upgrade from gf3 ti200

[t4t3r]

i have a gf3 ti200 on my aging xp 1600+ machine. i will be ordering parts for the new machine in a couple of weeks (intel p4 2.6c/p4p800/1gb RAM/etc). i dont feel like dropping $3-400 for a 9700p/9800p so i was wondering what a cheaper alternative would be that would still give a good increase to my gf3 ti200. the plan is to get a real nice card in a couple of months when some new games come out, so i dont blow that much money now when i could've saved some or just went for a better card. i would plan to use the "cheaper" card in my new system, then when i get the new card in a few months drop that cheaper card down to the xp1600 machine. my xp1600 machine still runs like a champ, so i would like to keep that one around as a second machine. any ideas? cheaper is better, but i want it to be a worthwhile upgrade. i dont want to spend more than $150, would like to keep it close to $100 if that is possible so i can buy the parts i really want for the new intel machine. thanks in advance...

 

[CJP]

Have you considered a Radeon 9700 non-pro? They are much cheaper than the 9700 pro and aren't much slower. They have all the features of the pro but the memory and core are clocked lower. Sapphire and other companies make them. They start at $204 at www.pricewatch.com

Be careful with the powercolor's if you go the 9700 np route. I think I read some people say that they aren't clocked as fast as other cards like the Sapphires (someone correct me about this if I'm wrong).

 

[Kaiser__Sose]

look into the Radeon 9500..
with the driver patch you can turn it into a 9500 pro or if you get the old pcb which is rare now it will turn into a 9700 pro..
either way it's great value...
the saphire cards come unclocked as well so you can overclock without a bios flash.
and they are around $150 or less if i'm not mistaken..

 

[t4t3r]

bump...anyone else?

 

[Pete]

I'd recommend a $200 9700NP over anything else in the $150-200 range, as it really is that much better, and it'll scale well in your new system (you can keep the Ti200 in the old one). But if you want to stay budget, I guess a $105 128MB 4200 (though it pains me to recommend nV after their 3DM hijinks ) or slightly cheaper 128MB 250/250 9100 would be your best bets, though neither will be a big or particularly worthwhile improvement over your Ti200, IMO.