. As far as upgrading your the rest of your system, what processor are you running? 1.7ghz isn't too good if you're runnning a celeron, but if it's an athlon xp then it's not all that bad. You should probably add another 256mb of ram though.

 

[relentless0202]

Yeah, I'm just using a decent 1.7 ghz Athlon XP. Looks like FX5200 is out of the picture, what about old Ti cards (4200 and 4600)? Or is it best to just buy a 9600 Pro? (found one for $150 on newegg.com)

 

[lordtyranus2]

64 MB Ti4200 is nice for around $80, or the 9600 Pro for $140 or so.

 

[Corporate Thug]

9600 pro

 

[relentless0202]

Alright, 9600 Pro it is. Does the brand name matter at all? Like is Saphire better than Powercolor, etc?

 

[JammingJay]

$50 budget - Radeon 9100
$75 budget - Ti4200
$100 budget - FX5600 Ultra
$150 budget - Radeon 9500pro or 9600pro

 

[tenoc]

Sapphire has way more experience with ATI chips than Powercolor.

 

[Pete]

I'd probably go with Sapphire over Powercolor. A 9600P is nice because it will see a performance boost when you upgrade your CPU. You may benefit from an extra 256MB of RAM, BTW.

 

[jiffylube1024]

Originally posted by: Pete
I'd probably go with Sapphire over Powercolor. A 9600P is nice because it will see a performance boost when you upgrade your CPU. You may benefit from an extra 256MB of RAM, BTW.

^ All true, and the RAM comment is especially true if you're in Windows XP (which loves 512MB of RAM).

 

[TheAudit]

My original system had a MX 440 in it. I went to a 4400 TI and saw a huge improvement in Warcraft III. It worked fine before but now everything was speeded up and so much more detailed.

If you are going with the 9600 then stick with Sapphire over Powercolor.

Yeah and splurge and add some more RAM, too.

 

[Johnbear007]

Originally posted by: relentless0202
I've got around $100-150 to spend and I am considering on buying a new video card, but which one? I'm using a really horrid GF4 MX440 right now. Should I go for a FX5200, 5600 or just a Radeon (or perhaps a Ti series card?), or is it better to upgrade my CPU/RAM (Right now it's 1.7 ghz, Corsair 256 MB DDR PC2700 Ram). Some games I play are Warcraft 3, CS, UT2k3 and I plan on playing Doom3/HL2.

Put that money somehwere, and save it. Then when you have 300$ saved up buy a 9800 pro..


end of story

dont consider anything else

anything less is crap

period.

If you dont like that, buy a console