lookin for a new video card........

[cycleman77]

I am currently using a MSI Geforce2 GTS and todays games are really pushing it. I am forced to run Unreal 2003 at 600x800. I was wondering what would be worth getting. I have read about all the cards out there, but I would like to get your opinions on what I could get most for my money.

As of right now, I got the extra cash to get a card for around 100 bucks. I was looking at getting an ATI 9200 Pro. Is this card worth getting? Should I wait and save up for a 9500 Pro/ 9700 Pro???
Should I skip the ATI cards and go for a Geforce4?

***NOTE: Please do NOT turn this into an "ATI vs Nvidia" thread.

Thanks

 

[jacktesterson]

Stick with ATI.....or even a 9100 if u want to save even more money....be noticeably faster than a GTS

Id go with 9500 or higher personally

 

[Marvelous]

For $100 you could probably pick up a geforce 4 ti4200. Which is faster than radeon 9100. If you get few more bucks you probably could get a radeon 9500 or 9600 which would be the next step up.

 

[Schadenfroh]

you can get a 4200 for around a 100 bucks taht will use the same drivers as your geforce2 (may have to update to latest detanators) and you will not have to reinstall windows or use driver cleaner, just drop it in and play. plus it will beat the 9100 in most benchmarks. check the hotdeals forums for deals on the 4200. but if you were to go ATI, get the 9100 or 8500 becuase the 9200 is a 9000 with 8xagp and would be beat by a 8500 and a 9100.

 

[cycleman77]

ok....so the 9200 isn't worth it.
I havent read anything about the 9100. heck, i didnt even know it existed until this morning when I was looking for cards at GoogleGear.
So my choices are down to either the ti4200 for around 100 bux OR wait and get a 9500Pro.
lol...jeesh
decisions, decisions......

 

[Jincuteguy]

If you have $100 right now, save it till when you get another $100 or so then get the Ati Radeon 9700 Pro card, it is worth your money. If you get ti 4200 or Radeon 9200 or 9600, you will be disappointed because Unreal Tournament 2003 required more than that, I have a Radeon 9800 Pro 128Mb card, and it 's sometimes slow too.

 

[Acanthus]

Originally posted by: AMDHardcoreFan
Stick with ATI.....or even a 9100 if u want to save even more money....be noticeably faster than a GTS

Id go with 9500 or higher personally

anyone that says stick with ____ , dont listen to.

Right now the best card in the $100 region is the Ti4200, i reccomend the 128MB version for an extra $5-10 to ensure decent framerates in doomIII. DoomIII has up to 90MB of textures in one scene, and 64MB cards will need 2-3 passes to render it. While a 128MB card will be able to do it in 1-2 passes. 128MB cards will also perform better in old games while using AA and AF.

If you save up for a card, id go with a 9700pro/FX5900V (the V stands for value, the low end version of the card).

 

[Budmantom]

What are the specs on the rest of your system?

 

[bluemax]

True... without kowing CPU/memory it's hard to tell.

but...

What's best depends on what you can afford.
The best bargain is almost undeniably the Radeon 8500LE or 9100 which is the same thing. These you can find for as little as $60 in some places!
The next best bargain is the good ol' TI4200, now around $100-120. It's more expensive but also faster and you won't have to clean out your old nVidia drivers (which can be a pain for the inexperienced.)
From there, the Radeon 9500Pro/9600 and new GFFX 5600 make good options. The 9700 non-pro is only a touch more but is a SUPER price performer!!

 

[Blastman]

What's best depends on what you can afford.
The best bargain is almost undeniably the Radeon 8500LE or 9100 which is the same thing. These you can find for as little as $60 in some places!
The next best bargain is the good ol' TI4200, now around $100-120. It's more expensive but also faster and you won't have to clean out your old nVidia drivers (which can be a pain for the inexperienced.)
From there, the Radeon 9500Pro/9600 and new GFFX 5600 make good options. The 9700 non-pro is only a touch more but is a SUPER price performer!!

I second what bluemax said.

plus it will beat the 9100 in every benchmark

The 4200 doesn?t beat a 9100/8500LE in every benchmark. extremetech ?

In this Aces ? review the 8500 beats the 4200 a lot of the time too. The 4200 is faster but the 9100 will hold its own pretty good. The 9100 is a price/speed notch down from the 4200.

 

[cycleman77]

heres the rest of the essentials of my system:

AMD 1.33Ghz, 512MB PC2100, Epox 8K7A

i think im going to wait. the more i read, the more i want either the 9500PRO, or if i have the patients to save, the 9700PRO.
On the other hand, I might end up spending the money on a second hard drive. i only got 10 gig free out of 40. and at the rate im going, that 10 gig is going to be gone by the end of the summer.
thanks for the info guys....i appreciate it

 

[bluemax]

There's 9700 NON Pro cards out there around $200 if you can afford it.
If not, the under-$75 Radeon 8500LE/9100 cards are sure a great bargain!

 

[Zrom999]

9000 Pro... works great with the latest drivers. With the 9200 you are paying a bit more for a worthless 8x function.
If you can afford it get a 9500.

 

[Budmantom]

With your specs I recomend these three cards in order:
1. GeForce Ti4200 64mb $100 best bang for the buck and has plenty of punch for your rig.
2. Ati 8500 64mb $70 great bang for the buck (leaves money for lunch).
3.9700np 128mb $200+ best card for iq, it might leave you wanting to upgrade your rig (get use to the 99cent menu).

 

[jacktesterson]

The Radeon 9100 and 8500 are identical cards...there unsold 8500 cards with a new name...no changes at all...same specs, same layout, same support

that said I still beleive going with either one (most likely 9100 now) would be your best bet.....I would take a 9100 over a Ti 4200....

My opinion, go with Radeon 9100 128 MB

 

[jacktesterson]

Radeon 9100 can be found under $75 american and are almost as high performer as Ti 4200 and actually beats it in 30-40% of them

 

[Budmantom]

^ doo doo eater

 

[bluemax]

Originally posted by: Budmantom
^ doo doo eater

And there's nVidia support, folks.

He may be exaggerating a little, but a Radeon 8500LE/9100 DOES get very similar performance comapred to a TI4200 when in high-res and/or AA+AF, especially AF. And that's not bad considering it's quite a bit cheaper.

 

[Brian48]

Yeah, but that's only if you enable FSAA+Aniso, which in my opinion, causes too much of a performance hit with either card to be acceptable. For all practical gaming purposes the ti4200 is a much better option than the R8500LE/9100. Also, the price difference is really not all that great, considering most of the R8500LE out there today is really a "R8500LELE" and clocked significantly lower than what they used to be (230/230 or lower).

I've both a retail 128mb R8500 (which is even better than either R8500LE or 9100) o/c'd at 301/301 and a PNY 64mb ti4200 running at default. Except for a few artificial benchmarks, the ti4200 is significantly faster than the R8500 in ALL my games. The ONLY area where the R8500 is noticably superior is DVD playback and 2d image quality.

 

[Brian48]

By the way, the ti4200 have plummeted in price lately. Many can be had for under $100 (paid $80 for mine).

 

[bluemax]

Hey, for $80US I'd get one!
I never disagreed that the TI4200 was faster - but AF makes the games look so much better I'd be willing to take some hit for it. AA isn't as necessary, but AF! Woooo..... nice.