Opinions please

[gt308]

I have a PIII 1gig coppermine on a ASUS Intel I815EP-TUSL2-C

512MB Ram

NVIDIA GeForce2 MX/MX 400

Creative SB Xgamer sound card

Antec Full Tower with Antec 480w Truepower PSU

Now, I want to get a better VID card for this system as I will not be building a new one for a while (6months)

So after reading a LOT on here and other places I have chosen to get 'MSI G4Ti 4400-VTD GeForce4 Ti 4400' or comparable and OC to 4600 stats

Reason being .....that in 6months the Nvidia FX card will be out and I can add that to the NEW system

SO am I wasting my time??

I game a LOT feel the GeForce2 is Really slowing me down

So please , if you have any advice please speek your mind

Thanks,
gt308

 

[BuckMaster]

That would be a MAJOR upgrade in video cards. If I was you id buy one now and save the $. Anything could happen in 6 months and you might not build a new system as plained.

 

[gt308]

That's what I'm thinking

Now If I could just find that MSI G4Ti 4400 In Stock ;(

 

[AnAndAustin]

At 1ghz you won't be getting much of the potential of a GF3TI200, Rad9000PRO nor Rad8500 let alone a GF4TI. Although there will still be very notable gain over a GF2MX, not to mention DX8 support and much faster 3D (inc AA & AF) but also with Radeons and GF4TI there are notable improvements in image quality, dual display, TVout/VIVO and DVD playback. If you plan to take this card over to a new system with a faster CPU then a GF4TI would be wise, if you're planning on a DX9 beauty in a few months time to go with that system then look to a Rad8500, Rad9000PRO or GF3 card as these will give you the boost and only make a minor dent in your wallet too. Check out the prices and watch the clocks (make sure they're where they should be) esp on those rad8500 cards. Here's some BMs for you, do note the effect CPU speed has on the cards and bear in mind at 1ghz all the DX8 cards will be very close together!

AnAndTech diff AthlonXP speeds with many gfx cards on many games

AnAndTech diff AthlonXP speeds with many gfx cards on UT2003

Tech Report - Rad9000PRO showing many other cards too

Firing Squad - Rad9000PRO showing other cards too

TomsHW - How gfx cards compare on high end systems

 

[gt308]

I guess I have a silly bias towards Nvidia cuz it's all I ever used

As far aaas ATI goes...are there 'more' problems compared to Nvidia? (Temp,stability,compatability)

What would be the most benificial/economical choice for this current setup ?

Thanks for the help
'I am just confused I guess'

 

[AnAndAustin]

If this gfx card is only ever going to be used with your 1ghz CPU then get any Rad9000PRO, Rad8500 (inc LE) or GF3 (inferior in non gaming respects to the Rads). If you may want to use this gfx card in a new PC (ie faster CPU) then grab a GF4TI. Any of these cards will give you a BIG boost over a GF2MX so see what the prices are like, weigh up your needs and make your choice!

ATI cards and drivers are now every bit as stable and well produced as nVidia, don't let these things sway you. In some areas ATI cards are often slightly ahead of even the GF4 cards, like image quality, DVD playabck and TVout. Like AMD vs Intel, ATI vs nVidia is a very good and even battle that's great news for consumers.

 

[BuckMaster]

gt308, AnAndAustin made a good point. If you read some of those links below you will see a big differance but nothing like you would running a FASTER CPU. You could consider a Geforce 3 TI 200 or 500 if you can find one or a Geforce 4200 64 Meg but NOT a gainward card.

Also your not alone I just ordered a ATI 9700 Pro and from reading ALOT of website forums hope everything gos ok, because Ive owned mostly NVidia cards. I had to do alot of ready to find out how to clean previous Nvidia drivers, You have to install DX9 on I think 9500 series card and up the instal Cat 3.0 drivers.

If anything you could still get a 4200 or 4400 and when you upgrade in 6 months you would be getting more out of your video card, kinda like upgrading your video card again but for FREE! Like AnAndAustin the 1Ghz might be holding you back some. Maybe even checkout the system requirments for the GeForce 4400 cards CPU wise.

Decisions..Decisions I know the feeling dude!
Good Luck!

 

[gt308]

Eggcellent info guys thanks a lot

So lets say I decided after shopping some more that I wanted to get a ATI RADEON 8500 LE 128mb card cuz it is abo0t the same performance as a 4200 and costs a LOT less

How much of a PITA is it to get rid of all the Nvidia stuff and install the ATI stuff ?

Will that create problems?

My head is going to explode ..... I guess it all comes down to $$$

Thanks

 

[Sarge1]

Not that hard to get rid of the NVidia stuff. Just go to Control Panel/Add Remove Programs/ remove anything Nvidia.
Open your C drive, remove Nvidia folder (if there is one)
Use Regcleaner to remove anything Nvidia from your registry.
Reboot, when it asks you if you would like to search for a driver, hit cancel, then install your ATI drivers.
As for your head exploding? All I can tell you is to wrap it with duct tape to keep the pieces from flying.

 

[AnAndAustin]

Yeah if the 8500 is a fair bit cheaper that's a VERY good choice and the perf diff is smaller when the CPU sp[eed is lower too. Be sure to enable 16tap AF all the time, you could try AA but it's pretty pointless on 8500/9000 as you're better off upping the res. Do be sure you're getting clocks at 250/250 (250/500 w/DDR) although 230/230 isn't too bad there are some with 230/200 which is NOT good. If dual display is important also check the card has DUAL RAMDACs as sagain this can vary onn 8500 cards. If possible get retail Radeons as the clocks tend to be a little higher, the same goes for a true ATI card which also guarantees top notch image quality etc. Of course this all does add up and defeats the purpose of buying a cheaper card in the first place so to keep it simple an 8500LE-128MB is excellent but do try to at least ensure the clocks are at 230/230 if not 250/250. As for driver (and associated stuff) removal you can have a prob upgrading fron nVidia to nVidia, or ATI to ATI and may need a fresh OS install so do be prepared. I'd suggest after uninstallation and reboot you install DX8.1 / DX9, then install the ATI drivers and then reinstall DX8.1 / DX9 again.