Getting New Video card on $200 budget.. which one?

grasso_mike

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Aug 2005

Grasso Clan

E/Mo

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Hey GW fans,

i just experienced my Geforce4 4600 video card die. it was an honorable death as the motor in it retired. (causing it to overheat) so now its a new begning! what should i get. i'm goin shoppin on best buy and i am lookin at the geforce6 6600 256mb.. any suggestions?

nailz

Banned

Join Date: Aug 2005

BFG is where it's at.

BFG 6600GT 128MB DDR

Brother Andicus

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: May 2005

Scotland

The Illuminati

Yeah, I would go with the 6600GT too.

Lerxst_of_Syrinx

Lerxst_of_Syrinx

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Apr 2005

Mo/R

A vanilla 6800 beats a 6600GT any day. The 6600GT listed above is $198. The 6800 linked below is $165. You can also USUALLY unlock a 6800 to make a 6800 Ultra out of it.
Your decision though...I know which one I'd pick..if I didn't already have a 6800 Ultra.

Geforce 6800 at Newegg

Here are some benchmarks to prove the 6800 is better. Make sure you check out all of the benches.

ZennZero

ZennZero

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Apr 2005

R/

I would definitely be leaning toward the 6800 *or* a Radeon x800 (pro or XL versions if you can swing it, as they would be substantially better than the vanillia version of the geforce 6800). While each line has its advantages, either one should provide reasonably comparable performance at the sub-$200 pricepoint.

Look at at the benchmarks linked in the above post for details.

Pharoke

Pharoke

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Join Date: Apr 2005

Washington THE State(Not DC)

W/Mo

All I have to say is make sure it is nVidia. I currently have the 6600GT flavor, but I have a friend who has the plain 6800 that he has modded to ultra specs. Not the easiest thing to do, but it can be done. I play on my 6600GT with everything on high w/4x AA and don't have any slow downs at all.

Sir Skullcrasher

Sir Skullcrasher

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Join Date: Jun 2005

California

15 over 50 [Rare]

W/Mo

here some nice $200 dollar videocards from newegg

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130202

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814153020

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150068

nailz

Banned

Join Date: Aug 2005

eVGA and XFX are REALLY bad brand names....

iliketoeat

Academy Page

Join Date: Jul 2005

E/Me

Quote:
Originally Posted by nailz
eVGA and XFX are REALLY bad brand names....
how so?

cannonfodder

cannonfodder

Tech Monkeh Mod

Join Date: May 2005

Good Old North East of England

Mo/Me

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pharoke
All I have to say is make sure it is nVidia. , but I have a friend who has the plain 6800 that he has modded to ultra specs. Not the easiest thing to do, but it can be done.

1, Why make sure its Nvidia?, I have both a 6800gt and an X800XL, and there is no difference in peformance or in the look of the game.

2, It is really simple to unlock the extra 4 pipes and vertex shader using rivatuner(google for it), and it lets yuo overclock the card if you want to.

My choice would either be a plain 6800 from nvidia or as said above an X800(pro or XL), 6600gt's are great cards but only have a 128bit memory interface where as the others have 256bit meaning a bigger memory bandwidth, which can give better peformance. But it's your choice

the drizzle

the drizzle

Academy Page

Join Date: Jul 2005

E/N

first of all, a vanilla 6800 cant be unlocked to ultra speeds, but it can be unlocked to gt quality. Also, the reason to not go for an x800xl is pixel shader 3. nvidias cards have it, and its truly the 'wave of the future' so to speak. If memory serves, ATIs current cards have pixel shader 2, which never really took off in game development. Lastly, never buy a bfg card, because all they do is overclock it about 20 mhz, which you can do in about 20 seconds.

Pharoke

Pharoke

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Join Date: Apr 2005

Washington THE State(Not DC)

W/Mo

The reason I said make sure it is nVidia is because I have never in my life gotten an ATI to install easily. I used to manage a computer store and me and all the techs hated ATI anything as it was at least 2-3 hours to get the video card to work right. To this day I still cringe at the idea of ATI video cards, even though my friends say they are really easy to install now. Not once has an nVidia card ever given me problems.

cannonfodder

cannonfodder

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Join Date: May 2005

Good Old North East of England

Mo/Me

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pharoke
The reason I said make sure it is nVidia is because I have never in my life gotten an ATI to install easily. I used to manage a computer store and me and all the techs hated ATI anything as it was at least 2-3 hours to get the video card to work right. To this day I still cringe at the idea of ATI video cards, even though my friends say they are really easy to install now. Not once has an nVidia card ever given me problems.
Hmmm?, I've had alot of different cards, all with the same result, install the card switch on and install drivers, it's as easy as that. And sorry for saying this but if a computer technician cannot do something as easy as install a graphics card then thats unbelievable, how on earth did they get employed?..

Sorry just re-read what you said 3 hours to install a card thats crazy and unbelievable.., If anyone i know had said a shop took 3 hours to get something as simple as a graphics card to work, I certainly wouldn't recommend them again..


As with all hardware there can be teathing problems but 3 hours thats just plain crazy

emirate xaaron

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Jul 2005

sotu

E/R

ati's lack of shader model 3 is utter toss, imo there is no excuse for that.

Kaldor Meshekal

Kaldor Meshekal

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Apr 2005

England

Rt/N

If you're looking for a new card, save a little more and get yourself something that will make a very noticeable difference to your games.

an XFX GeForce 7800GTX, for example.

But, of course, i am from England, so i don't know how much that'll set you back in the US. It cost me around £330.

cannonfodder

cannonfodder

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Join Date: May 2005

Good Old North East of England

Mo/Me

Quote:
Originally Posted by emirate xaaron
ati's lack of shader model 3 is utter toss, imo there is no excuse for that.
Quoted for truth, PS3 at the moment has no bearing on games, as there is no support for it yet, and by the time there is, ATI's R520 will be out which will support PS3 or whatever is newer

emirate xaaron

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Jul 2005

sotu

E/R

Quote:
Originally Posted by cannonfodder
Quoted for truth, PS3 at the moment has no bearing on games, as there is no support for it yet, and by the time there is, ATI's R520 will be out which will support PS3 or whatever is newer
there is a few things coming out that support it, and i'll be able to get good life out of my 6800gt and 7800gtx when i get that soon, so it's good knowing i have it now.

GreyWasp

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Aug 2005

R/

a lot of good info here, however, be sure to get a video card your mobo can support. For eaxmple, your old card is probably AGP 4x. Make sure your mobo can handle an 8x before buying (yup, time to get out those old manuals). And you won't be using any of the new PCI-express video cards, just AGP. If you can't find the manuals, look on the computer manfs website for .pdf manuals or other information. Have fun and good luck.

Pharoke

Pharoke

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Join Date: Apr 2005

Washington THE State(Not DC)

W/Mo

Quote:
Originally Posted by cannonfodder
Hmmm?, I've had alot of different cards, all with the same result, install the card switch on and install drivers, it's as easy as that. And sorry for saying this but if a computer technician cannot do something as easy as install a graphics card then thats unbelievable, how on earth did they get employed?..

Sorry just re-read what you said 3 hours to install a card thats crazy and unbelievable.., If anyone i know had said a shop took 3 hours to get something as simple as a graphics card to work, I certainly wouldn't recommend them again..


As with all hardware there can be teathing problems but 3 hours thats just plain crazy
# hours is insane, but I am talking pre-catalyst/forceware days. It wasn't that easy back then, hell this is pre-Voodoo cards. the standard cards were easy to install, along with the voodoo cards when they came out, but the ATI cards were nothing but a pain in the @$$. Back in the early to mid 1990's they weren't compatible with most systems out there. We had a brainiac technician who complete all his certs without studying and he couldn't even get an ATI card installed in a Compaq system. And as I also said, I don't know how ATI cards are nowadays as I have completely steered clear of them to this day. It is kinda funny though, it took me over 3 weeks to find a laptop that has a Geforece 6600Go video card and not some ATI thing in it.

cannonfodder

cannonfodder

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Join Date: May 2005

Good Old North East of England

Mo/Me

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pharoke
# hours is insane, but I am talking pre-catalyst/forceware days. It wasn't that easy back then, hell this is pre-Voodoo cards. the standard cards were easy to install, along with the voodoo cards when they came out, but the ATI cards were nothing but a pain in the @$$. Back in the early to mid 1990's they weren't compatible with most systems out there. We had a brainiac technician who complete all his certs without studying and he couldn't even get an ATI card installed in a Compaq system. And as I also said, I don't know how ATI cards are nowadays as I have completely steered clear of them to this day. It is kinda funny though, it took me over 3 weeks to find a laptop that has a Geforece 6600Go video card and not some ATI thing in it.
Sorry, I cant comment on the earlier cards, the earliest I had was a Rage pro, ATI's cards these days are simple to install, just like Nvidia's I now have 2 nvidia cards(A spanking new 7800gtx) and an ATI one, Don't stay clear just because of what happened years ago, it would be a shame as ATI make damn good cards........

Sir Skullcrasher

Sir Skullcrasher

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Jun 2005

California

15 over 50 [Rare]

W/Mo

I have a ATI x800 xt Platinum Edition videocard, and it runs the game well. I don't see all the fuss about shader model 3.0, i mean what does it do exactly?

nailz

Banned

Join Date: Aug 2005

Quote:
Originally Posted by sir skulkcrasher
I have a ATI x800 xt Platinum Edition videocard, and it runs the game well. I don't see all the fuss about shader model 3.0, i mean what does it do exactly?

you can find more information about Shader Model here

that site compares 2.0 to 3.0 and gives a brief description of what it is. It's not terribly important right now as I don't think any games have been released that take advantage of 3.0 yet. I'm sure by the time they are releasing games that take advantage of this technology ATI will have a line of cards that support it.

Old Dood

Old Dood

Middle-Age-Man

Join Date: May 2005

Lansing, Mi

W/Mo

I just purchased and installed an ATI 800XL with no problems at all. I never knew that Guild Wars could look that darn good. I ran around looking at everyones armor. They must of thought I was some n00b.

Rasstir

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Aug 2005

Black Phoenix Elites

E/Me

Well I built my computer last month.

My video card: Connect 3d radeonx600pro, cost me around 86 dollars. I play max settings 4xaa (although not super high res, hurts my eyes). I've had bad experiences with nVidia cards, ATI is the way to go. Maximum PC did a "head2head" comparing ATI's Radeon x800 pro platinum to nVidia's Geforce 6800 Ultra. ATI won due to the 6800's noise level, 2 slot required. and redonkulous power supply requirments. They knocked off a point from the radeon for lack of pixel shader 3 support but that's fine, that tech won't be seen for a while. I guess it's too late buy my advice is, buy an x600pro (under 100) AND a new motherboard with pci express x16, PCIx16 is new tech but it is definitly something you need to consider, almost all new cards will use it's formfactor. It provides double the bandiwith of 8xAGP.

Also if this helps my friends all run it on max settings with these cards

1. crappy dell with x300se
2. athlon xp1700+ with radeon 9800pro

Old Dood

Old Dood

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Join Date: May 2005

Lansing, Mi

W/Mo

Yes I am pretty surprised at the lack of noise from the ATI 800 series. I had the case opened today installing another hard drive and booted it up while the side was off. I could hardly hear the video card. (In fact the whole darn computer is quiet.) Must be because of the lower power requirement that keeps it quiet. The Nvidia cards need extra power cables hooked up to them. That is not necessarily a bad thing. Just there way of doing it. I suppose that is why they have the King Card in the 7800 series.

Rasstir

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Aug 2005

Black Phoenix Elites

E/Me

yup, nVidia's "power cards" have 2 slot fans that sound like a leafblower. My pc has one of the quietest HDs you can buy but that doesn't really matter because in total I have 9 fans on it (motherboard fan, HSF, GPU fan, top side two front and one 120mm back one) so it's loud anyway. You can still get the x800's in AGP formfactor which is good. One of my friends has a newish built computer but the videocard is a 9200 pro so he's upgrading to an x800pro AGP. It's really up to you to choose what brand of card to get but my 2 cents is ATI.

Old Dood

Old Dood

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Join Date: May 2005

Lansing, Mi

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Yes it always boils down to personal preference. I have no loyalties with either company. Both companies have dropped the ball in recent years. I use to have(well I still do in a computer that is collecting dust) an ATI All in Wonder Pro 8 meg card. It was not very good as a 3D card but I shared it with a Voodoo 2 3D 12meg card. I could go into a game and choose which card I wanted to use. Different, but it had it's uses. Back in those days Broadband was not available to me, so having a TV Tuner on the AIW Pro was cool. I could at least watch some TV while it took forever to download anything.

As for quiet computers, my Dell Dimension 5100 is so quiet I have to lean over to hear it. I really expected to get allot of noise from the X800XL. Nope, just the start-up rush sound, then shhhhh! I see allot of people here trashing pre-built systems like Dell. But I am really happy with their new box design and new PSU (BTX over ATX). Also Dells will limit you on their BIOs. You can not change/overclock them like you can when you build your own. I like that too. I like stability compared to a overclocked system that can crash or plain fry itself. However, you can just write over the Dell BIOs with an Intel BIOs if you want to really make some changes. Voids your Dell warranty, but then again how many of us actually buy the warranty? I paid $22.00 for a limited one for one year on this new one. That is just in case something major dies soon. I figure if something is gonna break then it will do it in 12 months.

Bast

Bast

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Apr 2005

You should also make sure your power supply can handle a new video card. Bad power supplies are responsible for a lot of computer weirdness, and an overdriven PS can die in a spectacular fashion and take all the other hardware with it. I believe you need like a 350 watt PS at least for the 6000 series cards. What's important really is the 12v rail(s) since the CPU, video, all motors, and many other things run on the 12v. Try to get a PS with at least 30 amps total output on the 12v rail. Better yet, get one of those newer ATX12V 2.0 ones that have 2 smaller (typically 15A and 17A) 12v rails. They're much more reliable and give cleaner power, so you are less likely to get owned by the power supply.

Old Dood

Old Dood

Middle-Age-Man

Join Date: May 2005

Lansing, Mi

W/Mo

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bast
You should also make sure your power supply can handle a new video card. Bad power supplies are responsible for a lot of computer weirdness, and an overdriven PS can die in a spectacular fashion and take all the other hardware with it. I believe you need like a 350 watt PS at least for the 6000 series cards. What's important really is the 12v rail(s) since the CPU, video, all motors, and many other things run on the 12v. Try to get a PS with at least 30 amps total output on the 12v rail. Better yet, get one of those newer ATX12V 2.0 ones that have 2 smaller (typically 15A and 17A) 12v rails. They're much more reliable and give cleaner power, so you are less likely to get owned by the power supply.
Yes! Good Point. With Dell computers they underate their PSUs. So a 250w PSU can handle a 300w card. Still you should like you said watch for what you have drawing power. Mainly on boot up. My Dim 4600 has a 250w PSU. The ATI 9800pro vid card in it requires a 300w PSU. However, since I am not taxing that PSU that much I can get away with it. Been doing that for two years on that computer.

My New Dim 5100 has a 305w PSU. My new vid card requires a 300w PSU and since I have added 2 hard drives,2 optical drive and 1 floppy I figured I would go with the X800XL vid card. This way I know I am not over taxing my computer. Also it is real good to clean it out once a month of dust. Trust me on this. Dust and dirt will kill a computer FAST!

Krank

Krank

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Jul 2005

W/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pharoke
The reason I said make sure it is nVidia is because I have never in my life gotten an ATI to install easily. I used to manage a computer store and me and all the techs hated ATI anything as it was at least 2-3 hours to get the video card to work right. To this day I still cringe at the idea of ATI video cards, even though my friends say they are really easy to install now. Not once has an nVidia card ever given me problems.
Wow 2-3 hours.... to install a video card? i think you guys needed to go back to school...
15 mins tops, and most of that is just blowing dust out of PC and driver install... hours....thats rediclous man