Which budget card should I get?

[barnett25]

I am building a AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (newcastle) system with a Soltek nForce3 250Gb motherboard (SL-K8AN2E-GR) and 2*512 Crucial PC3200. The only thing I haven't decided on yet is the graphics card. I don't do any heavy gaming, but with this new system I may try out Doom3 to see what all the hype is about. Anyway, I'm trying to decide between this Sapphire ATI 9600XT 256MB and this Sapphire ATI 9600 256MB. The 9600 is more in my price range at just over $100, but I would be willing to pay a little extra if it will make a big difference in performance. Also, is this Sapphire Ultimate 9600XT with only 128MB better than the 256MB 9600XT? It only costs a few dollars more so I may be want to buy it if it is better.
Thanks.

 

[SneakyStuff]

256MB = useless on any core lower than a Radeon 9700, or GeForce 5900. Don't worry so much about the "256MB" It's all marketing hype. The reason why the extra 128MB is pretty much useless is the fact that it will be on a 128 bit memory bus, and the core of the video card isn't powerful enough to take advantage of it all. This would be your best buy right now, IMO.

 

[Johnbear007]

256mb on ANY 9600 is a total waste, the card does not have enough memory bandwidth to take advantage of it. I wouldnt buy a 256Mb card unless it were a 6800 or X800 series card.

I would try to find a 128mb 9700pro in your price range.

 

[nRollo]

If you have to buy new, you should buy a 9600Pro at that price range and mind the RAM speed and memory access as they had about 233 different models last I looked. A 9700/9700Pro would be a much better buy though, and not much more.

 

[49erinnc]

Don't waste the additional money on the XT...not worth it in terms of cost vs performance. Get the 9600 Pro and just overclock it . I had my old one running at XT speeds with no problem. If you're willing to spend $160 on a 9600XT, you'd be MUCH better off just exceeding your budget by about $25-$30 and picking up a 9800Pro. Will smoke the 9600XT and you'll at least be covered a little further into the future of your gaming needs.

 

[SneakyStuff]

Look at the link I gave above, the 9600XT's are cheaper now

 

[PrayForDeath]

There was a 130$ deal on a GeForce FX 5700 Ultra, I guess that would be your best bet. But I forgot where it was, maybe chumbo.com.
It's generally faster than a 9600XT and especially in Doom III.

 

[barnett25]

I'm looking at a msi 9800pro for $194 here. I might be able to afford it if I only eat like one meal a day and stop putting gas in my car. Does this particular card (I had no idea there were so many variations) look like a good buy? I like the fact that it comes with a lot of games because it's going to be awhile till I can afford to buy one.

Edit: BTW how does this card compare to a fx 5700 ultra?
Also, I found that the fx 5900xt is similar in price to the 9800pro, and some reviews say it is (or can be) faster. Would this be a better buy?

thanks

 

[SneakyStuff]

Originally posted by: PrayForDeath
There was a 130$ deal on a GeForce FX 5700 Ultra, I guess that would be your best bet. But I forgot where it was, maybe chumbo.com.
It's generally faster than a 9600XT and especially in Doom III.

Eh, I own a 5700u, and it's pretty much even with the 9600XT, you really can't go wrong.

 

[imported_mbentz16]

Originally posted by: barnett25
I'm looking at a msi 9800pro for $194 here. I might be able to afford it if I only eat like one meal a day and stop putting gas in my car. Does this particular card (I had no idea there were so many variations) look like a good buy? I like the fact that it comes with a lot of games because it's going to be awhile till I can afford to buy one.

Edit: BTW how does this card compare to a fx 5700 ultra?
Also, I found that the fx 5900xt is similar in price to the 9800pro, and some reviews say it is (or can be) faster. Would this be a better buy?

thanks

That MSI 9800P is basically the XT in hiding... a great card.

 

[barnett25]

Originally posted by: mbentz16
That MSI 9800P is basically the XT in hiding... a great card.

Yeah, thats the card I'm leaning towards.

 

[Robor]

That 9800 Pro you're looking at is a great card and compared to the other budget cards you're talking about it's not even close. The budget cards are going to struggle with modern games while a 9800 Pro will play them decent or very well. Doom3 ran at 45 FPS at high detail and 1024x768 in the rig in my sig and HL2 is supposed to run well on ATI cards so you should be set for a little while. You can spend more and get more performance but for $200 I don't think you can go wrong with a 9800 Pro.

 

[49erinnc]

Take it from someone that just upgraded from a 9600Pro to the MSI 9800Pro...it's an exceptional upgrade. The majority of the MSI Pro's are coming up as "XT's" when you install your drivers. I have mine running just above XT speeds with no problems whatsoever. And the MSI comes with a really nice game bundle. The heatsink/factory cooling is superb too.

The MSI 9800Pro is superior to any of the other cards mentioned in this thread (9600XT, 5700Ultra, 5900XT). I highly recommend eating peanut butter and jelly sandwichs for a couple weeks and putting the extra cash towards this card. You won't regret if, especially if you're looking to play the newer games out there.

 

[Marsumane]

Yes, that card will suit u well. I have a similar card in my oced axp system. Runs everything exactly where id want it.

 

[49erinnc]

Read this review on the MSI 9800Pro and I think you'll find a way to come up with the extra cash:

MSI 9800Pro (XT) Review