[Razdex]

I'm having trouble chosing which video card to go with. My system consists of a AMD XP 1700+, 512MB PC2100 DDR, ASUS A7V266-C motherboard, etc. I'll probably be chosing one of the following ASUS cards: V9280S2 SuperFast/TVD, GeForce4 Ti4200-8X, 128MB DDR; or RADEON 9600XT 128MB DDR, AGP8X, DVI; or V9570 GFX-5700 128MB DDR, AGP8X, TV-OUT, DVI. I'm looking for gaming performance, any opinions?

[digitalwanderer]

I'm not sure what a V9280S2 SuperFast/TVD is, but I own a 9600 Pro and a GF4 ti4400 and the 9600 Pro blows the GF4 out of the water. (And I LIKE my GF4!)

I'd recomend the 9600XT, it's better than my 9600 Pro.

[incurable]

Originally Posted by Razdex

I'm having trouble chosing which video card to go with. My system consists of a AMD XP 1700+, 512MB PC2100 DDR, ASUS A7V266-C motherboard, etc. I'll probably be chosing one of the following ASUS cards: V9280S2 SuperFast/TVD, GeForce4 Ti4200-8X, 128MB DDR; or RADEON 9600XT 128MB DDR, AGP8X, DVI; or V9570 GFX-5700 128MB DDR, AGP8X, TV-OUT, DVI. I'm looking for gaming performance, any opinions?

The 9600 XT should both be faster and offer better IQ than a 5700 non-Ultra, so I'd go with that option.

cu

incurable

[Sandwich]

this is a nobrainer: 9600XT obviously. The other 2 are worse in every respect.

[TheLonelySwedish]

I wouldn't pick any of them. I'd shell out 15 to 30 bucks more and get a nice 5900XT or a 9800 Pro.

[BRiT]

no brainer: 9600XT.

If you were going to shell out $200, then the ATI 9800Pro is the card to get.

[digitalwanderer]

I'm with the Swede, if you can find/afford a 9800 Pro in that range GET IT!!!!

You'll come back and thank us, honest.

[ben6]

With a Athlon 1700+ XP I would upgrade the CPU and get a 9600XT both

[Razdex]

Thanks everybody! I really appreciate all your help!!!

[Unit01]

Make sure the 9600XT isn't an ASUS. Haven't heard too much great stuff about ASUS ATI cards

[vb]

Originally Posted by ben6

With a Athlon 1700+ XP I would upgrade the CPU and get a 9600XT both

My Athlon 1700+ XP runs @ 2.33GHz on a 166Mhz bus.

Well, in loud mode.

[Pete]

If you're in the US, you have far better choices than a $153 9600XT. Namely, a $173 9800 (Powercolor @ NewEgg) or a similarly-priced (but less desirable than a 9800, IMO) 5900XT. The extra $20 nets you a heck of a lot more performance.

[Nameless]

Ok here's my question in a similar vein. Given the prices at PriceWatch. Which card is the best bang for the buck at in the 50-150 dollar range and why.

Go easy on me I'm a newb. I think a requirement would be at least SM2.0, but what do I know. I'm not so worried about memory on board, again, unless I should be. So any reasoning used would be good too. Thanks much.

[digitalwanderer]

As usual when someone gives me a price range to stick to I go a few bucks over.

9700 Pro for $165us, (the second one, not the first one...the first is a non-pro).

Or staying within your budget I'd get the 9600 Pro for $110, (not the first few, they're all SEs and SEs SUCK!).

What kind of processor do you have? That would be the decider for me. I actually have both cards right now and could recomend either of 'em in a heartbeat, but I'd definately spend the extra bucks for the 9700 Pro. (GADS I LOVE MY 9700 PRO!!!!! )

[Nameless]

Originally Posted by digitalwanderer

What kind of processor do you have? That would be the decider for me.

I have an Athlon XP 2500+, how does that figure in?

edit: Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention. This is specifically for development. So faster shaders is better than more ram. And game computability isn't truly high on the list compared to feature set, except I figure they kinda go hand in hand.

[Pete]

Nameless, as I said, I think a $173 9800 is far better than anything you can buy for $150. NewEgg customer reviews seem to indicate good luck OCing to 9800P speeds, too.

Alternatively, a ~$110 9600 Pro, as dw suggested, is also a great deal in its price range. Atacom has a less-than-stellar ResellerRating, and you have to add shipping. NewEgg's $112 (shipped) 9600P has TSOP RAM, which may well OC worse than the 9600P's regular BGA RAM.

Both are solid cards at their price points, but if you want mess around with AA+AF at high framerates, you're going to want to pony up for the 9800.

If your main concern is gaming development, I'm honestly not sure if an FX 5700 or 5900XT's SM2.0+ specs would be better than the ATi's faster SM2.0. If you can wait few months, consider the MSRP$300 SM3.0 6800.

(Remember, OC at your own risk. Don't go cryin' to your card maker if you break something, as it just raises prices for the rest of us.)

[Joe DeFuria]

Originally Posted by Nameless

edit: Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention. This is specifically for development. So faster shaders is better than more ram. And game computability isn't truly high on the list compared to feature set, except I figure they kinda go hand in hand.

I'll have to cast my vote for a 9700 or 9800 then.

You will be significantly increase shader performance (around 2X) with one of those compared to a 9600 variety. If there were any 9500 Pros around...I'd recommend them.

Otherwise, get the 9600 that has the fastest core clock you can find.

[TheLonelySwedish]

If you're a betting man, however, and *just* can't go over 150, A 9800SE with the L-shaped memory (256bit path) might just be your crap shoot for 135$ at newegg.com. For a safe bet though, the 9600 pro is fairly decent, and rather cheap. On another note, if you're going to go with the gamble, make sure you do your homework to get the right PCB 9800SE, and softmod it to unlock the other 4 pipes. I can't guarantee anything though, as my friend and I tried, with our limited softmodding knowledge, and all we got were some pretty checker and line effects.

[Diplo]

I'd get a 9800 Pro off Ebay - there's bound to be loads being sold cheap soon. You may be CPU limited, but at least you'll be able to crank up the AA/AF and resolution for 'free'.