Yes I just saw that Sapphire has the 9600Pro for $130 at Newegg... which one is better 5700 or 9600Pro
What's all these SE, plain, Pro and XT stand for in a ATI card?
ok let's say if I can go a little more above $130... what should I get?
What's all these SE, plain, Pro and XT stand for in a ATI card?
ok let's say if I can go a little more above $130... what should I get?
ok guys what if I decided to spend the most around $150, should I get the Powercolor 9800SE and overclock it to 9800Pro? There I have almost the best card in the market and don't have to worry about the future games I will play... It's a big jump from my budget but I figure that if I do it once for all, I don't need to think about video card for another 2 years...
GF4 does MSAA, like GF3. GF2 and previous do SSAA.
irenealan, AA and AF are basically image quality enhancements that the video card can provide on top of the game's visuals. They exact a penalty in framerates, though, so you're trading off speed for a little nicer quality. They're certainly recommended if you can afford to turn them on, but at the price level you're discussing, really not usable, as the 4200 and 9600 are both relatively slow to begin with in newer games. Generally, you want to aim for 60fps (frames per second) average for a fluid framerate that won't hinder your gameplay. Once you dip into the 30s, the game will still be playable, but there'll likely be moments of noticable slowdown, when the framerate hits the teens or lower and your control becomes noticably choppy. Thus your first priority should be fluid framerates, with nicer IQ as a secondary (but obviously desirable) consideration.
Here is an article with a comprehensive array of video cards benchmarked on a wide array of modern games. (At the end, you'll find benchmarks conducted with AA, AF, and AA + AF, and you'll see those settings exact a generally large performance penalty at the low end, where you're looking.) Find the video cards you're considering, and see how they fare against each other in the games you intend to play. Then weigh their performance against their price, and you can arrive at the card that offers the best prospects for your games at your budget.
Leadtek is a good company, and the 5700 is a decent card, but I'd recommend a 9600 Pro over a 5700 at the same price, simply because it's faster overall (particularly with AA &/ AF, as the benchmarks indicate). But you'll also notice that the 4200 is pretty darn competitive (aside from with AA &/ AF, which are "luxury" items), and thus a better bargain at $80-100.
irenealan, AA and AF are basically image quality enhancements that the video card can provide on top of the game's visuals. They exact a penalty in framerates, though, so you're trading off speed for a little nicer quality. They're certainly recommended if you can afford to turn them on, but at the price level you're discussing, really not usable, as the 4200 and 9600 are both relatively slow to begin with in newer games. Generally, you want to aim for 60fps (frames per second) average for a fluid framerate that won't hinder your gameplay. Once you dip into the 30s, the game will still be playable, but there'll likely be moments of noticable slowdown, when the framerate hits the teens or lower and your control becomes noticably choppy. Thus your first priority should be fluid framerates, with nicer IQ as a secondary (but obviously desirable) consideration.
Here is an article with a comprehensive array of video cards benchmarked on a wide array of modern games. (At the end, you'll find benchmarks conducted with AA, AF, and AA + AF, and you'll see those settings exact a generally large performance penalty at the low end, where you're looking.) Find the video cards you're considering, and see how they fare against each other in the games you intend to play. Then weigh their performance against their price, and you can arrive at the card that offers the best prospects for your games at your budget.
Leadtek is a good company, and the 5700 is a decent card, but I'd recommend a 9600 Pro over a 5700 at the same price, simply because it's faster overall (particularly with AA &/ AF, as the benchmarks indicate). But you'll also notice that the 4200 is pretty darn competitive (aside from with AA &/ AF, which are "luxury" items), and thus a better bargain at $80-100.
Sorry guys I am really a newbie in this and as I see more reviews on different card I am confused on what I should get... I am not money tight that I can't give another $50 out... just to save up lunch and dinner in weeks... but I would rather buy something I won't regret for another 1 to 2 years...
Originally posted by: Blastman
Hahahaha?looks like we?re going to try for 100 posts in this thread.
Sorry, did you tell us your system specs before (CPU speed, amount of RAM)? It would seem you want to play some newer games, so obviously the more you spend, the longer your card will last. But if you'll be happy with medium in-game IQ settings, no AA or AF, at 800x600 or 1024x768, then a GF4Ti 4200 128MB may suffice for a year or more. You won't be enjoying anywhere near the performance and IQ of a $165 Radeon 9700, $183 9700 Pro, or [l=$210 9800 Pro][/l], but a 4200 shold serve you well in the games you play ("Everquest, SIMS, MS Flight Sim, Diablo, Commando and maybe BF: Vietnam... but I don't play much First Shooter or online game...").
So you could get away with spending <$100 on a 4200 128MB now, and just buy a faster card down the line, when you notice playing games on your 4200 becomes too frustrating because of lack of speed or IQ. One of those Radeons I listed will make you happier now and should keep you happy longer, though, and I think skipping lunch for an extra week to buy the $165 9700 would be a smarter choice than buying a $130 5700 or 9500 Pro right now. I may have turned into a graphic snob, though, too sensitive to low framerates and low IQ settings to offer an impartial judgement of a 4200 or 5700.
So you could get away with spending <$100 on a 4200 128MB now, and just buy a faster card down the line, when you notice playing games on your 4200 becomes too frustrating because of lack of speed or IQ. One of those Radeons I listed will make you happier now and should keep you happy longer, though, and I think skipping lunch for an extra week to buy the $165 9700 would be a smarter choice than buying a $130 5700 or 9500 Pro right now. I may have turned into a graphic snob, though, too sensitive to low framerates and low IQ settings to offer an impartial judgement of a 4200 or 5700.
Cerb
Elite Member
- Aug 26, 2000
- 17,484
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SE: crap.
9600SE: 64-bit memory (normal, Pro and XT have 128-bit).
9800SE: 128-bit memory (mostly), 4 pipelines...not quite 9600 Pro (9700 and 9800 non-SE cards have 256-bit).
Pro: higher clocked than non-pro
XT: higher clocked than Pro. In neither case are they that much better.
I'm too tired to look and recommend anything else right now
.Overall, though:
5700: more raw power than a 9600, especially if you want to OC.
9600 Pro/XT: a bit better image quality (not fuzziness, but better color and such). Won't OC that far in most cases.
Sorry to make this thread any longer but here's what I ended up thinking after talking to all of you and research products and comments from Newegg:
$70 Refurb Leadtek Ti4200 - this is the best budget card I can find and I think it can potentially oc to 350/700... just I don't know what to do to cool it down... also if it oc to 350/700, does it mean it's comparable to a Ti4600 or ATI9600Pro since they have about the same figure? If that's the case, then I won't considering throwing another $15 for the Ti4400.
Also I found a ChainTech Ti4800Se for $80... however, I could not find any benchmark comparison on it... Can someone comment if the $80 ChainTech Ti4800Se would be a better choice then a Leadtek Ti4200? Thanks.
$70 Refurb Leadtek Ti4200 - this is the best budget card I can find and I think it can potentially oc to 350/700... just I don't know what to do to cool it down... also if it oc to 350/700, does it mean it's comparable to a Ti4600 or ATI9600Pro since they have about the same figure? If that's the case, then I won't considering throwing another $15 for the Ti4400.
Also I found a ChainTech Ti4800Se for $80... however, I could not find any benchmark comparison on it... Can someone comment if the $80 ChainTech Ti4800Se would be a better choice then a Leadtek Ti4200? Thanks.
350/700 out of a card that comes 275/513 new, let alone a refurb model? Good luck! Stock cooling should be fine. If you start thinking about buying a better heatsink fan, then you may as well just pay the extra $10-15 for a 4400 right off the bat. The 4400 is built on a different PCB (board) than the 4200, and usually has more overclocking headroom. Some 4200's may be built on 4400 PCBs, though.
Stock cooling should be fine. If you start thinking about buying a better heatsink fan, then you may as well just pay the extra $10-15 for a 4400 right off the bat. The 4400 is built on a different PCB (board) than the 4200, and usually has more overclocking headroom. Some 4200's may be built on 4400 PCBs, though.ok so if I buy the Ti4800se and oc it... what result do you guys think I may get? to what level of card may I compare it to?
also would stock cooling be good enough for OCing the 4800se? and how to OCing this baby? Thanks.
also would stock cooling be good enough for OCing the 4800se? and how to OCing this baby? Thanks.
I wouldn't venture to guarantee anything, given that it's refurbished. Who knows if it was returned b/c it didn't OC to the previous owner's satisfaction?
Stock cooling should be fine, but decent case airflow won't hurt (a fan in the front and back).
Stock cooling should be fine, but decent case airflow won't hurt (a fan in the front and back).
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