Geforce3 Ti-500 to Geforce4 Ti4600.....worth it?

ezdriver

Member
Jul 12, 2000
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My system: AthlonXP 1900+, Geforce 3 Ti-500, 512MB DDR, WinXP

I can get a pretty good deal on a Geforce 4 Ti4600. Since the GF3 I have is a fairly decent card, would I even see that much of a difference with the newer GF4 Ti4600?

ez
 

Budmantom

Lifer
Aug 17, 2002
13,103
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It all depends on your definition of "fairly decent" I went from an amd 1300 and a gf3 to an amd xp2100+ and a gf4ti4400 and the difference was good it is not eye popping. The main thing is I use AAx4 before I couldn't without seeing a big fps drop. I have gone from a gf mx to a gf pro to gf3 and finally gf4Ti4400 and I have never seen that great a difference in performance. Perhaps if you went to a p4 3.06ghz and a 9700pro that would be eye popping performance.
Tom
 

DoobieOnline

Golden Member
Jan 12, 2001
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Hey EZ, when I went from a GF3 Ti200 (OC'ed to near Ti500 levels) to a GF4 Ti4600, I noticed a HUGE difference simply because I was able to turn up the eye candy in games and still get good frame-rates. If you can find a Ti4600 at a good price, then I would say get it. Another great choice is the 9700Pro, which I just picked up. I like to have very smooth gameplay so high frame-rate is a must, and with the 9700Pro I'm able to run 1280x960 with video details and sound set to max. I'm replaying some of my fave games again and it's almost like playing them for the first time (I keep getting killed because I'm ooh'ing and aah'ing at texture details I never noticed before). ;) Keep your eyes open in the for sale forum and you can probably pick up a Ti4600 for well under $200, and at that price you can't go wrong.
 

chizow

Diamond Member
Jun 26, 2001
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I went from a gf3 ti200 to a Ti4200-turbo OC'd past ti4600 speeds and the main difference I noticed is you can run your current games at 1 resolution higher with everything maxed out, when before you had to run with some features turned off. You will see a nice difference in the latest games too, like UT2K3, but still don't expect to be able to run everything maxed out at super high resolutions (1600+) without significant slowdown. If you're looking to run at that rez, look into a 9700pro.

Chiz
 

rogue1979

Diamond Member
Mar 14, 2001
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I had five Gainward Geforce 4 Ti 4200's that all ran 300/540. My current card is Gainward Geforce3 Ti450 @250/530. I like to play games at 1280 x 960 x 32 at 2X FSAA with all details turned on. For Unreal 2003 I have to drop to 1024 x 768 2X. My average framerates went from 80fps to about 100 at these settings. Image quality was exactly the same (excellent). I personally didn't think it was worth it, and kept my trusty GF3. I have two retail Radeon 8500 128MB coming in today and I am gonna play with them. I will do a volt mod on one of them, add some ramsinks and a good gpu cooler and see if I can hit 325/325. Just curious to see if I can match my GF3 performance with the new 2.5 catalyst drivers.
 

kylebisme

Diamond Member
Mar 25, 2000
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you could probably get a 9500pro for cheaper and have a beter card but i supose it depends on your particular situation.
 

ezdriver

Member
Jul 12, 2000
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Thanks for all of the replies, good people. After doing a bit of snooping around, it does look like there will be a pretty hefty gain in performance with the GF4 Ti-4600 over my GF3 Ti-500. Of course, that will vary from game to game, so I think I'll give 'er a try. Thanks.

ez
 

Lonyo

Lifer
Aug 10, 2002
21,939
6
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Try and get a bit more cash for a Radeon 9700 (non-pro), then you'll get even better performance, or go for a 9500PRO if you can find one, they're about as good as Ti 4600, until you start using AA/AF when they whip its butt :)
 

jiffylube1024

Diamond Member
Feb 17, 2002
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Originally posted by: rogue1979
I had five Gainward Geforce 4 Ti 4200's that all ran 300/540. My current card is Gainward Geforce3 Ti450 @250/530. I like to play games at 1280 x 960 x 32 at 2X FSAA with all details turned on. For Unreal 2003 I have to drop to 1024 x 768 2X. My average framerates went from 80fps to about 100 at these settings. Image quality was exactly the same (excellent). I personally didn't think it was worth it, and kept my trusty GF3. I have two retail Radeon 8500 128MB coming in today and I am gonna play with them. I will do a volt mod on one of them, add some ramsinks and a good gpu cooler and see if I can hit 325/325. Just curious to see if I can match my GF3 performance with the new 2.5 catalyst drivers.

Hey Rogue - if those Radeons you are getting are built by ATI then you should most definately be able to hit 325/325 if they are fairly recently manufactured boards. I got a retail 8500 LE 128MB a couple months ago and it can run 325/325 stably with no additional cooling! These 8500's are sweet!

Back on topic - going from a GF3 Ti500 to GF4 Ti4600 should be a pretty noticeable upgrade, however not ground breaking, or anything. You do get dual video out if you're into that sort of thing.
 

BFG10K

Lifer
Aug 14, 2000
22,674
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There's a big difference between the two cards in terms of performance. Oh course this does not necessarily mean that the Ti4600 is the best choice for you.
 

rogue1979

Diamond Member
Mar 14, 2001
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The both run about 310/300 with stock cooling. The Ram is Infineon 3.6ns, not as fast at the 3.3ns I had on an earlier 8500LE that ran 300/315.