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I have no idea what Video card to get.

B

Blackroot

Senior member
I have a low budget, don't wanna spend more then 150 on a card, i prefer nVidia, but main reason i getting is because of Half-Life 2, and Halo. I don't wanna get a card that will be crap with HL2, as for Halo, i don't think that there were any problems with that. Anyone got a good suggestion for what i should get, or shouldn't get?
 
#1 Recommended budget card for HL2 is going to be the 9600pro from both members and AnandTech. May also want to check out the price tag on the 9600tx, since I don't even know how much it costs. You can also keep you fingers crossed that the price of the 9600p will drop when the holiday season hits.
 
I think the Tx was 200 last time i checked, only problem is i want ASAP, cuz i already got my motherboard, processor and case. I really wanna get the rest, so i can start useing. My current comp is a 800mgz duron, with 256 SD, so it's a bit slow for a gamer wouldn't you say, the 9600p looks pretty good, i think it was like 130 on newegg last time i checked, not sure tho.
 
I've seen Halo run 800x600@25fps on a Radeon 9100 64mb, so I wouldn't worry about that. HL2 will kill it though. And, btw, I'm in the same boat you're in : )

People said the 9600XT would kick some overclocking ass, but that's $200 pre-order. At least it comes with HalfLife 2.
 
I thought it was extra to get HL2 with it, i may consider the 9600XT after all, i need a fricking job however, I have no money. When does the 9600XT come out, and what was HL2's release changed too?
 
Also, I dunno what card I want to get, since I will have to use mine for a while. From all the benchmarks it seems the 9700 is the next 'leveling off' point. I want to avoid Nvidia due to the massive amounts of Flak regarding their 'half-assed' drivers [or so people are saying]. But I remember hearing the 9500np can become [equiv] of a 9700Pro, 9600np a 9800np, 9800np a 9800pro, and all random madness. I am frankly quite lost nowadays when it comes to video cards, they screwed up the numbering system 🙁

So, if anyone can help the OP, help me!! A list of what Radeon can be unlocked to what would help, along with success rates... and if it requires a certain PCB, too... most sites are vague about that.
 
Well, since we're in the same situation, I can show you what I found. AT has a good review of everything, and I tend to trust AT more than Tom's. But, I can list the Tom's one as well. They listed the MSI FX5600 was the best buy for mainstream... but bargain hunters are rarely that ^^: [9800P for $150, etc]

AT One
Tom's buying guide
 
Originally posted by: Blackroot
I thought it was extra to get HL2 with it, i may consider the 9600XT after all, i need a fricking job however, I have no money. When does the 9600XT come out, and what was HL2's release changed too?
Click to expand...
ATI brand will come with it "free," some other brands will / some won't. The AnanTech article said it costs the card makers $15 to bundle it, some will not bundle so they can drop their card price by $20-30. But the $200 ones should come with it.
 
> They listed the MSI FX5600
Tom's have been recommending quite a bit of MSI product ever since their site filled up with MSI advertising. They gave MSI their editor's choice for i865 motherboards even though everyone knows that the Abit IS7 is a better value, while I've yet to see any other site (or users here) recommend the MSI.

The fx5600 isn't really better than a ti4200 - 4600 for HL2, though it's better for Doom3.
 
One thing people seem to forget is that all those HL2 benchmarks you see are done at FULL detail. Often, I've found you can reduce the "texture detail" and "model detail" without any visible difference, but it makes a huge difference in FPS... as much as 50% in some games. So... when you look at the benchmarks, keep in mind that by reducing some visual options, like instead of real shadows, show blob shadows, you can make the game playable. These are the kind of compromises you can make with today's video cards in order to get them to run tomorrow's games. The last resort would be to run 800x600x16.
 
Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Tom's have been recommending quite a bit of MSI product ever since their site filled up with MSI advertising.
That I did not know... I knew they 'invented' some Intel chip just so it could beat AMD.. or something like that... but that's also why I as well take that they say with an extremely large grain of salt. I was hesitant to link that article, but they give bechmarks, which I view important.

The fx5600 isn't really better than a ti4200 - 4600 for HL2, though it's better for Doom3.
Same as I heard. Nvidia is... doing some odd stuff.

On a side note I hear that the 9800 non pros with samsung memory are hot as hell. I can dump ~$200 on it, since my last card went bad. And I need it rather soon, so any hot deal would suffice : p

 
The fx5600 isn't really better than a ti4200 - 4600 for HL2, though it's better for Doom3.
Same as I heard. Nvidia is... doing some odd stuff.
Click to expand...
It's not as odd as it sounds if you understand what happened with the GeForce FX line of cards. Long story short, nVidia started development of the FX before MS came up with the DX9 standards. So when MS created DX9, nVidia already had a half build GPU... it would have cost them millions to scrap it and start over with something fully DX9 compliant. Expect some stiff competition from the NV40.
 
I remember a deal where BestBuy had the 9800NP for $250. Is that worth getting? They said that could pretty easily go to a 9800Pro. Then again, that would be top of the line and rather expensive, and I'm guessing Blackroot and I want something cheap but will last 2-3 years and not *die* when playing new games... playing Halo at 800x600x16 at low detail and still seeing texturing errors is not fun...
 
ATI people told Anand the 9600xt would be faster than a 9700pro, which would make it about as fast as a non-overclocked 9800 non-pro. If true, that's going to be one great $200 card (with free HL2) for people who can wait another 5-6 weeks to buy a card.

Overclocking a 9800np seems to work for most people, so that's a good choice too, but costs almost $100 more when you figure that HL2 isn't included.
 
Since I know i am going to to get HL2, it's worth it to spend maybe 20 more, and get it with the card, only hard part of it is having to wait till it's released. Since i don't really have the money right now anyway, it should be that hard, i hope.
 
there was a mention of 9600XT over 9700 pro. but i find it hard to believe. i have a 9600 pro OCed to 520/700 and my 9700 pro stock still killed it
 
What about the benchmarks? The 9600 pro places a solid tier behind the Fx5900 [don't flame] and the 9800. I really think the 9800 will last longer than the others..... any other opinions? And does anyone have a link to a single place where I can find the upgrade-what-to-what stats?
 
You need to read Anandtech.com. here is a quote from Anandtech on the card: .9600 XT

"The Radeon 9600 XT will hit the streets sometime in November and we?ll be sure to bring you coverage of that card as soon as we get our hands on one"
 
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