Another "what video card should I get" thread

[RagnaroK]

Bah... I know y'all are tired in answering such bloody threads, but I'd like some advice if y'all don't mind. 😛

I'm looking for a new video card, and am willing to spend a *probable* maximum of $400AUD (approx. 300USD). I want to play the latest games at good speeds, and want them to look good as well (doesn't necessarily mean I want FSAA and anisotropic filtering, but it would be nice)! What do you suggest and is it possible with $400AUD or would I have to spend more? Thanks in advance. 😀

Forgot to add, I was thinking of a 9600XT, but what do you suggest?

 

[Alucard]

Dude with 300 bucks you can get an ATI 9800pro or Nvidia FX5900 Ultra which more than satisfy your needs i think 😀

 

[RagnaroK]

Dude with 300 bucks you can get an ATI 9800pro or Nvidia FX5900 Ultra which more than satisfy your needs i think 😀

Hmm, things don't seem to go my way over here in Aus... cause the cheapest "retail" 9800pro I can find is $530AUD. 🙁

 

[Alucard]

Well then you should you order your card online . You'll find that online stores have very good prices.

 

[Taurus]

yeah, you can get a 9800pro 128mb for around $270usd online. it's rare that i find a walk-in store that has a better deal than i can get online.

 

[RagnaroK]

I'm guessing that would be online stores outside Aus... cause everything here's expensive... even online... *sigh*
And besides, I'd rather not buy online, cause I'm too impatient to wait for it to ship in. 😛
How about a 9800 non-pro? Worth it?

 

[Sazar]

its not bad... a little slower than a regular 9700pro but close to same performance overall...

 

[LeeJend]

SAZAR doesn't trust these guys but they do show you a listing of all the vid cards side by side benchmarked in the same system so you can get relative performance. I don't trust any organization that funds itself by advertising the equipment they review which means I don't trust anybody...

Ignore their words and just look at the graphs. Make sure you look at all the graphs cause card performance varies from benchmark to benchmark.

http://www.tomshardware.com/graphic/20031229/index.html

 

[RagnaroK]

I see. Thanks to all. 😀

Also LeeJend, I don't see the reason as to not trust Tom's Hardware. I've been visiting their site for a while, and they "seem" reputable.

Also Sazar, seems you're right about the 9800 (right? of course you're right... 😛). From those graphs, 9800 is usually just trailing the 9700pro by a few points/frames, more or less. Might consider a 9800np then.

 

[RagnaroK]

Umm, just wondering... do online stores outside Australia ship merchandise to here?

 

[chastity]

Well since your looking to not spend more then $400AUD most of the last version of video cards with either nvidia or ati chipsets should be good. another site to check out is www.anandtech.com I tend to trust what they say a little more then Toms as they don't really advertising the equipment they review as much as Toms does. Again as LeeJend said I really don't trust any of the sites like that but some seem to be less baised then others

 

[Sazar]

SAZAR doesn't trust these guys but they do show you a listing of all the vid cards side by side benchmarked in the same system so you can get relative performance. I don't trust any organization that funds itself by advertising the equipment they review which means I don't trust anybody...

Ignore their words and just look at the graphs. Make sure you look at all the graphs cause card performance varies from benchmark to benchmark.

http://www.tomshardware.com/graphic/20031229/index.html

lol... some of their stuff is not bad but they usually get lost in trying to please their ad revenue provider's and in not understanding the way certain thngs work 🙂

anything non-cpu/video card related is decent I spose @ tom's site but its not like it used to be once when thomas did things more hands on...

 

[Sazar]

I see. Thanks to all. 😀

Also LeeJend, I don't see the reason as to not trust Tom's Hardware. I've been visiting their site for a while, and they "seem" reputable.

Also Sazar, seems you're right about the 9800 (right? of course you're right... 😛). From those graphs, 9800 is usually just trailing the 9700pro by a few points/frames, more or less. Might consider a 9800np then.

I'm nt always right m8... 🙂 doubt anyone is...

anyways what cards have you seen in your price range that you are interested in...

list em and we can help you out...

if the 9800 vanilla is an option... its a good card just make sure its not the SE 🙂

 

[scriptasylum]

You can try ebay if you were willing to wait for shipping. Just make sure the seller is reputable (lots of positive feedback and little, if any, negative) and are willing to ship to your location...

 

[RagnaroK]

I'm nt always right m8... 🙂 doubt anyone is...

anyways what cards have you seen in your price range that you are interested in...

list em and we can help you out...

if the 9800 vanilla is an option... its a good card just make sure its not the SE 🙂

Well, this was what I have been thinking of so far.

• 9600pro
• 9600xt
• 9800
• 9700pro (if cheap, but haven't found any so far)

That's pretty much it, cause I want a good quality performance card, for a good price. I'd rather not go NVidia unless you can suggest a card from them that will out perform an ATI card and be cheaper. Thanks again Sazar and all. 😀

 

[Black-Syth]

Well, this was what I have been thinking of so far.

* 9600pro
* 9600xt
* 9800
* 9700pro (if cheap, but haven't found any so far)


That's pretty much it, cause I want a good quality performance card, for a good price. I'd rather not go NVidia unless you can suggest a card from them that will out perform an ATI card and be cheaper. Thanks again Sazar and all.

So far, the only card that outperforms an ATi card in the same price range, is the 5700U. Though, nVidia's shaders took a huge hit, so I recommend ATi.

I have a 9700Pro, the card is a lily. I love it to death.

 

[chastity]

as black-syth said the top of the line cards and even some not so top of the line cards from both sides for the most are equal as far as performance though the higher the screen res the more one is better then the other. As I said find and look at all of the info and stuff you can for both ati and nvidia within your price range then make your choice. mind you to a point you can't go really wrong with either brand

 

[RagnaroK]

If everything goes well, I'll be getting a 128Mb HIS ATI 9800Pro for $450AUD... Yay! 😀
By the way, is HIS a good brand?
Thanks for everyone's help and suggestions, much appreciated!

 

[RagnaroK]

I didn't want to start a new thread, so I'll use this one. I brought a HIS IceQ Excalibur Radeon 9800pro today, but it doesn't want to seem to work. I plugged it in normally and attached its external power cable. Boot up seemed fine, but when it logs into WinXP, what I should normally see, is all distorted with colours and lines (can't really explain it, looks trippy). What could be the problem?

Just in case you wanna know:
AMD AthlonXP 2100+
Epox 8RDA+ nForce2 mboard
512mb DDR333
GeForce2 MX400

 

[Taurus]

I didn't want to start a new thread, so I'll use this one. I brought a HIS IceQ Excalibur Radeon 9800pro today, but it doesn't want to seem to work. I plugged it in normally and attached its external power cable. Boot up seemed fine, but when it logs into WinXP, what I should normally see, is all distorted with colours and lines (can't really explain it, looks trippy). What could be the problem?

Just in case you wanna know:
AMD AthlonXP 2100+
Epox 8RDA+ nForce2 mboard
512mb DDR333
GeForce2 MX400

so no drivers installed yet? what kind of monitor do you have?

try to boot into safe mode (hold F8 after post).