Cwag's *new* Video Card Thread

CommunistWithAGun

<div class="IPBDescription">In light of the new GF6600 series...</div> Ok, I will be spending 250-300 on a new video card here soon and in my other thread I decided on <a href='http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-361&depa=0' target='_blank'>http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc....-102-361&depa=0</a>


However now that Nvidia has the 6600 series comming out soon I am at a loss as to what I should do.

Birdy

I would wait a little till the x800 become a little cheaper or get the radeon 9800 if you really can't wait.

Edit: I'm personally waiting for some HL2 benchmarks because that's prolly the game i'm gonna play the most hehe. So i'm not really thinking about nvidia cards <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo-->

CommunistWithAGun

All I want is a video card that will give me 60+fps in Half-life 2 consistently. The rest of my system is fine (2700+@2.3Ghz, 512DDR(soon to be 1gig)

EEK

I'm on a 9800 and with the 4.9 cats, I get 60 FPS a lot of the time on Doom 3, maybe dropping down to 40-50 in firefights, the worst was fighting the endboss / guardian boss, since there's a lot of particle effects going on, but I never dropped to a slideshow, nothing to a point where it was frustrating. In fact, if I didn't turn on the FPS counter, I'd not have noticed a framedrop too much at all, and that's with all settings on.

HL2 is much less graphically intensive then Doom 3 (well it looks a hell of a lot less intensive, but who knows, it might have terrible optimization and run worse, as is the case in lots of games. But the min specs will run on a GeForce 2 (and not minimum being GeForce 3 a la Doom 3) so I'm quite content in knowing that HL2 should run perfectly fine.

Note that I have a 2800 AMD with 1.5gigs of 2700 RAM, so aside from RAM (when you get your stick) our systems are identical enough.

CommunistWithAGun

thanks for the tip. Ill stick with the 9800 pro

Kester

im waiting for HL2 aswell, but im probably gonna get the ASUS ATI X800 as its only 7 pounds more expensive than the 9800 from where im looking to get it

Talesin

As noted in the other thread... I'd hold my final judgement until side-by-sides are run between the 6600 and X600.

However, with the 6800 UE's performance level paling in comparison to the X800 XTPE (beating it out by a bit in OpenGL games, and being blown away in DX9, which is what HL2 is under), I'd have to still say that the ATi will be your best bet.

After all, even now in Doom3, the nVidia cards give a rather... lacking performance. They do offer fairly high framerates, but exhibit terrible, horrible, UGLY shadow-banding even at the topmost graphical settings, as well as incredibly ugly normalmap artifacting due to the compression routines in use.

As noted in the other thread... I'd personally go for the card that ALLOWS you to turn the visual quality down to boost the speed... rather than the visual quality being forced down, with no way for the user to un-cut the corners that nVidia has decided to sacrifice in the name of eking out five more fps.

EEK

When I grow up, I want to be Talesin.

Zaggy

<!--QuoteBegin-EEK+Aug 13 2004, 07:52 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (EEK @ Aug 13 2004, 07:52 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> When I grow up, I want to be Talesin. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Will to become better has been denied by the fact of dying.


Errr anyway, I'm going to buy a Radeo 9800 pro & some RAM as well, I might even get something better to replace/add to my 40 GB 5400 RPM HD...

EEK

Also be sure to take advantage of ATi's TradeUp program. It might be worth more to sell your old card to someone, it might not. I wish I sent them my GeForce 4 when I got my 9800 <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->


Also it's pretty fun to note that my GeForce 4 got so hot running TRIBES that it annihilated its own cooling system. My 9800 runs like a dream.

Svenpa

I hate sweden. "Oh a x800 XT/6800 Ultra for $500" (wich is rather cheep here) with so called moms (25% of the total cost +) it will be $620 or something near that. And then u include the shipping thats usualy is $15.

We have the cards but they cost.

EEK

mom's? You mean the VAT or VAC or whatever name it was for that goofy tax you guys have to pay? That sucks. We have to pay maybe 6% sales tax on items, but if we buy stuff out-of-state here, no tax on it at all. Greedy politicians are trying to pass laws to force a tax on anything bought on the internet, I hope to god it doens't come about.

Align

No, its "moms", which I would roughly translate as "more-circulation-tax"...
At least public toilets and stuff is free for use in its stead.

EDIT: it has nothing to do with yo momma.

Fro5ty

What about the X300, would it be a good value for one's money or should I go with the 9800 in that case or X600?

Swiftspear

9800 Pro is a great card, but like Tales said, I would wait for the X600's, which will give you more power for a comparable pricetag.

MrPink

I'd avoid built by ati cards. They cost more and the cooling isn't as good, which is really the only difference between built by not-ati cards (usually). Go with a built by saphire or MSI, they are cheaper and you should be able to find one with better cooling.

EEK

I'm waiting for NVidia to take the bait of SLI and start making cheaper cards, but they're all bargain rate, and the catch is that you're SUPPOSED to buy two cards for the 'real performance'.

Wheeee

i don't think they'd actually do that. the only reason they'd ever bring it back from a logical, business perspective is to hype it up. i doubt that SLI is anything more than a marketing ploy - allowing it to survive to the lower generations of cards would only threaten their high-end market (who needs a $500 card when they can just buy two $150 cards and get better performance?). It's something that they can hand-wave over and try to win back investor and buyer confidence. Seriously. I doubt they plan to make more than pocket change off of it.

funbags

i have the X800 Pro 256mb, and I got it for 420 bucks. Its fantastic. Its only 100 more dollars, and what..thats 1 day of working? Its way worth it.



<a href='http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=320802' target='_blank'>http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetai...ductCode=320802</a>

Sapphire card^

BTW- Cat 4.9 is beta, and they released it for the doom 3 people for some graphical glitches :\ im waiting untill they add more features in it and release it.

Zig

i wish i was rich

frickin communists have all the money >[

Mullet

CWAG, I thought you were going to get the Sapphire radeon 9800 pro 128mb? What's the dillio, yo?

I'm kind of surprised that its only 50 dollars more for the 256mb. maybe I'll get that now instead of the 128...lol.

camO_o

personally, i'd wait another year or two until the x800 drops down to 80-90 bucks, and pick up where the rest of the gaming community left me behind twelve months ago. after i've finally completed HL2 and D3 a year and a half after its release (both of which were obtained through less-then-moral methods), i will recommence my obsessive collection of information on the latest 3d games, and stare in awe at the ten million poly character models until the newest generation of video cards drops below the hundred dollar mark. rinse and repeat.

you're a fool to do otherwise.

Soylent_green

You'll never see the top of the line cards drop to <100 dollars. They never do, they quite often get a die shrink, some features cut out and repackaged as mid end cards but they don't get that cheap in their original form(too big die now-a-days). Look at 9700 pros or ti-4600's, they're far from 100$ and they are 2 generations old. I doubt you'd even be able to find a geforce 3 or radeon 8500 for 100$, if you do it's allmost guaranteed to be used/refurbished.

camO_o

then i'll wait another year or so. same difference.

Forlorn

<!--QuoteBegin-camO.o+Aug 21 2004, 06:10 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (camO.o @ Aug 21 2004, 06:10 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> personally, i'd wait another year or two until the x800 drops down to 80-90 bucks, and pick up where the rest of the gaming community left me behind twelve months ago. after i've finally completed HL2 and D3 a year and a half after its release (both of which were obtained through less-then-moral methods), i will recommence my obsessive collection of information on the latest 3d games, and stare in awe at the ten million poly character models until the newest generation of video cards drops below the hundred dollar mark. rinse and repeat.

you're a fool to do otherwise. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
When you get older and learn that 500 buck isn't 10 percent of what you make in a year, it's about .5 of your total income, you oppinions will change. Time is more limited than money

Jim_has_Skillz

personally I can't wait for the new 6600 cards, nvidia tends to beat out ati by a lot in the lower end cards because they still keep a lot of stuff on. Ex. X800 Pro vs 6800 GT = no contest GT is the winnar. The high end cards are a different story though.

SLI is not a joke or a marketing ploy, you will find that if you want to spend a lot of money on a video card, getting the top two Geforce 6800 Ultra cards with PCI-Express slots on a new motherboard, it will definately be your best buy(although I would probably invest in a couple more fans because it looks like those babies get HOT).

So really if you are looking to buy a cheap video card for about $200 dollars, wait a couple months when the 6600's come out and wait for some benchmarks and pricing and you will be surprised.

camO_o

<!--QuoteBegin-Forlorn+Aug 21 2004, 06:56 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Forlorn @ Aug 21 2004, 06:56 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin-camO.o+Aug 21 2004, 06:10 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (camO.o @ Aug 21 2004, 06:10 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> personally, i'd wait another year or two until the x800 drops down to 80-90 bucks, and pick up where the rest of the gaming community left me behind twelve months ago. after i've finally completed HL2 and D3 a year and a half after its release (both of which were obtained through less-then-moral methods), i will recommence my obsessive collection of information on the latest 3d games, and stare in awe at the ten million poly character models until the newest generation of video cards drops below the hundred dollar mark. rinse and repeat.

you're a fool to do otherwise. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
When you get older and learn that 500 buck isn't 10 percent of what you make in a year, it's about .5 of your total income, you oppinions will change. Time is more limited than money <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
i'm older then you forlorn.

"..."

Amplifier

cam0 your 16, are you not?

Anyway in 12 months the x800 won't be at 100 bucks, maybe 150-200.

I'd rather spend extra money and play things as they come out.

Forlorn

<!--QuoteBegin-camO.o+Aug 21 2004, 07:34 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (camO.o @ Aug 21 2004, 07:34 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin-Forlorn+Aug 21 2004, 06:56 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Forlorn @ Aug 21 2004, 06:56 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin-camO.o+Aug 21 2004, 06:10 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (camO.o @ Aug 21 2004, 06:10 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> personally, i'd wait another year or two until the x800 drops down to 80-90 bucks, and pick up where the rest of the gaming community left me behind twelve months ago. after i've finally completed HL2 and D3 a year and a half after its release (both of which were obtained through less-then-moral methods), i will recommence my obsessive collection of information on the latest 3d games, and stare in awe at the ten million poly character models until the newest generation of video cards drops below the hundred dollar mark. rinse and repeat.

you're a fool to do otherwise. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
When you get older and learn that 500 buck isn't 10 percent of what you make in a year, it's about .5 of your total income, you oppinions will change. Time is more limited than money <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
i'm older then you forlorn.

"..." <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
1. If you are tsaL, then I thought you to be 16 then so you are 17 now


2. Even if I'm wrong on that part then I'm still way more farsighted then you <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->

camO_o

true...

Forlorn

<!--QuoteBegin-camO.o+Aug 21 2004, 09:39 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (camO.o @ Aug 21 2004, 09:39 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> true... <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
I'm 18 bud