Looking for a Gfx card upgrade...

[evenmore1]

Hey there, I am just thinking of upgrading my gfx card because I want to play some new games My friend gave me NFS:MW for free and I want to play it

I was thinking of getting something old (in tech), I don't want to spend too much because I'll be upgrading in 6 months(?)

Spending as little as possible...

What should I get? What's the minimum I should try and get? Here are some of the cheapest cards I'm thinking of getting, but I would rather have recommendations

No brand preference...

Nvidia GF4 Ti4200 - $30
Nvidia 5900XT - $60
9600 pro?
5700 ultra ~$70?

btw: I'm also adding 512MB RAM
edit: title

 

[morgash]

u should see if u can find a used 6600gt agp on the FS/FT forums for about 80 bucks. it will destroy any of those u listed and has newer features to boot. still wont be great, but it will be much better than any of those.

Morgash

 

[evenmore1]

what's the minimum?

 

[BassBomb]

min u need at least something that can do pixel shader 2.0

id say get a 6600 vanilla, as very likely what u get will be bottlenecked by your cpu, so just dont go nuts on buying a video card

cheaper the better, try lookin out for cheap cards that are like 9800PRO / 6600GT , those two would be decent, post what u find here we can let u know if it would be good idea

 

[fliguy84]

try to find some used 9500/9600 series. I bought a 9500 that unlocks to 9700 for FS/FT thread for a cool $35

 

[evenmore1]

All my chosen options stink?

oh well...is there anything good below $100???

So far I found:
Nvidia 5900
Ati 9800 Pro
6600
X1600Pro

Can't find much else...

I'm not going to get the first two, the X1600Pro looks quite good though

 

[evenmore1]

Originally posted by: fliguy84
try to find some used 9500/9600 series. I bought a 9500 that unlocks to 9700 for FS/FT thread for a cool $35

There are 9500's that unlock to 9700's???

Do they even have those anymore???

 

[evenmore1]

Hmmm...compuvest has some good deals, but it has really poor ratings...

 

[BassBomb]

ok definatley look for that used 6600GT ... paying 100 isnt worth it for old school hardware at all

 

[Cookie Monster]

AGP.. hmm if it was PCI-e i would suggest a 7600GS that is $99 at newegg.

Get the X1600 pro or the 6600GT AGP.

Both are similiar in performance, and offer S.M 3.0. Cant go wrong with either one.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

9500pro, 9700, 9700pro, 9800, 9800pro, 6600 and 6600GT

all good cards.

id try sway a 9700pro or something, theyre cheap and still got some muscle, definately enough to last you 6months, providing you dont pay more than like $45-50 for it. 9500pro is still a card worth having too, and you can get them even cheaper.

6600gt is the best choice (performance wise) out of the above though

 

[Ika]

6600 vanilla or 6600GT. look around in FS/T; you can find some good deals around there. oh, also a 9550 Pro is a good card with ATITool. Once you unlock the clock lock, it becomes a 9600Pro, and if you overclock can become a decent card.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

Originally posted by: evenmore1

Originally posted by: fliguy84
try to find some used 9500/9600 series. I bought a 9500 that unlocks to 9700 for FS/FT thread for a cool $35

There are 9500's that unlock to 9700's???

Do they even have those anymore???

yeah

9500 NON PRO (thats important that its non pro) .... these (or at least most of these) came with their RAM modules arranged in a L-shaper (2 along the side, 2 along the top of the card) this meant it had a pcb with a 256bit memory interface.

the 9500NON PRO however was only sold with 4 of its 8 pixel shaders disabled. but it didnt take long for people to figure out how to open them again.

if you were lucky and got them open, you basically had a 8 pipe, 256bit memory graphics card, essentially a 9700 as that was also a 8 pipe 256bit memory bus card.

(of course its luck of the draw wether it opens the pipes or not, and then if it clocks to 9700pro speeds)



the next card up is the 9500PRO, unfortunately thiis had all of its ram arranged in a I shape down the side of the card. this meant 128bit memory interface so there was no chance it could become a 9700. however the 9500PRO was sold with all 8 pipes left open, and it ran at 9700 speeds.

i have my 9500pro still, and its a really good example.....it overclocks to over 360mhz!

 

[evenmore1]

:| I can't seem to find anything worth it!!! All the good cards are too expensive! And I some places I don't trust, like compuvest....ebay is not an option (it wouldn't be legal if I registered)

What do I do now?

*sigh* I might just get an Ati 9600XT...

 

[Praxis1452]

X1600 pro ftw for $105 it'll be a bit faster tahn the 6600gt and have AVIVO and more features.

 

[evenmore1]

I need to save some money though...

 

[otispunkmeyer]

jus wait 6 months and play solitare instead?

 

[evenmore1]

Actually I might do that....I just cancelled my order for Newegg

btw: They were the 9600XT and 256MB Kingston RAM

 

[evenmore1]

You know what, I'm just going to get the RAM and that's it....