Graphics Card

[Codename 47]

Out of curiosity which graphics card, ATi Radeon or Nvidia is currently giving the best performance?
I'm looking to upgrade my graphics card, willing to spend roughly £300 ($530), not sure what to buy, anyone have any preferences?

 

[imported_rod]

Well, in that price range, look for an nVidia 7800GT. It's the best value. If you can find an X1800XL for that price, it's performance is almost identical.

If you want absolute best performance, get a 7800GTX-512MB or an X1800XT. But these two only perform at a maximum of 20% better, but can cost twice as much.

RoD

 

[jc9970]

If you can wait a bit, the X1900 series is what your looking for. If you need a card right now, these are some of the favorites around here, X1800XT, 7800GTX, 7800GT.

 

[mwmorph]

$530? that's x1800xt or 7800gtx range. X1800xt is slightly faster, and handled aa better and has slightyl better texture quality, but the 7800gtx has better transperrency/adaptive aa, but takes a bigger hit with either traditional aa or adaptive aa and has a slightly worse problem with texture shimmering.

 

[Codename 47]

I won't be doing anything special on it, it's just for games etc. Should I spend that much or is there something cheaper that will do the job just as well?

 

[mwmorph]

waht resolution do you play at and what games?

 

[Codename 47]

Quake, GTA, Third-person action etc.
old monitor at the moment so its 1024 by something, cant remember the number, not too good at the moment, looking to get a new monitor in a while.

 

[mwmorph]

Quake 1? 2? 3? 4?
GTA 1? 2? which one?
1024x768 yuo can get by with a x800gto
1280x1024 you need a 6800gs/6800gt/x800gto2(with some work)/x800xt/x850xt
1600x1200 you need a 7800gtx x1800xt

of course there are exceptions, for the newest games like call of duty 2 and fear, move each card downa a notch so that 7800gtx/the others is needed for 1280x1024, a 6800gs/the others is needed for 1024x786 and a x800gto will be needed fro 800x600.

look at these benchamrks.
http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/12/02/vga_charts_viii/index.html

for smooth gameplay,
Typicalyl you want 35-40fps average in stratgey games,
35-45 average in the action rpg fable
50-60 average for first person shooters

select your resolution and see which cards will supply your need.

 

[Codename 47]

latest ones

 

[imported_rod]

The 7800GT will play any modern game at high quality. It's currently the best value, high-end graphics card.

RoD

 

[Codename 47]

Just got the computer back from my brother, apparently I need an AGP graphics card if I'm going to upgrade however I'm considering switching to an AMD 64 bit processor in a few months, is it worth switching to 64 bit or should I leave it how it is?
Also could someone explain dual core processors.