Which one? 128-MB GeForce 3... or 64-MB GeForce 4?

[WAZ]

I'm looking to spend no more than $150. I know I can get a 64-MB GF4 4200 for around that price, or I can also go for a 128-MB GF3.

Considering speed vs texture memory vs long-term value, which would be the better choice?

Any advice would be great. Thanks!

 

[Viper GTS]

Wait until you can afford a 128 MB GF4.

I got my 4200 for $169 shipped from here, they're now $166.

Viper GTS

 

[mchammer187]

GF4 any day of the week

 

[BCYL]

GF4 definitely... dont get a GF3 now...

 

[WAZ]

So just to clarify.... only having 64 MB DDR (or SDR?) on a GF4 is still better than having 128 MB of DDR on a GF3?

I read that games like Doom 3 will have about 80 MB worth of textures, and that having 128 MB is better for the future. But would I experience that much better performance with a GF4 that the extra 64 MB of memory wouldn't matter?

Thanks!

 

[VicYoung]

Depends, What resolution are you running games at?

If you are running games at 1024x768 rez then you should get the GF4

If you are runnning games at higher resolutions then you should get the GF3 for it's 128mb memory as the extra memory comes to use when running games at high resolutions and 32bit color and all the eye candy like AA and so on.

 

[microAmp]

Originally posted by: BCYL
GF4 definitely... dont get a GF3 now...

 

[skypilot]

Originally posted by: VicYoung
Depends, What resolution are you running games at?

If you are running games at 1024x768 rez then you should get the GF4

If you are runnning games at higher resolutions then you should get the GF3 for it's 128mb memory as the extra memory comes to use when running games at high resolutions and 32bit color and all the eye candy like AA and so on.

The problem with this idea, and the idea that Doom3 will run better with 128mb mem in the future, is that a GF3 will bog down when 128 megs of texture is needed anyways, while a GF4 will handle it better, even though it has to swap textures more often. In conclusion, a Geforce3 128MB is overkill, because if you need 128MB texture memory in a game, it is probably too advanced for the card anyways.

 

[Gomce]

GF3 is excellent card, handles every game out there with ease, but GF4 is newer however the 20% I don't think you can notice because the games aren't optimised at all presently...but get the GF4 or 8500..the say they're good

 

[Boogak]

If you absolutely can't wait and save up for a 128mb GeForce4 or wait till the Radeon 9700 comes out when probably video card prices across the board will drop, I'd get the GeForce4. The overall faster speed of a GF4 should more than compensate for the extra 64mb the GF3 has.

 

[wasnlos]

GF4 is what you want.

If I were you I'd get a 128MB-card. As someone above already pointed out DOOM3 will use up to 80MB for textures.

If you don't have the money for the 128MB-version right now, wait and collect some more

 

[billyjak]

Ditto That

 

[John]

I'm looking to spend no more than $150.

Save up $25.00 more and get a GF4 128MB Ti4200. That comes out to about 5 meals at Taco Bell?.

 

[Adul]

the other option is a 128MB radeon 8500le for 115. speedwise somewhere in between the two.

 

[WAZ]

Thanks for all the replies and advice everyone. I've decided to eliminate the GF3 as an option, and will definitely be going for a GF4.

If I can find a good deal, I'll hopefully be able to put those Taco Bell meals aside and go for the 128-MB version. But even if I can't, it sounds like the 64-MB one would still be better than a GF3 anyway.

Thanks again!

 

[BFG10K]

the extra memory comes to use when running games at high resolutions and 32bit color and all the eye candy like AA and so on.

That's true but in this case the performance deficit between the Ti4200 and the vanilla GF3 is just too great for it to catch up in terms of having extra VRAM, especially in games utilising heavy pixel/vertex shading operations where the GF4's extra shader unit really comes into play.

If you must make a decision now the Ti4200 is the way to go.