which card for future games? (under $200)

[vaporize]

I am thinking of returning my ti4200 ($100) card for a better one. I am afraid that it might not be able to run new upcoming games like (Doom 3).

I looked around a bit and i think this is the order of performace for <$200:
1. ATI 9500 pro or GF4 ti4600
2. ATI 9600 pro
3. GF4 ti4200

I heard the 9500 pro consumes too much power and has display problems but I also saw in anand's review that the ti4600 doesnt hold up under 4X AA + 8X Quality Aniso. which one should i go for and is it worth paying $100 more to get one of these cards?

 

[Painman]

I would forget about the GF4 generation of cards if you are upgrading with an eye towards DOOM 3.

Out of the 2 left, 9500 and 9600, I'm personally inclined more towards the 9500 with its greater capacity for pixel ops per clock cycle than the 9600. The 9600 OC's well to compensate, but that may not be your inclination...

Re: Power consumption, I just had my Ti4600 die on me this past Friday, I replaced it with a 9700 Pro, an even more thirsty card than the 9500... my Antec 350W has NO problem powering this card along with all my other crap. As long as your PSU is of decent quality I wouldn't worry.

I would just grab a 9500 while you still can.

 

[GenerationYscorpio]

Agree 9500PRO is your card!

 

[cnhoff]

Wait till Doom 3 comes out, than sell your TI4200 on Ebay and get a Radeon 9700 Pro for 200 bucks. If you want to buy a card, that can really make Doom fly don't buy anything less than a 9700 imho.

 

[rogue1979]

What about the new 5600 Ultra? In the 5900 Ultra review it seemed to be slightly ahead of a 9600 Pro, which in turn seemed to be slightly ahead of a 9500 Pro with both cards overclocked. Obviously the outrageous core speeds of the 9600 made up for the loss of 4 pixel pipelines, I would assume the new 5600 Ultra would also be a big overclocker.