Need advice on upgrading my card

[viperbri]

I would like some opinions on upgrading my video card.

I currently have the All in Wonder 8500 128MB AGP card. I want to upgrade my card to one with a little better performance and that has DirectX 9 compatibility. However I also want my multimedia capabilities that the All in Wonder gives me (watch TV on computer, schedule record shows on my computer-PVR type stuff).

I am currently looking at the All in Wonder Radeon 9600xt card. However is that my best bet or should I get a seperate Radeon based card and a separate PVR-type card.

Also, I am on a budget and want to keep it under $200 if possible. I don't need the bleeding edge video card for gaming right now (At least not until Battlefield 2 comes out!) but I want an improvement above my current card.

Thanks.

 

[BobDaMenkey]

The 9600 isn't goint to be too much of a major step up. I'd recommend going for a 9800 AIW, or save your sheckles and get an X800 AIW. The X800 would be a MAJOR step up in performance, and really is what you should shoot for IMO, as it will last much longer than the 9800, as it is starting to lag behind in the performance brackets.

 

[Lemodular]

I would suggest that you buy a separate video card and TV/PVR card. One main reason is that the technology of both cards advances at different rate. By separating the functions, you may be able to upgrade one without sacraficing the other. HD material will be common in the future and you amy want to upgrade the capture card.

Currently, there is a good deal on a good card. click me

Then you may want to pair it up with one of the ~$150 card of your choice (ATI 9700 pro, X700, NVidia 6600GT, ect.)

 

[viperbri]

Lemodular...I like your point of view about seperating due to the rate of change in technology. Do you know if that tuner card is compatible with MCE?

 

[mwmorph]

for video card, go 6600gt(~$150). it should be able to run faster than a 9800pro(around 10% faster)and pair it with a seperate tv tuner card so yuo dont have to always upgrade with a limited selection of AIW cards.

not sure about tv cards.

 

[Lemodular]

This version is made for MCE, it does not have a remote, but I think the retail MCE will come with one anyways.

And I agree, you'll get alittle better performence for the price with a 6600GT (prices hovering around 150-200)

 

[viperbri]

Well...I picked up the TV card from CC that LM recommended...after realizing that I didn't really care if it was MCE compatible or not. I plan on keeping WinXP Pro as my O/S and there are enough good apps out there to do PVR.

Now to decide on the gaming card...all good recommendations especially tempting to go the Nvidia route. It is kinda difficult as I have been an ATI loyalist for years...is it time to switch sides?

Thanks for all your input