Graphics Cards Which is the best?

[La Flames Fan]

I'm running 96MB Intel Extreme, but want to upgrade to something better, and with the Xmas season here, well, its a time to spend money fruitlessly (word?).

Any suggestions?

[arsenal]

It depends on what you want it for.
If you are into hardcore 3D gaming, you can probably spend about 200-300 CDN on a very good card from either ATI or nVidia.

For nVidia:
GeForce 6 looks like their latest & greatest
GeForce FX will do anything and everything you want
I would probably hold off on a GeForce 6 right now.. it looks like the technology that they have implemented is very new and no games will be able to take advantage it for a few years. And by that time, there where have been about 3-4 generations of new cards.

From ATI:
If you get anything like an ATI Radeon 9700 or 9800 you should be fine. I don't think these are all that expensive right now, becuase ATI has a new set of cards out. The X Series.

No matter what card you get, look for 256MB DDR Ram on the card. This will help in getting the textures through the pipeline, and look pretty to boot.

[La Flames Fan]

Well, I haven't gotten into Doom or any real hardcore games yet, but I like SIM games like SimCity 4, Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 and sports games.

I was looking in the Best Buy ad here in California and they were advertising a GeForceFX 5500OC 256MB AGP Graphics DDR...For 89.99US after rebates (ofcourse). Is this a good card and deal?

[arsenal]

That probably would be ok.. but nVidia does a tricky thing with their cards.
Example: Back when GeForce 4's came out, they had the high end cards. Like Ti 5600 and the like. These where very good cards. But nVidia also released GeForce 4 4200, which had the GeForce 4 name, but had the performance of a GeForce 3.

Thats what this deal sounds like. I would spend a little more money, and see if you can get a 5700. You will be happy you did if you do want to play a game such as Doom 3 or Half-Life 2 in the future.

[La Flames Fan]

Thanks arsenal....appreciate your input.

[arsenal]

np

[Hakan]

I have a gf3 ti 3200 and it runs everything out today except doom 3 pretty good.

You can probably pick one up used for less that $100 bucks

If you're not playing 3d intensive games then this card is more than enough.

edit: make sure you don't get any geforce MX or FX cards, they either suck (mx) or are waay too overpriced for what you get (fx).

[Josh]

You can pick up a GeForce 6600 GT for under $200 USD. Its a good bang for your buck card, and will pretty much run whatever game you want.

[La Flames Fan]

Sweet, I was just browsin' around and saw the ATI 9600 XT, what are your thoughts on that one....Its in the price range I'm looking, 256MB....

Is Nvidia better or ATI?

[arsenal]

The 9600 XT should do everything you want it too.

ATI has had serious driver problems in the past. I think they have gotten most of the issues worked out though. I currently have an ATI 9700 Radeon Mobility with my laptop, and I have yet to come accross any major issues.

Historically, nVidia has done a better job with their drivers than ATI has. But ATI has come along way. They probably on even playing ground.

You also want to consider your PC hardware as well. You don't want to get into an issue where your graphics card is waiting for your CPU or hard drive.

[photon]

Driver wise I'd say it's been even for quite a while..

I've got 9600XT's in all the work computers and everyone seems to like them fine, for everything from Battlefield 1942 to World of Warcraft.

For a bit more a 9800 Pro is excellent.

Make sure that your motherboard has an AGP slot though, a lot of boards with the built in video had no AGP slot for upgrades.

[FireInTheHole]

I just recently got an ATI Radeon X700 Pro when I built my new computer. This mofo can really haul. Price isn't outrageous at ~ $299, but the catch is that it's a PCI Express card. For anyone thinking of upgrading their computers - and possibly their motherboards - PCI Express is the way to go. 16x pipeline instead of AGP 8x, so it's effectively twice as fast. B)

[Inferno]

I bought a Diamond Viper 9600 XT from Future Shop for $200 about a month ago and so far I've been pleased.

[Bertuzzied]

Originally posted by arsenal@Dec 19 2004, 10:30 PM
The 9600 XT should do everything you want it too.

ATI has had serious driver problems in the past. I think they have gotten most of the issues worked out though. I currently have an ATI 9700 Radeon Mobility with my laptop, and I have yet to come accross any major issues.

Historically, nVidia has done a better job with their drivers than ATI has. But ATI has come along way. They probably on even playing ground.

You also want to consider your PC hardware as well. You don't want to get into an issue where your graphics card is waiting for your CPU or hard drive.

ATI drivers has been amazing considering how bad they were before. They pretty much have an update almost every month.

I still remember when they first came out their drivers were so bad every 2nd game was unplayable. Alot of swearing was involved! hehe