Vid card decisions

[drummer1998]

I am needing to upgrade my current video card and don't know which way to go. I am not a hardcore gamer but do want good performance at a good price. I am going back and forth between a Geforce FX 5600 128mb or 256mb, a Radeon 9600SE 128mb, and a FX 5200 256mb card. I would like some input from anyone who can offer some opinions on my choices. System is Athlon XP 1700+, 512 RAM, 80gig WD HD 7200rpm.
Please help!!

 

[timberwolf1]

Hi

If you want good graphics quality, go for the ATI. If you're on a budget, go for Nvidia


Gary Hendricks
<A HREF="http://www.digital-music-guide.com" target="_new">www.digital-music-guide.com</A>

 

[lik]

stay away from every single one you mentioned...the 5600 is to damn slow! (I have one...), the 9600se is 64bit so it is very slow to! the 5200 isn't able to play anything new or semi-new decently. Go for a 9600Pro. Search in newegg for prices! How much can you spend?

P4-2800->FSB800, Asus P4P800, 512DDR-400, Radeon 9800 Pro - 128Mb

 

[cleeve]

I think everyone would agree that the 5200 sucks.

The 5600 and 9600SE are both on the slower end of things. I don't recommend either, but given the choice, I think the 9600SE might be a little better. The raw hardware is a bit more powerful, and it's a good overclocker. The bandwidth sucks, but what can you do?

Still, if you can afford it, look HARD for a 9600non-pro or 9600 PRO. Much better cards.

________________
<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>

 

[pauldh]

What is your current card that needs replacing? I just wonder, because the cards you mentioned may not be much of an upgrade when it comes to framerates... may dissappoint you. Those cards aren't really capable of decent performance in todays games. I agree with the 9600 non-pro as a bare minimum, and a 9600 pro better yet. If you can get a GF4Ti4200 much cheaper than the 9600non-pro, that would be a good option too for DX8 games and older.

ABIT IS7, P4 2.6C, 512MB Corsair TwinX PC3200LL, Radeon 9800 Pro, Santa Cruz, TruePower 430watt

 

[HardWareBoss]

None that you mention TI4200 or 9600Pro. Are the better choices.

 

[marneus]

i got a 9600 standard (with 128bit bus) for about the price of a 9600se...

Trust me I know what I'm doing... ooops, grab the cat...

 

[Spitfire_x86]

Get a GeForce4 Ti4200 or Radeon 9600 PRO

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[davemar14]

Although not the newest cards, the GeForce4 Ti4200 is a good card for the price. If you want a good solid DX 8 card, go for the 4200. If you MUST have DX9, get the Radeon 9600.

My System:
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[drummer1998]

Up till a few months ago I still had an original Riva TNT with only 16 megs. Then a friend gave me a Hercules 4000XT Kyro with 64, so I'm thinking any decent card is gonna seem fast as hell for a while. I do some gaming and was thinking of the 9600SE because they offer a coupon for a copy of Half Life 2 with the card! Pretty lame reason to pick a card, I agree, but given that I am so far behind the times it seemed like a good enough one!

 

[HardWareBoss]

9600se is a piece of crap. Don't waste your money on it.

 

[grafixmonkey]

You can get a Geforce FX 5900-XT for around the $180 mark, not a bad price at all for a video card purchase, and according to benchmarks it performs pretty well (about 70% to 80% the performance of an FX 5900.)

I'm not sure about equivalent price/performance cards in the ATI line.

You should read the sticky post at the top of the forum that reads "What video card do I buy", it's very comprehensive and breaks it down into price ranges. (it doesn't mention the 5900-XT though.)

eVGA makes a 5900-XT card, but calls it a Geforce FX F900-SE. It's the same thing though. That's the one I've seen for $180.