Question about Gaming vid card, and video in/out; ATI & Gainward

[DDDavey]

Hi all,

Not sure what I want to get. A couple months ago before the GF4 was released, the Gainward GF3 Ti200 Golden Sample was the card to get, with the price vs. perf of the Radeon 8500.

Now, I'm not so sure what I want. I do want to play Counter-Strike with no flaws I also want video output. I may eventually want video input, but I don't want to spend $300 on an ATI All in Wonder Radeon 8500 Card.

Should I just get a Gainward GF3 Ti200 Golden Sample, or a Radeon 8500, and when the time comes that I want to do video in, get an external PCI type of video editing card?

Now, which of the 2 cards I mentioned would be better suited towards what I want...

Gainward GF3 Ti200 Golden Sample $145
ATI Radeon 8500 $161

Or, is there a better GF4 type card out for the money, say, under $180...

 

[DDDavey]

ttt

 

[DDDavey]

ttt

 

[tenoc]

ATI also makes TV tuners/video-capture solutions- U$50 or less.
My guess is they would be completely compatible with an R8500,
less so with an NVidia.

So, buy the R8500 now, get the PCI card when you need it.
Still way cheaper than the AIW.

 

[adlep]

Hmmm
Get the R8500, because of the image quality and price and DVI connector!

 

[jiffylube1024]

I'd recommend the Ti200 personally (especially if it has a DVI connector). I preffer nVidia's drivers to ATI's; they have fewer problems and are more consistent performers in Windows 98/2000/XP (framerates drop off a lot more with the Radeon in 2k and XP).

 

[AA0]

actually, frame rates are equal to or fast in XP with ATI drivers, that was long ago that they had 2k speed problems.

If you want TV out, then you only have one choice. ATI.