Max PC online reviews: World's best budget Videocard compariosn

[PeAK]

My wife picked up the December issue of
Maximum PC where they did a comparison of video
cards costing around $150...their conclusion is
printed on the front cover of the issue with:



<< ATI Radeon: World's best budget videocard! >>



Click here for cover


1) Radeon 32MB DDR, rating=8
2) Elsa Gladiac MX, rating=6
3) VooDoo 4500, rating=5
4) Matrox G450, rating=5



The issue contains a CD of playable DEMOs that are
going to be hot items over the Xmas season including

[/list]

It should be a sell out issue

 

[tigger80]

where can i get an AIW radeon for 150 dollars? TELL ME!!!!!!!!!!! please haha. Cheapest i can find is 215 dollars.

 

[hans007]

he didnt say radeon aiw, just standard radeon. And how did they sell out, its is the best card at $150, the v5 5500 is the only thing close to it in the price range. Its got good dvd, good 2d, near top of the line 3d, why wouldn't it be the best. I mean you can say gf2, but the gf2 has what not as good dvd, bad 2d, but of course FASTEST 3d.

 

[BW]

It was the 32 meg ddr i have the mag right here.It says it had the best 3d out of the mx and matrox 400-450,and the 4500 but had very slow 16 bit and slow 2d. It got the worste 2d score of the bunch.It only had the 4500 to compete as the 5500 was still 299 when they tested.

 

[PeAK]

Some Numbers:

The 2D was tested using &quot;SYSmark 2000&quot; with the
Radeon coming in at 6% less (score of 581 vs 618) less than the
Voodoo4. Most people cannot see this sort of difference in
2D speed as it is blazing fast already. No mention of
Radeon's 2D image quality advantages in the review but
this was highlighted in a previous review.

The 3D score was 56.5 fps (86% higher) than next nearest
scores of 30.6 and 30.3 fps for the Voodoo4 and MX, respectively
running Quake at 1024x768@32.

 

[BW]

So i read that. I wish now they would put the 5500 up against it and the g-force2 gts to see how they all stack up.

 

[PinkFloyd]

The sound you hear is the hearts of MX owners breaking across the country.

 

[Looney]

LOLOLOLOL PinkFloyd!

 

[PeAK]

A juicy quote from the feature article:

• 
  &quot;...with power to spare, ATI's Radeon made a
  mockery of our budget card roundup&quot;
  
  
  Maximum PC, December 2000 Issue

 

[Negatus]

If you asked me, and you didn't, Maximum PC cheated when they selected this card. It actually costs more than the other budget cards ($199), but they listed it at $150 due to a mail in rebate...

 

[NFS4]

I can't believe that people actually read Maximum PC.

 

[RobsTV]

yep, it is already an outdated magazine, since they used price as a guidline.
They included 1 card that was $200-$50=$150, but left out the fact that by the time the magazine came out you could get either a GeForce2 GTS or a V5 5500 for less than $150, and in some cases, less than $140. You can't discount 1 card, and not the rest. Even current el-cheapo brand GeForce2 MX cards run about $90.

Had they included the GeForce2 GTS, of course it would have easily been the winner, just as it is in every other &quot;best card comparison review&quot;, such as Anand's, Tom's, or Sharky's.

Just goes to show you that print media can never keep up with technology, and also to check muliple sources before making any decisions.

 

[PinkFloyd]

Just keep telling yourself that RobsTV, and maybe one day you will actually believe it. The Radeon in ANY form is superior to the MX or GF2. Period.

Sore LOSERS will say anything. It's cute.

 

[Hawk]

They weren't picking the card based purely on speed, so the GTS probably wouldn't have won anyway, besides, if they included that, then the AIW and the 64 MB Radeon would've been included, and they have better everything except maybe 10-15% slower 3d.

And he said sell out issue, not that they are selling out as in being bought by ATI.

 

[DominoBoy]

Hi. My name is NFS4, RobTV, or any other loser you would like to choose. When a review, magazine, website, or article says something that I don't agree with, I say they are wrong or biased. But when someone says something that I agree with, I say they are correct and fair. I do the same thing in every aspect of my life. It's the only way I can feel good.

 

[NFS4]

<< Hi. My name is NFS4, RobTV, or any other loser you would like to choose. When a review, magazine, website, or article says something that I don't agree with, I say they are wrong or biased. >>


WTF are you talking about? Who would pay $9 for a magazine that is always a month behind in the hardware market when you can get the current news on hardware daily and up to date for FREE???

That was my point. And I do think that the Radeon is the better value and better all around card. I'd have one if it weren't for their crapass Win2k drivers.

So go suck on a lemon or something and spread your misfortions some place else!

 

[DominoBoy]

I love you too. Wanna cuddle?

 

[NFS4]

Unless you're a pretty lady with a C-cup, hell no!

 

[DominoBoy]

Haha, ok I give you that one.

 

[Venomous]

Maximum BS

 

[Sunner]

Anyone who thinks either the MX, GTS or Radeon is the best value for anyone is truely a loser.

If you wanna run Win2K, the Radeon is definately not the best value, if you wanna run Win9x only, I'd say it is, if you wanna run Lightwave or something similar, no matter what OS, the MX or GTS is definately the best value, and if you only wanna play Deus Ex, the V4 deifnately is.

It all depends on the many if's.

 

[BW]

Hahahe oh man here we go. Cant hold back much longer.

 

[StickHead]

Yeah, lets all gloat because Max. PC picked a the BEST budget video card. This mag. is written for people that wouldn't even know how to install a video card. Umm... PC Mag. said that the new Dell Athlon 1.2G is the fastest PC you can buy(this was a few months ago I think) gee, I better go buy one of those.

Hey PinkFloyd:

You talk pretty tough for a Junior member.

 

[DominoBoy]

Now now now, Stickhead don't get your MX panties in a wad. Just because your card lost again is no reason to lash out at people. Maximum PC is actually a good magazine.

BTW, Maximum PC has said plenty of good stuff about Nvidia too. And they also ripped ATI pretty hard for not clocking the AIW Radeon at the same speed as the 64MB Radeon VIVO, so they are completely fair. I find their articles to be helpful, informative, and much better than 90% of the crap you find on-line. But then 90% of websites are simply kids with no real world experience who have no clue what the hell they are talking about. Anand is one of the only exceptions.

The truth is that Magazines (PC Gamer, Computer Gaming World, Maximum PC, etc.) usually have some of the most experienced and most professional writers in the industry working for them. They are people who have been in the industry for a very long time, and many are true experts. They have earned their positions.

On the other hand, anybody can start a website. I know there are certain people who say that &quot;Magazines are crap&quot; etc., but that's claims made by people who have their ego's shattered because the magazine said something they didn't like. Hmmmmmm, kinda like you Stickhead.

BTW, what is this &quot;You talk pretty tough for a junior member&quot; crap you are saying to people? What are we, a gang? The mofia?

If the most experienced hardware tech on the planet joined today, he would be a &quot;junior&quot; member too. Geez dude, get over it.

 

[SteelyKen]

<< The truth is that Magazines (PC Gamer, Computer Gaming World, Maximum PC, etc.) usually have some of the most experienced and most professional writers in the industry working for them. They are people who have been in the industry for a very long time, and many are true experts. They have earned their positions. >>



Domino, I think you need to look at Maximum BS's Duron/Celeron article and then look at the top hardware review sites (including here) and their assessment of the two. Maximum BS's reviews of hardware are crap. I would put much more stock in Anand's or Tom's views than any from that rag.