Need a new video card

[Chanse23]

I need help, have not been playing pc games for a while. Actually been so long, my account no longer exist on anand. Just picked up a new box. Looking to upgrade the video. I bought an emachines ,
Athlon64 3400+, 512MB, Raeon Xpress200 chipset. I need a good pci-express card. dont want to buy something that will be constrained by my box, goign to upgrade to 1GB ram, just want a card that would be ideal for my pc. any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Rage187]

what resolutions do you play at?

 

[Chanse23]

Just getting back into pc gaming, have been playing half life 2 , like at 1024x768. I don't need anything mindblowing, i don't play that often anymore, i just need something fast enough, and not limited by my system.

 

[SPARTAN VI]

For $100, a X700Pro or 6600 vanilla would do fine.

For $150, a 6600GT or X800GT/GTO would work perfectly fine- at both that resolution, and high quality.

For $200, 6800GS or X800XL (I'd go 6800GS, regardless of being a X800XL owner).

 

[Chanse23]

I see the GT in both 128 and 256 MB versions. What woudl be my best bet, faster card GT with l128 ram, or the 6600 with 256MB. I'm assuming the speed increase woudl be offset by havign to swap to main memory if i ran 128MB. Also, my mobo is crossfire capable, so it may be worth going ati so i can pick up a crossfire card in a few months cheap

 

[Eureka]

6600GT is best with 128MB, don't bother with the 6600reg.

Hmm, crossfire = misfire. So far I haven't heard any glorifying reviews about crossfire. At this point I'd just get the 6800GS, when overclocked it performs like a 6800GT, and at $200.

6600GT is good for HL2 at 1024, but with Far Cry it starts to struggle.

Norm

 

[GOREGRINDER]

eVGA GeForce 6800GS $199.00

dont worry about your cpu being the weak link, i promise you its faster than its given credit for and can carry any card you want ,..just get more ram,..and maybe a new motherboard

EDIT:is that 3400+ a Newcastle core or a clawhammer core?

 

[Matt2]

more RAM needed for sure

 

[Chanse23]

i ordered an additional Gig of ram today. So I'd be better off with a 6600GT 128MB than a 6600 Reg with 256MB?
That 6800GS looks like a really good deal. I don't need the highest settings, the highest reso. i just need it to run without stutters

 

[Cookie Monster]

Originally posted by: Chanse23
i ordered an additional Gig of ram today. So I'd be better off with a 6600GT 128MB than a 6600 Reg with 256MB?
That 6800GS looks like a really good deal. I don't need the highest settings, the highest reso. i just need it to run without stuutters

Get the 6800GS. You can OC it if you feel the need to. 500~/1200~ is its max OC though from 425/1000.

 

[SPARTAN VI]

Originally posted by: cevilgenius
6600GT is best with 128MB, don't bother with the 6600reg.

Hmm, crossfire = misfire. So far I haven't heard any glorifying reviews about crossfire. At this point I'd just get the 6800GS, when overclocked it performs like a 6800GT, and at $200.

6600GT is good for HL2 at 1024, but with Far Cry it starts to struggle.

Norm

What happened to AT's x-fire preview saying "its faster than 7800GTX's SLI"



Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh well.

 

[GOREGRINDER]

Originally posted by: Chanse23
i ordered an additional Gig of ram today. So I'd be better off with a 6600GT 128MB than a 6600 Reg with 256MB?
That 6800GS looks like a really good deal. I don't need the highest settings, the highest reso. i just need it to run without stutters

go the extra investment for 2gb of system memory


id rather have 2gb of system memory and a 6600,.. than 1gb of memory and a 6800GS imo

 

[GOREGRINDER]

What happened to AT's x-fire preview saying "its faster than 7800GTX's SLI"



Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh well.

imagine your an employer,,..and one of your employees does a good job,..sometimes a little better than your other employees,...but the guys always 2 hours late every day,(or much more!)...he keeps sayin hell be there and doesnt show up,..and says he'll do things teh other employees cant,..but it doesnt matter cuz hes never around and the difference is negligable when he happens to do better ,non of the other employees back him at all with the exception of maybe 1 and that guy is not always stable.....its obvious he needs to be fired without question

 

[Sc4freak]

Originally posted by: GOREGRINDER

What happened to AT's x-fire preview saying "its faster than 7800GTX's SLI"



Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh well.

imagine your an employer,,..and one of your employees does a good job,..sometimes a little better than your other employees,...but the guys always 2 hours late every day,(or much more!)...he keeps sayin hell be there and doesnt show up,..and says he'll do things teh other employees cant,..but it doesnt matter cuz hes never around and the difference is negligable when he happens to do better , of the other employees back him at all with the exception of maybe 1 and that guy is not always stable.....its obvious he needs to be fired without question

That made very little to no sense at all.

 

[GOREGRINDER]

its an analogy,..think about it for a few seconds,..or longer i guess?

 

[Eureka]

Makes sense to me... but barely any.

Here's a better idea. You have 2 cars. One of them, car ITa, runs faster than car vN. However, even with promises from the dealer of being the best car, it only turns on after an hour, or sometimes not at all.

Norm

 

[Chanse23]

so, anyway, as always, the post wander off into the wild blue yonder. I ended up ordering an additional GB of ram, and the Evga 6800GS for 199.99

 

[SPARTAN VI]

Originally posted by: cevilgenius
Makes sense to me... but barely any.

Here's a better idea. You have 2 cars. One of them, car ITa, runs faster than car vN. However, even with promises from the dealer of being the best car, it only turns on after an hour, or sometimes not at all.

Norm

Not only did that analogy make more sense, but I think you've just clued Scion's new 2006 models.