Looking for suggestion for vid card for my system

[Enix]

Current System:
AMD Athlon xp1600
256 mb DDR RAM (Plan to upgrade soon)
8x agp capable epox 8rda+ mobo

I realize that with my slower processor I won't be able to take advantage of the faster video cards on the market, but would like to get some suggestions on cards that I can get the most out of.

I'm mainly using the system for gaming, currently playing Star Wars Galaxies alot. Im using a Geforce2 w/ 64 mb right now and while its not terrible, the FPS drop pretty low sometimes.

If possible, I'd like some suggestions for cards around $100.

Thank you for your assistence.

 

[darko21]

With that budget and gaming in mind I'd have to say the ti4200.. But if you can wait or afford it the 9600pro is a better long term investment..

 

[ufo_warviper]

That's a pretty good reccomendation. If you can bump up the budget $50 the 9600 Pro would be the best option. But the Ti4200 should do well also, you'll just have to run DX9 based games in DriectX 8 mode with a Ti 4200.

My OS features preemptive multitasking, a fully interactive command line, & support for 640K of RAM!

 

[coolsquirtle]

get the Ti4200

Proud Owner the Block Heater
120% nVidia Fanboy
PROUD OWNER OF THE GEFORCE FX 5900ULTRA <-- I wish this was me
I'd get a nVidia GeForce FX 5900Ultra... if THEY WOULD CHANGE THAT #()#@ HSF

 

[Enix]

Ive been looking on New Egg at the 9600 pro.

Whats the difference between the regular 9600 and the 9600 pro? Does the company that puts the card out make much of a difference?

 

[cleeve]

Ti4200's are great cheap cards, but the Radeon 9600 non-pro should be just a few bucks more and might be a better option because of the advanced shaders and DX9 abilities.

If you can afford a few bucks more than that, go 9600 PRO. You will see a huge difference, even on your system.

------------------
Radeon 9500 (modded to PRO w/8 pixel pipelines)
AMD AthlonXP 2000+
3dMark03: 3529

 

[kinney]

9600pro hands down. Save your money man, its cheap.

-----
eden is my intel/ati superboy

 

[Willamette_sucks]

I recommend looking around for a Sapphire 9600 Pro, I've seen them as cheap as $136, you should easily be able to find one for under $150. The Pro runs at 400/300(600ddr) BTW.

"Mice eat cheese." - Modest Mouse

"Every Day is the Right Day." -Pink Floyd

 

[Enix]

Thanks for the input guys!

Heres my next question.

Which would I be better off with? 9600 pro w/ 128 mb or 9600 non-pro with 256 mb?

Im still a little confused about the bottleneck and stuff I guess. My motherboards FSB runs at 266 (133 ddr). So if I get the pro version and the memory runs at 600 (300 ddr) will I really get alot of benefit from that?

Or is my understanding of it just all screwed up?


<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Enix on 09/23/03 01:03 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[cleeve]

Whoa! Ok:

1- Clockspeeds are WAYYYY more important than the amount of memory. The 9600 PRO kicks the crap out of a 9600 non-pro, period, regardless of onboard memory.

2- Video RAM is separate from your system RAM and the speeds of the two have no interaction or relation. So the faster the video RAM, the better, regardless.

------------------
Radeon 9500 (modded to PRO w/8 pixel pipelines)
AMD AthlonXP 2000+
3dMark03: 3529

 

[Enix]

Ok thanks alot!

Can you tell Im a total newb to all this?

 

[soundwave5]

I just got a 9600Pro and I love it, just make sure to get the Pro version with 128MB of RAM as it is the fastest. As for brands Sapphire is probilby your best choice as Sapphiers are reasnable priced compared to other brands. Just a sidenot AVOID Powercoler like the plauge.


Soundwave