Need custom card

[saman]

My video card broke down recently, and I was looking for a new card to replace the old one. It was a Geforce 2 Ultra. I need these things:

word processing
Half-Life (day of defeat)
Homeworld 1
Anti-aliasing

I saw the new ATI cards Radeon 9000 and 9200 and that they had no fans on them. I would like to get either of those two (I must sleep with the computer on) but they apparently crashed in some THG articles using 4X FSAA. I wonder if they have fixed this problem or not? And would they be able to do all that above?

 

[shadus]

They suck.

I'd say go with a 9600 Pro/XT... the 90/91/92 series of cards are NOT functionally useable with aa.

Graphics cards tend to run in lines:
Budget, Mid-Range, High-End, Professional

Budget just doesn't cut it if you are doing any kind of fps with aa.

I'd just like to see someone review how the professional cards play video games and such. I've not had the opportunity to try and bench any of them, most people balk at paying 1k+ for a video card.

Shadus

 

[cleeve]

yep, 9600 PRO at least, if 4x AA is your thing. But then you'll have a fan.

If quiet performance is what you're looking for, get a Radeon 9800 Ultimate Edition with a Zalman heat-pipe (no fan)

You *might* be able to get away with a fanless 9600SE (I think they're out there), but you'll be limited to 2x AA...

________________
<b>Radeon <font color=red>9500 PRO</b></font color=red> <i>(hardmodded 9500, o/c 322/322)</i>
<b>AthlonXP <font color=red>2600+</b></font color=red> <i>(o/c 2400+ w/143Mhz fsb)</i>
<b>3dMark03: <font color=red>4,055</b></font color=red>

 

[HardWareBoss]

What's your price range.

 

[cleeve]

You know what? Scratch what I said.

half life (day of defeat) and Homeworld 1, eh? With 4x FSAA?

Nvidia cards do better with the halflife engine I believe. I understand Ati cards have traditionally had problems with the first Half Life and Counter Strike.

I do believe a Geforce4 Ti 4200 128 MB would suit you well. And Half Life/Homeworld are old enough games that, if you have a decent system (over 2 Ghz rating), I don't think 4x FSAA would be a problem with the Geforce4 Ti and those old time games.

As far as finding one without a fan, well, not sure about that. You might be able to find a fanless GeforceFX 5600 that would do the job.

Sorry for the flip-flop, had to think about it for a bit. And if Ati has fixed their old Half Life engine problems, someone let me know so I can revert.

________________
<b>Radeon <font color=red>9500 PRO</b></font color=red> <i>(hardmodded 9500, o/c 322/322)</i>
<b>AthlonXP <font color=red>2600+</b></font color=red> <i>(o/c 2400+ w/143Mhz fsb)</i>
<b>3dMark03: <font color=red>4,055</b></font color=red>

 

[mrface]

they have fixed that problem. i believe the only minor problem they have with that engine now is sometimes with ati control panel on you cant bind the arrow keys if you want to.

<A HREF="http://www.cameronwilliamson.com" target="_new">-={Apostalic Alcoholic.}=-</A>

 

[cleeve]

Ah crap.

Although Kinney says he was having problems with Counter Strike on his Radeon 9800 with all sorts of different versions of the catalyst drivers...

________________
<b>Radeon <font color=red>9500 PRO</b></font color=red> <i>(hardmodded 9500, o/c 322/322)</i>
<b>AthlonXP <font color=red>2600+</b></font color=red> <i>(o/c 2400+ w/143Mhz fsb)</i>
<b>3dMark03: <font color=red>4,055</b></font color=red>

 

[tombance]

Whats your budget? as long as it is above $50 I would go for something aroung a GF$ Ti4200 or a Radeon 9600 Pro (Dont go for SE's or MX's, they suck).

<A HREF="http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=6752830" target="_new">Yay, I Finally broke the 12k barrier!!</A>

 

[mrface]

i never had any probs with CS, with any driver set except the one problem i explained above...

i got r9800p.

just disable the ati control panel and that goes away.

<A HREF="http://www.cameronwilliamson.com" target="_new">-={Apostalic Alcoholic.}=-</A>

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Just in addition to Cleeve's suggestions. You can get a Sapphire R9600pro ultimate edition also.

There are also many Stock R9600non-pro (but better than SE) that come with just big heatsinks. There are also FX5200 and FX5600s with big heatsinks as well, but I think your best bet would be with the ATIs. The main thing would be the price you are looking at paying for these cards.

BTW, the R9000/9100/9200 really just don't have the power to handle AA at high levels/res, it's not a problem that can be fixed, same with a bunch of other cards. Heck even the R9600non-pro and the lower end FXs will crap-out in some games with high AA and res. settings.


- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! - <font color=green>RED </font color=green> <font color=red> GREEN</font color=red> GA to SK

<b>-NEW PIC IN THGC ALBUM-</b>

 

[Crashman]

If you're looking for something reasonably cheap and passively cooled, take a look at the 9600 non-pro.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[saman]

Thanks for the advice. I think I'll go with a 9600 non-pro. I've had ati cards break down on me before, and though they've had problems in Half-Life that was four or five years ago, long enough, hopefully, for them to fix their problems.

 

[Crashman]

I just put one in a friends computer, it provides around 2/3 the framerates of my 9600 Pro, but it's only clocked at around 2/3 the speed. That's stock. I can overclock my Pro, but can't overclock the non-pro due to the driver resetting to stock speed on non-pro cards whenever 3D applications are launched.

Her card runs very cool with its passive heatsink. Of course you get all the latest DX9 features on all 9600 cards.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>