Radeon 7000 vs 7200 vs LE vs VE

[ETan]

I'm looking for a cheap alternative for my budget system. I would use it for moderate gaming and DVD playback. I'm having problems with my 16mb card now playing 3d games... Time to upgrade I think.

Can someone tell me if a Radeon VE ddr card is a good way to go? Or should I go for a Radeon 7000 or 7200 or LE? Price is of course a big issue. What is the difference?

Edit:

What is the deal with Transformation, Clipping and Lighting (TCL)? This seems to be the main difference between 7000 and 7200. Is it worth an extra $15 to get the TCL feature?

Also, is it better to go with 64mb SDR or 32mb DDR? Theoretically the same to me...

Thanks!

 

[VOLT]

Go with the 7200. The 64MB Radeon VE has only 1 texture unit, no TnL, and it is has only 64bit DDR. The 7200 would beat the VE in almost every case, except for the dual vision.

 

[VOLT]

Forgot to post this.
Got with the GTS-V or the Radeon LE like what most people are doing. Both cards are powerful and are much faster than the choices you made.
A GTS V can be bought for 58 bucks and the LE can be bought at the same price too.

 

[ETan]

Thanks for your advice, VOLT.

Now the hunt for the cheapest Radeon (non VE) begins. I think I'll settle for either the LE or 7200.

This will save me money from having to buy a separate DVD decoder card.

 

[ETan]

Forgot to ask this:

Is 64mb SDR or 32mb DDR better?

The 7200 Radeon is 64mb SDR and about the same price as the Radeon LE (32mb DDR).

 

[eplebnista]

You might look at this Thread.

hth,
eplebnista

 

[Deeko]

I would probably stick with the LE in this case. Avoid the VE like the plague. But if you're willing, spend a little bit more, you can get an 8500 or a Ti200 which aren't too expensive and would wreck any of those cards, plus they are Dx8 compliant.

 

[ETan]

From NewEgg.com:
ATI OEM RADEON 7000 32MB DDR W/TVATI RADEON 7000 chip ,Support DirectX 7.0/8.0 and OpenGL. Up to 1920x120. 4xAGP Powered By ATI Model#: RADEON 7000 32DDR

(Search for Radeon)

$45 + $6 shipping.

Is this a good way to go then? I cannot afford more than $70... even a used 64mb DDR would cost around $100.

Can anyone advise me if this will be a decent card for playing some 3d games such as flight sim? Not heavy gaming, moderate at the most.

Thanks!

 

[ETan]

anyone?

 

[merlocka]

The 7000 is a Radeon VE renamed. Avoid it if possible.

For $70 go with either the (from newegg)

ATI Radeon 32MB DDR 4X AGP Video Card - OEM ($59 plus $5 shipping)
VISIONTEK Xtasy 5632 GEFORCE2 GTS-V 4X/2X 32MB AGP - OEM (which is now only $52 plus $7 shipping in OEM form)

Either card is an excellent budget value, and both will do OK with all current games.

 

[ETan]

How does the GTS do as far as DVD playback? It seems like it's a better card for gaming... or am I wrong (again)?

Thanks for your help so far, I really really want to just buy the right card and get it over with...

 

[duragezic]

I'm not really sure, but I think 32mb DDR would be better in most cases than 64mb SDR, because right now a lot of games don't perform that much better with 64mb vs 32mb of ram. But SDR OTOH is pretty much crap (well except for Kyro 2 but that's tile based rendering).

Anyone know for sure though? I'd like to know for sure what is better.

 

[spanky]

go radeon...since u said u do moderate gaming and want good dvd playback. and then pray each nite that ati is working on the drivers

 

[DaveSimmons]

<< The 7000 is a Radeon VE renamed. Avoid it if possible. >>

How about for DVD (,svcd, mpeg) playback only, no gaming? I was thinking of getting one of these for a home theater PC since it only uses a heatsink (no fan noise)

 

[merlocka]

How about for DVD (,svcd, mpeg) playback only, no gaming?

Not really sure. My opinion was from the game performance perspecitive. As a entertainment card it would probably be a great pick.

 

[ETan]

As far as DVD playback, I'm pretty sure all the Radeons use the Rage Theatre chip so they should all have excellent DVD playback. Probably best choice for home theatre pc imho.

I guess for me personally, the hunt is on for a Radeon 32mb DDR (non-VE) or if I'm lucky, a 64mb ddr.

Just out of curiosity, how is the DVD playback for a GeForce2 MX400 or Pro450?

I'm seeing a nice geforce2 pro/450 card at newegg, but a little over my budget... 64 mb 4.5ns ddr ram... that sounds pretty good. Does that mean I won't need to get a hardware DVD decoder? I have a 1.2 ghz non-OC Axia 266 fsb.

 

[brianp34]

If you weren't at all worried about gaming performance. I'd definately go with the radeon. I switched from a radeon ve to the geforce 2 ti you're talking about etan, and honestly the increase in gaming performance (I'm not one to worry about every last fps or having details maxed at high res) wasn't really worth the hit to 2d quality and dvd playback. Also, the VE/7000 supports dual head which is a nice feature if you want to take advantage of it.

-Brian

 

[ETan]

Well, I'm not one to count every fps either... but I really can't stand trying to play a game and having the whole machine chocking up and dragging along and having the screen falling apart every 2 seconds...

I think I'll go with a Radeon - seems like everyone is suggesting that.

The specs on the geforce2 pro/450 card sure looks tempting though.

 

[brianp34]

I've got the gainward geforce 2 ti...its a great card and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to you. All I was trying to say is that if gaming isn't the most important thing, the radeons are great. You have to consider the drivers though; bad drivers with the radeon was my major complaint with it, while I've never had trouble with nvidia's drivers.

Brian

 

[gtd2000]

I have a Leadtek GF2 Pro - works flawlessly for DVD playback - not mention excellent for gaming - go for the VisionTek if you ask me - you will not be disappointed