New Video Card Help

[jgalper215]

I have a custom built 2.8ghz pentium 4 with 768mb of ram, a 17 analog monitor, and a crappy ***, budget video card. I have around a 100-200 budget and I want a video card that can run games like doom 3, swat 4 and battlefield vietnam at resolutions at or above 1024*768 with the graphics turned up and it runs quickly. In simpler terms, I want a video card that can run newer games, have them look decent and have good fps in the 100-200 price range. Any suggestions?

 

[JustinPS]

I would suggest either an Nvidia 6600 OC (or GT) 256MB, or a Radeon 9800 Pro (XT's are still over $200 most places). Those are about $175. Go 9800 non-Pro and it's about $30-40 less, but less performance.

Either of those will run Doom 3 and such very well, even in 1024x768 (though some lighting/shadow effects may have to be tuned down a bit in some graphics-heavy games to sustain playable framerates at that resolutiong with either of the cards I mentioned).

-Justin

 

[jgalper215]

Okay, choices

On the amazon.com website, they have the raedon 9800 pro and the 9600 xt, for about the same price, which one is better? I read the reviews and one guy said that his 9800 pro was not from ati, but some chinese company named Jetway. How reliable is this source? If this is true, am i better off spending 40 extra dollars getting it from circuit city or best buy or am I okay with the Jetway one?

 

[vnf4ultra]

On the amazon.com website, they have the raedon 9800 pro and the 9600 xt, for about the same price, which one is better? I read the reviews and one guy said that his 9800 pro was not from ati, but some chinese company named Jetway. How reliable is this source? If this is true, am i better off spending 40 extra dollars getting it from circuit city or best buy or am I okay with the Jetway one?

A 9800 pro is faster. Many different companies make graphics cards based on ati or nvidia chipsets. Example, I have a nvidia 6200 card that's made by leadtek. Some mfgs are better than others, in that they use higher quality parts or have better cooling, but all cards that are 9800pros should perform very similarly, although some mfgs don't always follow the specs completely(some 9600 pros are like this, they have 400mhz mem. instead of 600 mhz mem).

 

[jgalper215]

Okay, next question

I just found the ATI RADEON X700 PRO 256MB GDDR3 AGP. Is this a faster card? Its the same price.

 

[vnf4ultra]

an x700 pro agp? I didn't know they made them in agp. I've only seen them in pci-e version. I doubt it's better(probably similar) though, to be be better, check a 6600gt agp or 6800.

I checked and a x700 pro is a little better than a 9800pro, and a 6600gt is just slightly better than an x700 pro. 6800>6600gt>x700pro>9800pro>9600xt
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/2004-27gpu2_40.html

 

[mailpup]

Now you can get a Radeon X850XT Platinum Edition in AGP too.

 

[vnf4ultra]

Now you can get a Radeon X850XT Platinum Edition in AGP too.

I know that, but the x700 supposedly wasn't going to be agp IIRC. The 'egg still doesn't have any.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ice=&MaxPrice=&SubCategory=48&Submit=Property

 

[jgalper215]

reply

heres the website for the agp version: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1108124982680&type=product