Which card to buy with a $280 price range...

[Kazi]

Looking for the best card UNDER $280 bucks. Ive looked at GF4's and Radeons but I dont know which perform better, someone post the link and reason a certain product is a better card? Thanks.
-Kazi

 

[PG]

I say get a cheap Radeon 8500 or a GF4 Ti 4200 and save the rest for now. Much later in time get a 9700 or an NV30.
I just can't see spending more than that right now, it doesn't really make sense to me.

 

[AnAndAustin]

In pure 3D perf the Radeon9000pro is slightly slower than GF3TI200, which is slightly slower than a Rad8500LE, slightly slower than Rad8500, slower than GF4TI cards. All of these offer full DX8 hw funcs. GF3 and Rad8500 cards should be around $100 while GF4TI4200 cards are $150 for the better 128MB version. You should only consider 128MB cards.

Things other than pure 3D speed:

Image quality, Radeons are on par with GF4TI cards, both are better than GF3.
Dual display, GF3 can't, Radeons should and 99% of GF4TI do.
TVout, Radeons are by far the best, GF4TI are slightly better than GF3.
AA perf, GF3 and GF4TI are miles better than Radeon cards.
Aniso, GF3 and GF4TI are much higher quality but slower than the Radeon version, it mostly evens out.
DVD Playback, performed in hw on the Radeon cards, not really important if you have a CPU faster than 600mhz, the exception being the Rad9000pro which uses DX8 hw to enhance MPEG movie playback, should be excellent for lower quality video.

 

[AnAndAustin]

So to put it straight you are best served by a GF4TI4200-128MB and waiting for 6 months and then see what is available. The 4200 cards will age better and devalue less than any card currently out there plus they also have excellent price/perf, o/c very well and are by far the best all-rounder in terms of pure 3D perf, image quality, AA, Aniso, dual display and TVout. The 4600 is in your price range but isn't significantly faster than the GF4TI4400 or GF4TI4200 and as such isn't really a wise investment esp in the light of the Rad9700 and the new nVidia card due out Dec/Jan. The Rad9700 certainly seems to be the top performer and like the GF4TI cards is a great all-rounder, but it is also $350-400. Much better to buy a card like the 4200 which will give great perf and certainly make the 6 months wait much easier and more pleasurable.

 

[AnAndAustin]

Here's an idea of how the cards stack up:

TomsHW Many gfx cards
TomsHW Rad9000 vs the rest
AnAndTech 4200 roundup showing the importance of 128MB

 

[Kazi]

well I found 2 cards I like so far and that I can save some cash with

Chaintech GeForce4 Ti4200 128MB DDR AGP w/ TV-Out
-OR-
Chaintech GeForce4 Ti4200 Special Edition 128MB DDR AGP w/ Video-In & TV-Out

Im thinking of going with the $150 one.

 

[AnAndAustin]

Well the special edition one comes with VIVO and higher standard clocks (250/500 vs 250/444) which would indicate faster RAM like 3.6ns TSOP. This would give this 4200-128MB almost identical perf to a true GF4TI4600 and at least guarantee GF4TI4400 perf! Well worth the extra $20 IF that is the case.

Wait, according to the specs given the other cheaper 4200-128MB also comes with higher standard clocks (250/500 vs 250/444). Looks more likely that AllStar have simply copied and pasted directly from nVidia's site and forgot that 4200-128MB come with 250/444 while 4200-64MB come with 250/500. In any case it looks as though the only diffs are the snazzy and pointless RAM HS and VIVO rather than TVout.

If AllStar have made a mistake you should be entitled to a free replacement (for a 4200-128MB which uses 250/500 or better standard clocks), at worst it should still come with the usual 4.0ns TSOP RAM and therefore hit GF4TI4400 speeds, 4.5ns certainly won't reach 500mhz and then you could definitely kick up a fuss!

 

[AnAndAustin]

If you don't mind paying more for almost assured 4600 speed then look out for:

1. Asus 4200-128MB Deluxe
2. Suma 4200-128MB Special Edition

These use the longer design from the 4400/4600 and very fast BGA 3.3ns RAM which allows standard clocks of 260/550 (v.near 4400 speed) and o/c better than most 4400 cards to 300/640 (Asus) or 300/700 (Suma). You should find the prices are closer to $200 which puts them in 4400 territory BUT they are better EXCEPT when it comes to selling the card on, people will pay more for a 4400 card even if it is slower. Just FYI

 

[EdipisReks]

i would save a little longer and get the radeon9700. hard to believe, but at $400 the 9700 has the best bang per buck.

 

[AnAndAustin]

EdipisReks, well not really. Rad9700 is certainly the top perf and an excellent card, but 'only' 30-50% faster in pure 3D than GF4TI4600. However it is more like double once full AA and Aniso come in to play. In any case do bear the prices of GF4TI cards in mind first.

GF4TI4200 $130-150 (o/c to 4400 or 4600 speeds)
GF4TI4400 $190 (o/c to 4600 speeds)
GF4TI4600 $250 (o/c a little)
Radn9700 $400 (o/c a little)

When you consider the price diffs the Rad9700 is a little hard to swallow as most of its lovelly features will be of very little use for another 12 months so it mostly comes down to 3D perf. When NV30 comes out we should see competative price cuts on these fast DX9 cards if not budget versions too within 6 months time. If your pockets aren't overly deep it makes much more sense to wait. $90ish Rad8500 and GF3 cards are well powered for their cost, but 4200 is the best all-rounder and takes great advantage of the fastest CPUs too.

 

[AdvancedRobotics]

Originally posted by: EdipisReks
i would save a little longer and get the radeon9700. hard to believe, but at $400 the 9700 has the best bang per buck.

Hardly. The 9700, IMO, serves no purpose in the market, currently. There is no reason to buy the card. No game will take advantage of it's performance. You are all looking at benchmarks from a game that isn't even out yet (UT2003). Do you really want to waste $250? Yes, waste $250. The timing of the NV30 to be released is far better than the release of the 9700, IMO. The GF4 line (excluding the MX's) can do great in UT2003, and there is no point in spending more money, when you can wait for the NV30, which is closer to the release of Doom3 when performance will count the most. As well, when higher end products come out, the lower end ones tend to drop in price. A 128Mb GF4 (4200) is probably the best bang/buck. Because Doom 3 will be so taxing and RAM-demanding, the 128Mb will really benefit. A 128Mb GF4 will last a lot longer than some are thinking. Most expensive does not equal best. My Kyro II still plays all todays games just fine. Sure, I'd like a little higher frame-rate, but I can't complain, it was the best card for its low price when I got it, and it still works fine. It wasn't even the newest card when I got it, yet it still works fine even now. The GF4 4200 is just about the newest card out there, and for $150, can't go wrong.