GeForce or Radeon?

My bro has a pc running Athlon XP3000+, Gigabyte board. I have said I will buy him a graphix card for around the £70 ($140) mark. He plays games continually, but I have zilch idea of decent cards for gaming.

So guys, what are you ideas of a decent card for that kind of price.. and since there doesn't seem to be much of a divide between GeForce and Radeon, any preferences there?

Cheers for your help!

GeForce all the way. You get way more card for the price.

I don't know how prices/availability in the UK compare to in the US, but here the best you can get for that price range is a nvidia 6600(non gt). It's about 140 US now.
Like this for agp (I'll assume you have agp)
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-121-197&depa=1

i agree with vnf4ultra's recommendation,this card is the best value for money in the video card market,get this without worrying if its in your price range also consider a 6600gt if you could spare the nominal difference,each extra buck would be worth it.

Ok, NVidia GeForxe all the way.
My friend is one of the computer guys at Australian Buerua of Statistics, when he helped me buy my computer from the local fair, he said that Nvidia was MUCH better for playing games than a Radeon.

I also agree with the 6600Gt, it compares much better than high range ATI's in the way i see it.]

I have attached a document comparing the ATI and nvidia 6600 series.

Thanks,
Ph30nIX..

Awwww, thanks guys!

Yep, AGP slot there.

Thanks so much for taking the time and trouble to help me out! I shall check out your suggestions, and get the best that funds will stretch to.

Cheers all!

Your welcome, may the force be with you.

You may want to look into the Radeon 9600XT. I bought this card and it's quite decent. It has 128mb of video ram and boasts full direct x 9 support. This was alos one of the cards recommended for playing Half-Life 2. I don't doubt that the GeForce cards that were previously mentioned are bad cards, but ATI is still a pretty good bet. Personally, all I have ever used are ATI cards. I have a new computer that I have ordered from Dell which I am eagerly anticipating, but has not yet arrived. It comes stocked with an nVidia Geforce 6800. Once I check it out, then I will have some hands-on experience with an nVidia card. So, in closing, seriously consider taking a look at the ATI Radeon 9600XT, lots of bang for your buck. (Or pound in this case!)

Excellent stuff! Well best of luck for your new arrival!

Geforce man, it's the best!

taking the interface into account you would get better performance out of a radeon 9800 or 9600 based card. here in chicago the 9800pro is being sold for about $220 (USD) but you will notice the difference.

guys,i've said this earlier and say it again,a 6600 gt would wipe the floor with a 9600/9800 pro.9800 pro is 50$ more expensive than a 6600/6600gt and yet it has nothing to actually justify that price like shader model 3.0,doom3 "optimization".its a nobrainer get a 6600(gt preferably) and forget about the old 9800 pro, its golden days are far gone as the leader in the market now its only a medium range budget performer.so now you tell me a good reason why someone should shell out an extra 50$(9800 pro for 220$) for lesser performance than what a 6600gt(almost 50$ cheaper)could have given.

^Agreed. The gt performs similarly or better than the 9800pro, and the 9600xt is no contest. Plus you gt sm 3.0.

agree too :grinthumb

agree three!

just replaced 9600XT with 6600GT. very happy. :giddy:

Well, looks like the GeForce 6600 is a clear cut winner!

I always wanted the 9800 Pro for meself, but since I am not a gamer............. it was just an "I want, and I want it NOWWWWWW" type of thing!

I shall get the boy the 6600 (gt if funds allow).

Thanks very much to all of your for your input. I really do appreciate it!

hope it works out the funds and all

Go GeForce

i believe the avaliable money mentoined already disqualifies the 6600/6800. keep in mind there are numerous flavors of the 6600 and the decent ones costs more than $250 (USD).

Click the link, the 6600 is ~$140. The 6600gt is around $185. So he probably can afford a 6600, and maybe the gt if he can spare some more money.