Need Advice on Video Card Upgrade (GF3?)

[NYR56]

I just needed to give my friend back his ATI 64DDR VIVO Radeon which I used for the past 8 months free. I now am back to my old nVidia Riva TNT2 32mb which Im thinking about replacing since it is so old. I play games such as TFC and RA2 a lot. Im most likely going to want something that has Video out for my movies as long as that wont cost too much more. I was not particularly happy with ATI, so Im going to go with a nvidia based card. This will be the last upgrade to this computer since Ill be building a new one probably in 6 months after the new AMD chips come out. Therefore I dont want to spend much money since this computer will be just a back up within half a year. Here are the stats:

800mhz Athlon
640MB SDRAM
2x AGP

Right now Im mainly looking at this Geforce3 for $95 which I believe is the 'original' Geforce3 or this Geforce3 Ti200 for $81. My knowledge is that the $95 GF3 will perform better? Any other suggestions? I appreciate any help.

 

[zShowtimez]

Look at your situation. You dont really need even a Geforce 3, for many reasons. You dont seem to be playing many graphic intensive games, TFC and RA2 run just fine on a TNT2 in fact. Your processor and motherboard could also become a bottleneck (AGP 2x). Personally I would try to find a good deal on a Geforce 3 Ti 200 and just over clock it. Just dont spend to much as it would be a total waste.

 

[AnAndAustin]

Well if you aren't going to stick a faster CPU in there, at 800mhz a GF3TI200 or Rad8500LE are probably the best 'bang for buck'. They'll hit you around $90, if that's a bit steep then even a Rad7500 or GF2TI/GF4MX440 will be a world better than your TNT2 and should be in the region of $60.

In terms of raw 3D perf GF2TI200 is slightly slower than Rad8500LE. The GF3 has much better AA but the Rad has much better '2D' image quality and TVout. Rad7500, GF2TI and GF4MX440 are all very close on 3D perf. The GF4MX has much better AA, GF4MX and Rad have by far the best '2D' image quality and the Rad still offers the best TVout. BTW Rad8500LE is about 10% slower than a Rad8500. Beware, OEM Radeons, like 'POWERED by ATI' Radeons use slower clcoks, cheaper RAM and don't o/c compared to the RETAIL or 'BUILT by ATI' Radeons. However if prices are comparable and TVout is a priority then a Radeon card is a wiser choice.

My advice would be to see what the prices are like near you.

 

[SickBeast]

I know you hate ATI, but the 8500LE is a good card. Scoop one up before they're gone, they're being replaced by the inferior R9000.

 

[NYR56]

I was looking at the Radeon card, and I must say it looks like the better card. Now can anyone tell me the difference between the $91 and $94 cards at Newegg? It looks like for $3 more the clock speed is a bit higher? I think Ill end up getting one of those even though ATI's driver support is inferior to Nvidia's. Also, it looks like both wont work with dual monitors because the adapter for dvi to vga wont work for some reason? Not like I need that, just wondering. Well thanks for the advice.