Need Suggestion for New Video Card! (1 Viewer)

[Andrew Pratt]

Jon I have my ATI 9600 for sale in the for sale area (see the HTPC parts thread) if you're interested. Its the non pro version which means its between the lowly SE and the PRO cards...you do not want an SE as they're pretty slow and the PRO cards have fans which can be noisy..and are likely way above your budget.

 

[Jon Bell]

Andrew, thanks. I need to make sure I have an AGP slot. I'll get back to you on your other thread.

 

[kyle ^_^]

The 9600se is 64bit. It will get outperformed my an 8500 series card

 

[Francois Caron]

The general rule is to avoid all ATI cards with the SE suffix on the model. Those cards are often SLOWER than the card model below it. For example, a 9600 Pro will most likely outperform a 9800 SE.

 

[Andrew Pratt]

Jon sorry to say the ATI card sold last night.

 

[Jon Bell]

Andrew, no problem. I saw that it wasn't on your list anymore. I went ahead and ordered the 9550 that kyle suggested. We'll see how it works out.

Another question to toss out there-- as it turns out, the video card is integrated with the mother board-- will I have any difficulty in my install? A few people that I asked at work thought this might pose a problem.

 

[Neal_C]

Does your motherboard have an AGP slot? If not, then you won't be able to install the new graphics card, unless you got a PCI card.

If you have an AGP slot, just install the new card, then on boot-up go into the bios and there should be a setting to turn off integrated video.

Neal

 

[Jon Bell]

It does have an AGP slot (and it the one I ordered is an AGP card). Thanks.

 

[Rob Varto]

I know this isn't the ideal forum, but in 3 weeks (or less) I have a new video card coming. I have a Radeon 9800 Pro 128 MB available - Im willing to listen to fair offers. I really have to need for it, so the first person to offer me something fair, it's yours. You can check my Ebay feedback - I have an impeccable trading rep. My Ebay name is "rvarto" - feel free to email me at [email protected] if you have any questions.

 

[DaveJJ]

Thanks for all the information guys! I did purchase the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro/128MB after all. It looks good and I am really happy with this ATI card. My old video card was a ABIT/NVida Ti4400 256-bit 128MB card. Install was a breeze. I then down loaded the latest version of Catalyst 4.7 and upgraded the CD-ROM version I installed earlier of ver.3.4. Thanks again everybody!!

DaveJJ

 

[DaveB]

The 9800 Pro is a fantastic part. Enjoy the new card!

David

 

[Dome Vongvises]

With Doom 3 out and Half-Life 2 on the horizon, what would be a good card to get to run on high settings? I have a nVidia Ti4200, but I have no clue where to look to compare video cards.

 

[Scott L]

mmmm an ATI X800 or nVidia 6800GT. PC gaming ain't cheap!

I would probably go ATi since it is said to run HL2 about 30% faster.

 

[Marvin Richardson]

I just picked up an eVGA 6800 GT for $409. It runs Doom 3 at 1600x1200 at 55 fps. HUGE improvement over my poor 9800 Pro 128MB (I was only getting 15 fps with similar settings). I was soured on nVidia after my 4600 ultra fiasco (got three dead ones in a row before I went over the ATI), but after trying in vain for two weeks to get an X800 of any flavor I gave up. Glad I did, now I get to play Doom 3 on an actual videocard.

 

[Chris]

I too just went out for Doom3 and upgraded. Went to an AMD 3700+ and EVGA 6800GT. I get about 70fps at high quality 1280x1024, which is the highest my LCD supports. Love it so far

 

[Wayne Bundrick]

According to Tom's Hardware Guide, nVidia's the way to go for Doom 3. But maybe ATI will be the champion for HL2. Yay for leapfrogging competition driving the market.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

Is it just my imagination or is the ATI x800 XT just impossible to find?

 

[Ash Williams]

Yeah it is. Some have sold for $1000+ on ebay, ridiculos. Yor best off just getting a 6800 Ultra if you need the top card.

I have a 6800 GT and it plays Counter Strike: Source flawlessly with 4xAA and 8XAF. ATI cards do run it faster but why do you need more then a constant 70fps anyway?

 

[ThomasC]

Hi guys, I'm looking for a new video card as well. My current card, a 32MB GeForce2 MX 400, is working fine, but it's missing one thing I want, TV-Out. I currently use the video card for watching DVDs, watching TV on my TV tuner, and playing Madden. I have a $100 budget, but I would preferably like to spend as little as possible for an upgrade. Thanks!