Which video card to get

[supps]

I am looking to upgrade a GeForce 4 4200 without spending too much money.

I found the Chaintech 5700LE 256 megs ram for 97$ and the Chaintech 5700 128 megs ram for $125. I know the 5700 is faster than the 5700LE, but should I get the LE because of the more memory or get the regular 5700 ?

Thanks for any help.

 

[cleeve]

If you already have a Ti4200, the 5700 and 5700LE are both a waste of your time for you. (besides the fact that the Radeon 9600 PRO is a much better card and the same price as the 5700 series).

You just won't see much of a performance increase in this range, if any at all. 5700LE's might actually be SLOWER than your Ti4200...

Overclock your Ti4200, and wait until you can afford something that is worth upgrading to.

To get a noticable difference from your Ti4200, at the very least you'd need a used Radeon 9700 PRO which you could probably find for about $130 or less on ebay. A 9700 PRO kicks the Ti4200, 5700 Ultra, and 9600XT's arse.

A used 9800 or 9800 PRO would do nicely, too.

If you need to buy new, don't bother with anything less than a Geforce 6600GT for about $200.

________________
<b>Radeon <font color=red>9700 PRO</b></font color=red> <i>(o/c 332/345)</i>
<b>AthlonXP <font color=red>3200+</b></font color=red> <i>(Barton 2500+ o/c 400 FSB)</i>
<b>3dMark03: <font color=red>5,354</b>

 

[supps]

My goal was to actually give my card to my wife because hers just died and replace mine. Are you saying the 5700's are both no better than the 4200 at all? I figure because it supports Direct X 9 on the card it might be better.

I'm not sure if I want to switch to an ati card. Not really sure why though. I wanted to pay about 100$ for the card and these two fit.

Thanks for any more info.


Edit
Looking on newegg I found a 5900 SE for 135$ Is that getting any better?<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by supps on 01/26/05 05:30 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

The FX5700LE has terrible memory properties, and while it's 256, it can't use it to any benift. The LE is far worse than the GF4ti, the plain 5700 might equal the GF4ti at best.

DX9 doesn't run well on the FX series, the FX5700 and 5700LE would probbably revert to PS1.1 mode anyways and so you'd see no benifit over the GF4ti.

The Radeon 9600Pro would be your best bet at your price range. The lowest nV card you'd want to start at would be the FX5700ULTRA, and even then it'd be on par with the R9600Pro at best. The GF6600GT AGP would be a wise choice, and if you must stay with nV around $100, hope to find a GF6600non-gt AGP version come down in price. PCIe can be had for under $120, but <A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=14-150-083&depa=1" target="_new">this</A> is the only GF6600non-gt I've found in AGP format and it's more than many more capable cards.

That'd be my recommendations.


- 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

 

[cleeve]

Well, if you want to buy on brand instead of on the best card you can get for the money, I guess the 5700 isn't the most horrible card you could get. But if you have to stay with Nvidia you'd be better served by a used Ti4200.

Brand preference aside, the best card you can get sub-$100 is a used Radeon 9500 PRO on ebay (about $80).

The best $100 new card you can get is the 9600 PRO, like Grape says (although the 9500 PRO is notably better).

Nvidia has good cards now, but the GeforceFX series was a total disaster. If you want a decent Nvidia card you pretty much have to get at least a geforce 6600GT.

If I were you, I'd buy for performance instead of brand preference though. You'll thank yourself when you're playing a demanding title...

________________
<b>Radeon <font color=red>9700 PRO</b></font color=red> <i>(o/c 332/345)</i>
<b>AthlonXP <font color=red>3200+</b></font color=red> <i>(Barton 2500+ o/c 400 FSB)</i>
<b>3dMark03: <font color=red>5,354</b>