card advice

[gazraa]

I am looking to buy a new graphics card. I don't play a lot of games, but when I do they are fairly graphics intensive, UT, Morrowind stuff like that.
As I don't play games a lot, I can't justify spending too much on a new one, but my 32mb radeon is getting a bit tired me thinks.

I don't want to spend more than £100 if I can help it, and have narrowed my search down to these options:
128mb galaxy fx5600xt 8x agp tv-out retail @ £76.32
256mb ati radeon 9600 ddr dvi tv-out retail @ £99.82
256mb galaxy fx5600 8x agp tv-out dvi retail @ £103.34

now, i've been told that the 128mb card won't cope with half life 2 when it comes out... would it still be playable though with reduced graphic effects?

I do a lot of photoshop work too, and run a res of 1600 x 1200 for that sort of thing. Will the 128mb card be enough to last a while? Is there anything on the horizon for similar money that might be worth waiting for? Are there any other cards that I should consider?

Oh yeah, it would be handy for it to be compatible with mandrake linux 9.1 too.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Spitfire_x86]

256 MB VRAM is completely useless. Get an 128 MB card. They have better memory.

Get a 128 MB Radeon 9600 PRO. It's the best buy for your budget

----------------
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[ad_rach]

The 9600 Pro is definitely the way to go.You can get a Sapphire one <A HREF="http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=48722" target="_new">here</A> for £114.38.It's a little over your budget but it really is worth paying the extra.It is a far better card than any of those you have listed.

no matter how hard you try, you can't polish a turd. :]

 

[HardWareBoss]

My two frames wourth 9600Pro.

 

[gazraa]

cheers for the advice, and the link.
i think i'll wait for the new year and see what comes up in the january sales, maybe the 9600 pro will drop under £100.

thanks

 

[ad_rach]

I'm fairly sure that the 9600 Pro won't drop any lower than it is for a while-probably not until the new cards come out in march/april(?).

no matter how hard you try, you can't polish a turd. :]

 

[Koopa]

I laugh at the 5600 Ultra... at least I want to.
Are you really gonna miss £15 to buy a 9600 pro for £115?
If you are, you need a better job.

I spend my time here hoping that one day I might learn something.

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Hey you're stealing my motto!

<b>Gazraa</b>, definitely stay away from the 5600XT it has 64bit memory.

And yes the R9600Pro would be a good idea, especially compared to the others you have listed there. A 9600Pro w/ 128mb will outplay an R9600(non-pro) w/ 256mb under every condition.


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