DirectX important or not

[Tuffgong4]

I'm looking at Graphics cards and I'm thinking about spending around 150 US. I was just wondering if the DirectX capabilities are that important, like 8.1 vs 9.0. Also if you have any suggestions on which card to get it would be much appreciated

 

[silky62678]

Right now Direct X 9 is not used in most games, but in the near future, games are going to be turning to direct x 9. If u are able to get a direct x 9 card , "like nike say" just do it. There are some helpful posts as far as what cards are good. Any ATI 9000 or higher is good. They are direct x 9 compatibile. Check out this site for the benchmarks of the most current cards
http://www6.tomshardware.com/graphic/20021024/index.html
Hope that helps

 

[Cosmin]

Hmm , latest technology is unevitable important ..
And a vidcard for those money :
1. Leadtek Ti4200 AGP8x ( here 185 $ )
2. ATi 9500 ( Hercules )

 

[Taurus]

for $150, i wouldn't really worry about dx9 cards. after all, dx7 cards can still run all the games out, given they have the muscle...

which is what i would worry about--muscle. for $150, i think you'd be best off going for a gf4 ti4200-8x 128mb card. you can get one for like $130. it can push a good amount of polys for it's price and most of them overclock to at least 4400 levels.

your other option would be a dx9 card which will have dx9 features which you might start to use in 6 months, but the card will be too weak to play those new high-end games at a decent framerate/resolution.

that's my 2¢.

 

[Sazar]

Originally posted by Tuffgong4
I'm looking at Graphics cards and I'm thinking about spending around 150 US. I was just wondering if the DirectX capabilities are that important, like 8.1 vs 9.0. Also if you have any suggestions on which card to get it would be much appreciated

it is recommended that you get as future proof a tech as possible... no reason to buy something that will not be able to show effects in future games if there is something else that does it @ the same price...

price/performance get the 9500pro if you can... they are rare now since they are being phased out in favor of the 9600pro... which performs slower but overclocks like there is no tomorrow almost to 9700pro levels (different cards will have different results )

or if you want nvidia products wait for the 5600ultra to debut and read the reviews of that... should also be around the price range you have listed... on the web... retail will be around $199

 

[Tuffgong4]

I was leaning toward either a 9600pro when it comes out in like newegg.com or googlegear.com or the cheaper for the time being gf4200 128MB because it seems like a steal for the money right now...the NV35 is going to come out soon which I don't want but might make a price decrease in all the other cards...please keep the suggestions coming I am finding them really helpful

 

[LeeJend]

Someone up a few posts said 9000 and up ATI cards are DX9. That is not true the 9000/9200 are based on the 8500 chipset which is DX8 hardware. The 9500 and up are DX 9 hardware cards. That said many cards will run DX9 programs using software drivers to do the hardware translation. They will be very slow at DX9 games though.

As for pricing I'm waiting on a price break with the new releases too. Here's the latest street prices with warantee:

ATI 9500 PRO $200 (BEST BUY OR ALLSTARSHOP) 3yr ATI
ATI 9500 Can't find any think ATI left them for OEM
OEM 9500 PRO $175 (Allstarshop) 1yr by reseller
OEM 9500 (only 64mb) $136 1yr by reseller

ATI 9700 PRO $299 (BEST BUY OR ALLSTARSHOP) 3yr ATI
OEM 9700 PRO $149 (Allstarshop) 1yr by reseller

PS I agree the 4200-8 is a great card for the price. Shame Nvidia can't get its FX chip line working right and into volume production. I suspect we'll see the same rip off as the Athlon Tbred initial release. A heat pig that nearly bankrupted AMD until they got the A and then the B revisions into volume production a year late...

 

[Sazar]

Originally posted by LeeJend
Someone up a few posts said 9000 and up ATI cards are DX9. That is not true the 9000/9200 are based on the 8500 chipset which is DX8 hardware. The 9500 and up are DX 9 hardware cards. That said many cards will run DX9 programs using software drivers to do the hardware translation. They will be very slow at DX9 games though.

As for pricing I'm waiting on a price break with the new releases too. Here's the latest street prices with warantee:

ATI 9500 PRO $200 (BEST BUY OR ALLSTARSHOP) 3yr ATI
ATI 9500 Can't find any think ATI left them for OEM
OEM 9500 PRO $175 (Allstarshop) 1yr by reseller
OEM 9500 (only 64mb) $136 1yr by reseller

ATI 9700 PRO $299 (BEST BUY OR ALLSTARSHOP) 3yr ATI
OEM 9700 PRO $149 (Allstarshop) 1yr by reseller

PS I agree the 4200-8 is a great card for the price. Shame Nvidia can't get its FX chip line working right and into volume production. I suspect we'll see the same rip off as the Athlon Tbred initial release. A heat pig that nearly bankrupted AMD until they got the A and then the B revisions into volume production a year late...

the t'bred A was the heat pig you refer to

the previous core was palomino and was on the 0.18 micron process.. the t'bred A was 0.13 micron and the revised version was t'bred B...

I doubt it would have bankrupted AMD btw... amd's loans will keep it going for a few more years...

 

[Taurus]

Originally posted by LeeJend
OEM 9700 PRO $149 (Allstarshop) 1yr by reseller

too bad that's a typo.