Author Topic: Video Cards  (Read 3681 times)

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villman420

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Video Cards
« on: February 27, 2006 01:38 am CST »
i know nothing about video cards. my bro builds all our computers and usually uses nvidia geforce cards. someone is selling a used ATI Radeon 9800Pro 128mb card for around $80. can anyone tell me if this is a good or bad idea? or anything about to help me out
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969 06:00 pm CST by villman420 »

KoRo

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« Reply #1 on: February 27, 2006 01:42 am CST »
i personally use a GeForce 7800 GT 256mb (Thank you, Particle!) and it works miracles. From my personal experience (IT/computer professionals would know better), ATI has better functionality (as in accessories, doodads, like All-In-Wonders <3), but nVidia cards have better graphics in general.

As for a 9800? I havent heard many good things about the 9000 series...my friend had a 95 or 9600 and it absolutely sucked. But my old Radeon 7500 worked absolutely great.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969 06:00 pm CST by KoRo »

Dirk

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« Reply #2 on: February 27, 2006 02:22 am CST »
Brand loyalty/generalizations when it comes to video cards is for the birds. Anyone who says otherwise is a communist.

 If you want to find out if that ATI card is a good deal, pricewatch would be a good way to find out how cheap you could get that particular card for (although beware the cheapest few stores on pricewatch if they are drastically lower than what most other stores seem to be selling at.) If you want to find out how well that card will perform, then looking at how it benchmarked compared to similiar generation cards would be best found out on one of the hardware review sites (toms hardware guide, hardocp etc.)

If you are straight wanting to get the best video card you possibly can for X dollars, then go to one of the big name websites like Newegg (walmart of the computer parts world) and look at all available video cards for your particular price point.  Write down the names of those cards and try to find some side by side comparisons for those cards if you can. That would give you the best bang for your buck overall.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969 06:00 pm CST by Dirk »

KoRo

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« Reply #3 on: February 27, 2006 03:04 am CST »
Newegg ftw
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969 06:00 pm CST by KoRo »

Particle

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« Reply #4 on: February 27, 2006 03:11 am CST »
They're both good.  I use ATI, but lateley I've recommended nVidia due to their better performance.  If you have linux ambitions, nVidia is your only real choice.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969 06:00 pm CST by Particle »
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Darwin

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« Reply #5 on: February 27, 2006 06:02 am CST »
The 9500 and 9600 were excellent cards, koro.  Your friend must have had some goofy configuration or something.  

A 9800Pro for $85 is an excellent price.  They perform well, still plays many of the newest games at good quality, and can overclock very well depending on your cooling setup (+memory heatsinks and good gpu sink).

As for you, Particle, for the nVidia switch, wag of the finger  :lol: 1900XTX's are surpassing the 7800 line.  An ATI card will be in my future upgrade path (After DX10 cards come out), so long as that card will have linux support.  As of now, unfortunately, the X*** line doesnt have that great of support, while my 9800 works great.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969 06:00 pm CST by Darwin »



WhoCouldIBe

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« Reply #6 on: February 27, 2006 06:50 am CST »
Quote from: "KoRo"
Newegg ftw


See this malarkey? STOP forkING SPAMMING!
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969 06:00 pm CST by WhoCouldIBe »

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Xenos

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« Reply #7 on: February 27, 2006 07:33 am CST »
Quote from: "KoRo"
Newegg ftw


I buy 99% of my computer items from them.  I heard their prices are not always the lowest but they are pretty good and haven't had a problem with them yet.

My vote ususally goes to nvidia but I'm using an ATI mobility in my laptop and it plays games like HL2 nicely.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969 06:00 pm CST by Xenos »

Particle

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« Reply #8 on: February 27, 2006 12:18 pm CST »
I'll put it this way:  ATI's Linux drivers make a Radeon X800XT PE  perform at about the same speed as a Radeon 9500 in Windows.  That is not an exaggeration of the problem, either.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969 06:00 pm CST by Particle »
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KoRo

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« Reply #9 on: February 27, 2006 05:51 pm CST »
Quote from: "WhoCouldIBe"
Quote from: "KoRo"
Newegg ftw

See this malarkeye? STOP forkING SPAMMING!

lol, youre funny

Darwin, my friend hated whatever ATI card he had because it didn't have pixel shader 2.0 or something like that, so his Doom 3 didn't work correctly (or at all) and it pissed him off to no end. I just dont remember the exact model number.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969 06:00 pm CST by KoRo »

Xenos

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« Reply #10 on: February 27, 2006 06:43 pm CST »
Quote from: "KoRo"
Quote from: "WhoCouldIBe"
Quote from: "KoRo"
Newegg ftw

See this malarkeye? STOP forkING SPAMMING!
lol, youre funny

Darwin, my friend hated whatever ATI card he had because it didn't have pixel shader 2.0 or something like that, so his Doom 3 didn't work correctly (or at all) and it pissed him off to no end. I just dont remember the exact model number.


If you buy a video card for a specific game its important to make sure the card supports the features in the game. Things like DirectX version, Pixel shaders, and OpenGL version. I havent seen any games that require an OpenGL version to get nice graphics. Mostly its the DirectX version.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969 06:00 pm CST by Xenos »

Particle

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« Reply #11 on: February 27, 2006 10:40 pm CST »
With the exception of iD Software creations, OpenGL is rarely used in today's games.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969 06:00 pm CST by Particle »
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Darwin

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« Reply #12 on: March 1, 2006 03:01 pm CST »
Quote from: "Particle"
I'll put it this way:  ATI's Linux drivers make a Radeon X800XT PE  perform at about the same speed as a Radeon 9500 in Windows.  That is not an exaggeration of the problem, either.

Not in my case of Unreal Tournament 2004.  I get a higher framerate there.  But I do see some instances in Doom III that are odd.  In the opening sequence, especially when the ship decends into Mars City, I get a better framerate than when I use windows.  But, during gameplay, I encounter more hangups.  Kinda odd.

Quote from: "KoRo"
Darwin, my friend hated whatever ATI card he had because it didn't have pixel shader 2.0 or something like that, so his Doom 3 didn't work correctly (or at all) and it pissed him off to no end. I just dont remember the exact model number.


9500 and 9600 cards have pixel shader 2.0 capability.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969 06:00 pm CST by Darwin »



12Stones

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« Reply #13 on: March 1, 2006 04:24 pm CST »
Iv'e still got a 9800 XT 256mb card from 2 christmas' ago, and it still runs anything I throw at it with ease.  Iv'e yet to come across a game where I couldn't run it in 1280x1024 with the highest AA / graphics settings.  I run into a VERY SLIGHT slow down with I go up to higher resolutions than that with the highest AA / graphics settings, but if I turn off AA then it runs fine.  Doom 3 is the only game iv'e played where I had any trouble at the highest resolution and settings, though.  It really wasn't even a slowdown, but I got the little white dots due to overheating, so I bought like a $40 aftermarket fan and put it on there, and it runs fine now.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969 06:00 pm CST by 12Stones »

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Darwin

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« Reply #14 on: March 3, 2006 12:46 am CST »
My artifacts on Doom III always show as black.  Weird, eh?

Fear near killed my 9800XT.  It ran good until I turned on all  those pretty shaders.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969 06:00 pm CST by Darwin »