Hi, I'm a total newbie here, and I got a couple of question. My rig now is made of axp 1800+, 512 mb ddr, 60+40 gb, Radeon 9100. Now I'm concidering an upgrade to the graphix crad, but I havn't been arounf for a while and would like a 'jump start' info regarding mid-price cards available today. So when you think of it I have around 100$ (say I'm a LITTLE flexible, so a couple of bucks up won't matter, but not too much!) Along with your suggestions I'd like if possible also techie info (like GPU speed, memory speed etc.). I overheard that generaly Nvidia's stuff run at higher clock speeds, is this the same deal as with AMD Vs. Intel or is it different? Also I currently have AGPx4, so the card should support that also, althogh I guess I'll eventually upgrade my system, so for future, it should also support AGPx8. Thanks!
mid-level card..
- Thread starter narcotic
- Start date
Try to find a used 9500 Pro or--better yet--a used 9700/Pro for $100-125.
If you want to buy new, though, expect lower performance for the money. What games do you play?
If you want to buy new, though, expect lower performance for the money. What games do you play?
well I play all kinds, latest one was far-cry, and I could only run it on low settings (although not lowest). I also play need 4 speed - underground, Thief 3 etc. I was thinking more about somthing like 9600 pro or fx5700, I saw on pricewatch.com their prices.. I think I wouldn't go for a used one, don't want to take the risk. What do you say?
heh.. That would've been nice if I could afford it. But as I said, my range is around $100, so $195 is waaay to much for me... If you can give suggestions closer to that level i'd appriciate it. Also get technical, give me some details please. Thanks for the help.
The problem is that the games you mention are demanding games, so this will likely apply to your future preferences.
I agree with Regs.I would say wait a bit and save some more money, and buy the 9800pro. It's a very good card and most likely the best bang for the buck.
For current games you will be just fine with a FX5700 or a 9600pro but 9800pro will hold you for the future some more.
Soulkeeper
Diamond Member
- Nov 23, 2001
- 6,738
- 156
- 106
yeah at first i was considering getting a 6800gt
but now i've been looking at the fx5700/5700u as cheaper options
cause i know something crazy will prob happen in the winter/spring coming up anyways
i usually don't buy ati cause linux nvidia drivers/support has been much better for me
but now i've been looking at the fx5700/5700u as cheaper options
cause i know something crazy will prob happen in the winter/spring coming up anyways
i usually don't buy ati cause linux nvidia drivers/support has been much better for me
You could get a 5600, 9600, and maybe a 5700 new in your pricerange. If your CPU was a little faster I would think it would be enough to get by with, but an 1800+ is borderline. Maybe go with the lowest price of the three and spring for an updated processor. Decent Athlon XPs are under $100. It might be better then spending $200 on a 9800 pro and using the 1800+. If you just want the best bang for the buck on your current system, stick to 5600/9600/5700 level cards.
Its amazing how someone asks for a price range on a new card and some ppl still post items that the person would have no interest in buying...
anyways heres my heavily researched opinion.
1) clockspeed/memory speed isnt everything and thats y ppl really dont memorize them anymore as religiously as they did back in the geforce2 days.
2) for around $70-$80 you can get a GF4TI4200 128mb. This card is an upgrade from what you have but i dont suggest it due to the amount of benefit youd get. you seem to want eyecandy on your screen. In this case, i reccomend a 9600 or 9600pro 128mb. This card is somewhat faster then the GF4 that i mentioned above (maybe 10%-15%ish. It varies depending on game) but has directx9.0 support (as opposed to the GF4 which has DX8.1 support). The big difference between the two is price (9600 upper variants are around $100 vs $80 of the GF4) and the eyecandy that you will see on the screen. DX9 offers more shaders which make our games look that much better. Also the 9600pro has a much higher memory bandwidth which enables you to turn on AA and AF in some modern and older titles and its also higher quality AA and AF.
If you are into overclocking, the GF4 ocs quite nice but its basically a fair tradeoff in price/performance
anyways heres my heavily researched opinion.
1) clockspeed/memory speed isnt everything and thats y ppl really dont memorize them anymore as religiously as they did back in the geforce2 days.
2) for around $70-$80 you can get a GF4TI4200 128mb. This card is an upgrade from what you have but i dont suggest it due to the amount of benefit youd get. you seem to want eyecandy on your screen. In this case, i reccomend a 9600 or 9600pro 128mb. This card is somewhat faster then the GF4 that i mentioned above (maybe 10%-15%ish. It varies depending on game) but has directx9.0 support (as opposed to the GF4 which has DX8.1 support). The big difference between the two is price (9600 upper variants are around $100 vs $80 of the GF4) and the eyecandy that you will see on the screen. DX9 offers more shaders which make our games look that much better. Also the 9600pro has a much higher memory bandwidth which enables you to turn on AA and AF in some modern and older titles and its also higher quality AA and AF.
If you are into overclocking, the GF4 ocs quite nice but its basically a fair tradeoff in price/performance
Marsumane - that was a great answer, the first one who actually answered to the point, but I do thank all of you for helping!
Marsumane raises the issue of upgrading a cpu, and as I mentioned, I will upgrade the entire system eventually, but right now I'm happy with the axp 1800+ system. What concerns me now, is the impression I get that high end cards won't preform well under axp 1800+ is that true? and if yes, then why so? Another question, I was looking around, and saw that fx5700 LE is also in my price range, and that another dilema, since I have no idea what the hell is 5700 LE (what's the LE anyway, is it like SE, which then means its fairly weak, and no point of getting one of those..). I'd appriciate your comments.
Marsumane raises the issue of upgrading a cpu, and as I mentioned, I will upgrade the entire system eventually, but right now I'm happy with the axp 1800+ system. What concerns me now, is the impression I get that high end cards won't preform well under axp 1800+ is that true? and if yes, then why so? Another question, I was looking around, and saw that fx5700 LE is also in my price range, and that another dilema, since I have no idea what the hell is 5700 LE (what's the LE anyway, is it like SE, which then means its fairly weak, and no point of getting one of those..). I'd appriciate your comments.
FWIW, I bought this card with the advice of the guys on this forum.
I had asked for best bang-for-buck card under $100. It's going into a machine that is virtually identical to yours (same CPU and memory). I was planning on installing this weekend so I'll let you know what I think.
regards,
fraz
I had asked for best bang-for-buck card under $100. It's going into a machine that is virtually identical to yours (same CPU and memory). I was planning on installing this weekend so I'll let you know what I think.
regards,
fraz
That's a good deal for an older, but still quite capable card. It should run 300/650 easily and using the 44.03 drivers coupled with a fast cpu it will hit 15K in 3DMark2001.
Soulkeeper
Diamond Member
- Nov 23, 2001
- 6,738
- 156
- 106
Answer to Video card question:
Yes LE can be thought of as similar to SE (suck edition). SE is even worse though because it usually has a crippled memory bus and/or 1/2 the pipelines. LE generally is underclocked core/memory speeds and sometimes with the proper cooling can be clocked back up to the origonal (non LE) speeds. If you have no interest in overclocking, dont get the LE. If the 9600 and the 5700LE are at the same price point on the site u have checked, then get the 9600 because it is faster then the 5700LE.
5700 cards are decent but slightly overpiced compared to their 9600 counterparts. Basically if you can find a 5700Ultra for under $130 (rare as hell and usually $150+)) then go for it, but usually they run too high and are owned by the 5900XT at the $170 price. (best bang for buck goes to 5900XT once u get that high) Also, if you can get a reg 5700 for under the price of a vanilla 9600, these two cards compete fairly well in performance also. But like i said above, the 5700 line is usually more expensive then the 9600 line in price/performance.
Answer to processor question:
The processor that you have is well ballanced with the cards that you are looking to purchase. Basically the "high end cards" (aka this gen (X800/6800)) require a processor often around 3ghz to supply the card with enough information (physics, coordinate data, etc) so that the card isnt bottlencked by the "slow" cpu. If the card doesnt have information on where to draw the next frame, it cant possibly draw it and framerate thus decreases. This applies with all catagories of cards. The 9800 series id say requires a 2ghz cpu to supply the gpu with enough data so that it isnt bottlenecked. The series you are looking at (9600/5700)id say requires a 1.5ghz cpu to do the same. Overall, I think you are making a wise decision on what you are pairing up your 1.8ghz cpu with.
I would seriously consider a used/refurb card. Many 9700np/PRO & GF5900's can be had for around $100. These are quite a bit faster than the 9600/5700 you are looking at.
While your CPU will limit the performance of these card, you will still see quite an improvement by switching to a better card. You will get a bigger improvement by going from a 9100 to a 9700 on your XP1800, and you would if you went from a XP1800 to an XP3200 with an 9700. I dunno if that made sense.
While your CPU will limit the performance of these card, you will still see quite an improvement by switching to a better card. You will get a bigger improvement by going from a 9100 to a 9700 on your XP1800, and you would if you went from a XP1800 to an XP3200 with an 9700. I dunno if that made sense.
You know, the first thing you need to do when you're going to get a mid-range card, you really ought to limit yourself from the beginning, otherwise, it gets fairly quick out of hands, that is, if you put another $20 here then you can get this, but if you allready putting another $20, why not put just $10 more and you can get that.. You end up buying a card for $220, when you were looking at $100 to begin with... So I decided, yeah my limit is around $100, but I think if its really worth it I'd go up to $140 (TOP!!!) as I seen some Radeon 9600 XT at this price, and some 5700 (non LE), the big question, and really the only one relevant for me now, is am I gonna get enough bang for the extra $40, or should I just keep it, or maybe go with 9600 pro for aprox. $130?! (which raises the same question again). So given those final price ranges, what would you say? Once again, I thank all of you for the help, this is gotta be the best forum I've ever seen!
frazzled - I'm looking forward to hear what's your impression of the new card.
frazzled - I'm looking forward to hear what's your impression of the new card.
I'd go with the 9600 pro on price, but I'd think about the 5700 even though you'll pay closer to 150 counting shipping, etc.
Does anyone have this card? 9600 Pro $110
Is this a good company? Or what about this GeForce4 TI 4200-8X card$98 with free Far Cry, but is it Dx9 ready?
Thanks
Is this a good company? Or what about this GeForce4 TI 4200-8X card$98 with free Far Cry, but is it Dx9 ready?
Thanks
narcotic, provided you're careful in dealing with HostVisions (check his selling history, insure the package, make sure the card works well [fan OK? still under warranty? has it been OC'ed?]), this looks like your best bet for a good video card under $100. It'll be faster than a 9600P or 5700LE, especially in newer games like Far Cry (benchmark here--9500P should be around 9600XT speed).
If you take a look at recent benchmarks, a 9500P is about even with a 9600XT. Neither card will be spectacular in newer games, anyway, so why spend $140 when you can get the same card for $90?
1c2c, a GF4Ti can't show DX9 effects. It'll play Far Cry with DX8 effects. The link above shows how a 4200 compares to a 9600P in Far Cry.
Naw, don't deal with HostVisions, he's a jacka$$ 
This card hasn't been OC'd, PM me if you want more info.
This card hasn't been OC'd, PM me if you want more info.
I upgraded from a 9100 to a 9600XT and it?s about twice as fast in some of the newer games like Farcry. I wouldn?t really consider a 5700 a viable upgrade at this point. In the newer games with shaders and anything DX9 the 5700 isn?t going to cut it -- the 9600 core will be much faster.
To get an significant upgrade over a 9100 you are going o have to go to a 9600pro minimum. A regular 9600 128MB runs about $95 but it would only be a small upgrade unless you overclock it. 9600pro?s can usually easily be overclocked to the point where they are as fast as a 9600XT.
Newegg has a Powercolor 9600pro 128MB for $125 and they have other refurbished ones for about $100 -110 if you are willing to go that way.
You also might look for a 9600pro or 9600XT in the For/sale/trade forum
To get an significant upgrade over a 9100 you are going o have to go to a 9600pro minimum. A regular 9600 128MB runs about $95 but it would only be a small upgrade unless you overclock it. 9600pro?s can usually easily be overclocked to the point where they are as fast as a 9600XT.
Newegg has a Powercolor 9600pro 128MB for $125 and they have other refurbished ones for about $100 -110 if you are willing to go that way.
You also might look for a 9600pro or 9600XT in the For/sale/trade forum
TRENDING THREADS
-
Discussion Zen 5 Speculation (EPYC Turin and Strix Point/Granite Ridge - Ryzen 9000)- Started by DisEnchantment
- Replies: 25K
-
Discussion Intel Meteor, Arrow, Lunar & Panther Lakes + WCL Discussion Threads
- Started by Tigerick
- Replies: 23K
-
Discussion Intel current and future Lakes & Rapids thread- Started by TheF34RChannel
- Replies: 23K
-
-
Facebook
Twitter