Help choose my next vid card
Alright, my budget is around $200 and my only option is to get my vid card from Dell, since I am a preferred customer and get financing through them. I am going to post what I have found at the site and I need to get the best bang for buck. My current card (Nvidia 7900 GS) has pretty much bought it and want to upgrade, even if it's not a HUGE increment. I do have a question as I post this, can I use GDDR3 PCI Express Graphics Cards when my current card is GDDR2?
Well, if you can bear with me, these are the choices thus far:
Stealth ATI Radeon HD 2400 Pro 512 MB GDDR2
Viper ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 512 MB GDDR3
Viper HD2600 XT Radeon 512 MB GDDR3
GeForce 9600 GT 512 MB DDR 3
Evga e-GeForce 8800 GT Superclocked 512 MB GDDR3
BFG Technologies GeForce 8800 GT OC2 512 MB GDDR3
BFG Technologies GeForce 8500 GT 512 MB DDR2
VisionTEK Radeon HD 2600 XT 256 MB
Viper HD 3650 ATI Radeon 1 GB GDDR2
Evga e-GeForce 8600 GT 512 MB DDR3
Diamond Multimedia Radeon HD 3850 256 MB GDDR3
PNY Technologies Verto GeForce 8600GT Overclocked 512 MB
VisionTEK Radeon HD 2600 XT 512 MB
Evga e-GeForce 8600 GTS 256 MB GDDR3
Diamond Multimedia Viper Radeon HD2600XT 512 MB GDDR3
VisionTEK Radeon X1300 DMS59 256 MB GDDR2
I am leaning to one of the 8800 GT's, but am very open to suggestions. Thanks in advance.
Quintin_Stone wrote:
Lunabean, when are you going to grow up and stop playing video games?lunabean wrote:
After I have sex with your mother.
After replacing the stock PSU in my new work Optiplex 755 (screw you Dell), I put this card in. No complaints what-so-ever.
"And the circle has been charged through the power of unphysics, which are physics so stupid they erase normal ones from your mind." -Wields-Rulebook-Heavily at rpg.net
I'd vote for a 9800+ right now, but this is an epoch so many opinions will exist.
*Legion* wrote:
I do not see that card on his list. I'm presuming since he's going through Dell that he only has a limited offer and they don't include the new greatnesses...
I second this though i don't really know BFG as a company so either/or. It out perfoms any other card on this list.
Of - power - insessantly
Plagued - by - malefisense
Doomed - to - insidious -
Death - is - he - who - breaks
this - monument - i - prophesy
It would help if you'd read his question rather than just spouting forth useless information. He has ~$200 to spend and from a limited supply of options, so a 9800+ does not apply.
I don't have any personal experience with the cards listed, but I would have to recommend one of the 8800s if your power supply can handle it.
Fletcher wrote:
*Legion* wrote:
Yea, I am afraid the 9800 GTX isn't one of the choices they put up on their site unfortunately. So far it looks like I am going with one of the 8800s. I am going to look up reviews of the various companies that are offering up on Dell, then make a decision. Thanks for the help guys.
Quintin_Stone wrote:
lunabean wrote:EVGA 8800 GT. Discussion closed.
Gaming / PC Tech Blog: Blast Processing - www.blastprocessing.net
Xbox Live: Legion SB | PSN: Legion_SB
"Damn, your comedic timing is awesome." -- Spaz, *Legion* Fan #1437
The *Legion* has spoken and so it shall be.
Fletcher wrote:
Who is this *Legion* and why does his avatar signal 'caution'? Beware the Ides of Many.... for their within lies full to the brim.
Of - power - insessantly
Plagued - by - malefisense
Doomed - to - insidious -
Death - is - he - who - breaks
this - monument - i - prophesy
Pulled the trigger just 5 minutes ago. Guess which one I picked?
Quintin_Stone wrote:
lunabean wrote:Voodoo 2?
Fedaykin98 wrote:
TNT-2 FTW baby!
Nah, I went with the EVGA 8800.
Quintin_Stone wrote:
lunabean wrote:I'm pretty sure I still have a Creative Voodoo Banshee up in the office, should that not work out for you...
Enjoy.
"And the circle has been charged through the power of unphysics, which are physics so stupid they erase normal ones from your mind." -Wields-Rulebook-Heavily at rpg.net
In one of my boxes, somewhere, I have a Canopus Voodoo 1 with the really good DACs and FOUR MEGS of memory.
Pure power, baby.
Didn't the Canopus Voodoo 1s have SIX megs of memory? I seem to remember that being some kind of selling point.
Skriss: lvl 70 undead mage - Bloodhoof
Kyrator: lvl 63 night elf rogue - Blackhand
Thadryn: lvl 70 draenei mage - Blackhand
Well, after looking it up, I think you're right. The Canopus had 2MB more than everyone else (which is the part I was very sure about), but the base cards had 4. It was 4+2, instead of 2+2.
So SIX, SIX megs of pure power.
(I don't tell it about my 640mb 8800GTS; there's no point in being cruel.)
I thought that might have been the case. I think one of my friends bought that one because of the extra memory.
It's really amazing to think back to all the video cards I specifically bought for gaming purposes... My first purchase was a Hercules Stingray 64/Video, I think. That old ARK 2000PV chipset was smokin. I don't even remember what I read that lead me to buy that card. I think my next one was a Matrox Millennium, which was eventually paired with a Voodoo1. Probably an Orchid Righteous 3D.
Skriss: lvl 70 undead mage - Bloodhoof
Kyrator: lvl 63 night elf rogue - Blackhand
Thadryn: lvl 70 draenei mage - Blackhand
Ah, those were the days. I still remember my first Diamond Monster 3D. The bewildered reaction of folks who couldn't fathom spending hundreds of dollars on a video card that "didn't display video".
"And the circle has been charged through the power of unphysics, which are physics so stupid they erase normal ones from your mind." -Wields-Rulebook-Heavily at rpg.net
It's not like it has the memory capacity to comprehend such numbers anyway.
Gaming / PC Tech Blog: Blast Processing - www.blastprocessing.net
Xbox Live: Legion SB | PSN: Legion_SB
"Damn, your comedic timing is awesome." -- Spaz, *Legion* Fan #1437
My first video card was an ATI Mach 64 with a stunning 8MB of video memory. I remember my friend being floored that I'd have a card with so much memory on it!
My first 3D card with an Orchid Righteous 3D. Oh my god, it make Quake 1 smooth as silk.
Fedaykin98 wrote:
I apologize for arriving here late, but I must point out the current object of my amusement. If you will direct you attention to kaostheory's flame reply to boogle for skimming...if you read his signature, I believe you will encounter the definition of irony.
Quote:
- Legion, taking "keeping it in the family" to a whole new level.
Xbox Live: Fedaykin98
I had a Canopus 6MB'er too. No recollection of what became of that card.
Xbox Live: LiquidmantisGWJ | PSN: LiquidmantisGWJ
Web: Mantis on the Mountain
--
My wife liked the man part monster I made. -Pharacon
I started running a little gaming/hardware site in high school, before the Voodoo2 launch, and got free Voodoo2s, Voodoo Rushes, TNTs, and TNT2s to review.
It was GREAT.
Gaming / PC Tech Blog: Blast Processing - www.blastprocessing.net
Xbox Live: Legion SB | PSN: Legion_SB
"Damn, your comedic timing is awesome." -- Spaz, *Legion* Fan #1437
*Legion* wrote:
The thing that's especially great about that sig is that is was a comment made by Fletcher about me skimming a thread which I had not skimmed.
And is it really skimming when you're writing the second post to a thread that was started less than 20 minutes earlier? That's kind of like "flying" off of a 6 foot high wall.
Fletcher wrote:
My first graphics card was a Paradise VGA. It could do a whopping 640x400 (no, not 480) @ 256 colors.
Being fangoriously devoured by a gelatinous monster.
So, this seems like as good a place as any to post this -- hopefully the GWJ collective won't let me down.
As some of you may know, I'm a Mac user and thus primarily a console gamer. However, this summer is looking really dry in terms of console releases and I've just updated to OSX 10.5, and thus to a version of the boot camp drivers that really work, so I figured I'd spend a month or two playing around with some of the PC games that grabbed my eye over the past few years. Also, the grim state of affairs regarding graphics cards that work with my Mac Pro's motherboard has recently improved, and there is now an 8800 GT that is available (with a hefty Mac tax, of course).
So, basically, I'm considering replacing the anemic 7300 GT that shipped with the thing so as to be able to play a few games a bit closer to the way they are meant to be played. I don't really mind the cost (I have been a Mac user all my life, after all, so I'm used to it) but I'm woefully uninformed about the graphics card market so I have a couple questions before I pull the trigger.
1. Everything I've read indicates that the 8800 should be a huge improvement over what I've currently got. Do you all concur on that?
2. Does the 8800 GT have some life left in it? That is to say, could I expect to be able to run this fall's (or perhaps, dare I dream, next year's) games at respectable settings at a respectable resolution? Or would I be better off waiting another six months in hopes that Apple and Nvidia will put together a 9 series card that works with the Mac Pro motherboard?
XBL/PSN: zeroKFE | BHA: zeroKFE | Halo Stats
1. Definitely.
2. Depends on what you consider respectable. I'm still able to play most games on a single core 3GHz CPU coupled with a Radeon 1950 Pro. I only game in 1024x768 though so i'm not exactly pushing the limits of the game even though i tend to use all the nice settings.
What's the CPU in the mac pro? This could be quite a factor... If it's a decent dual core jobby then there's really no reason not to upgrade to the 8800...
Of - power - insessantly
Plagued - by - malefisense
Doomed - to - insidious -
Death - is - he - who - breaks
this - monument - i - prophesy
I tend to be happy if I can run things at a resolution along the lines of 1280x800 -- again, I'm used to playing console games, which means I stare at 720p on a 40" screen all the time, so roughly the same resolution on a 20" screen is more than enough for me.
I have one of the older "2x2" Mac Pros with two 2.66GHz dual core Xeons. Honestly, though, I'm not sure if Windows has access to both processors -- I seem to recall that the beta version of the boot camp drivers that I set up a year ago didn't, but I haven't checked since I updated to the latest boot camp drivers. Also, I currently have 2 GB of 667MHz DDR2 RAM installed in the thing, which can easily be doubled (and slightly less easily quadrupled or octupled
) should it get to the point where that would help.
XBL/PSN: zeroKFE | BHA: zeroKFE | Halo Stats
I second Duoae.
I put an 8800GTS in a P4 2.8, and run everything I care about at 1600x1200 on a 19" CRT. I will turn down the settings as much as needed to get a couple of years out of it.
The 8800GT is a nice card for the price. Subjective tastes are going to determine how long it's useful for you. I think Crysis (and others) scared many developers off the "you're going to need a new machine to play this" track. As long as you're reasonable, you should get some longevity from the 8800GT.
"And the circle has been charged through the power of unphysics, which are physics so stupid they erase normal ones from your mind." -Wields-Rulebook-Heavily at rpg.net