I’ve got an Geforce 256 card (Asus v6600) with 32 meg (Athlon 1900+ system with 512 meg ram). It’s working fine, except I’m really noticing some framerate drops in newer games. I’ve been telling myself that I should wait for the Geforce FX series to come out before I upgrade, but i’m thinking that could get pushed back and I’ll be waiting too long.
Futureshop (Best Buy kind of place) has a ATI 9000 Pro/64 meg for on-sale for $150 CDN. From benchmarks I think it the ATI should be twice as fast as my current card. I know for an extra $100 I can get a Geforce 4 ti4200, but I just can’t afford that at the moment.
Do you think the ATI will do much for overall video performance? A worthwhile upgrade or just throwing my money away?
Are the newer games slower to the point of unplayability, or is it just the occasional stutter? If you can still play the games, I’d say go with it. If it causes you to throw your keyboard across the room, though, it’s time to upgrade. Or stop playing such demanding games (I waited six months before I could upgrade to a GeForce 2 card before I started playing Morrowind).
In either case, don’t buy an upgrade so you can play a game that’s out now. Upgrade your system so it can play games that will be out in another six months to a year. What do this summer’s games look like they’re going to need?
If you insist on a new card now and don’t want to wait for the FX, I’d consider getting either an ATI9700 (which should be under $400 CDN if you shop around) or a GF4 (or heck! Even a 3 is good if money is an issue!) If you go the GF route, just be sure not to buy an MX.
I’m runing an Athlon 1800+ with a GeForce 4400ti and 512MB DDR RAM. I’ve been running “No One Lives Forever 2,” “Hitman 2,” “Morrowind,” and “PGA 2003” at 1024x768 with 32-bit color and 4x anti-aliasing without a hitch. For what it’s worth, I would wait until the GeForce FX is released (less than 2 months) and look for a good deal on either a GeForce 4400 or 4600.
I have no experience with the ATI Radeon 9700. It features DirectX 9 support, but DX9 games probably won’t be available for another year.
“Doom III” will be the next real test, may have to break out my overclocking skills for that one.
I agree with bernse. There’s no point in spending money to buy a card that’s still a few years out of date – you’re just prolonging the problem. I’d buy a Geforce 4 Ti4200. Check http://www.newegg.com – they have good prices on video cards.
A GeForce 4 Ti4200 would cost you $250! That’s absurd! I got mine for less than $150! It’a not an MX, but an honest to got GeForce 4 Ti4200. Hell, I have the latest issue of TigerDirect.com catalogue here, and it has that card for $99, after a $30 mail-in rebate. Made by Verto even, one of the best GeForce card manufactorers.
Oh, and as a side note, I have the same system as Murcielago.
My GF4 Ti 4200 has served well for me. As for ATI, I’ve heard real bad things about their drivers…so if you do go down that path, expect some sort of irritation from their stuff.
In Anon’s defense, he did say CDN$250, so that’s about what…US$50 (just kidding. You should be able to get a GF4 Ti4200 for around US$100-120. Last I heard, these were still the best “value per frame”.
Dittos on the 4200… None of the ATI cards before the 9700 can hold a candle to the GF4Ti series… Avoid the GF4MX series, they are brain-damaged loss leaders.
Get the 64MB version, not the 128, as the RAM on 64MB boards is faster, and will allow easier overclocking. The 4200 overclocks very well and very easily. Most cards come with easy-to-use software to O/C the GPU and RAM on the card separately, so you just bump it, run 3DMark or something to make sure it’s stable, and you’re good to go. You can O/C a 4200 to the same speed as a 4400 without too much problem.
I can recommend the Leadtek, I’ve run one and it is insanely good, the PNY Verto is a good one too. Look for heatsinks on the RAM chips, makes O/Cing more effective. Both the Verto and Leadtek have them, in fact the Leadtek 128MB has a mammoth chromed heatsink that wraps around the card, pretty slick looking, and one damn heavy card!
Usually I go with the more pricey (longer lasting) technology, but I was thinking of just using the 9000 as a temporary solution to keep me going until the FX comes out. I guess I got that “gotta upgrade” twitch and it’s making me a little crazy.
The word on Ars Technica is that the Radeon 9500 Pro is a great card. A little out of your range, maybe, but something to consider. I’m planning to go this route in the near future.
on a budget: ATI Radeon 8500 LE 128 MB ($88 on pricewatch)
skys the limit: GeForceFX 256 MB (~$400)
I have the 8500 and it will play anything you throw at it, I even managed 15 fps on the Doom III alpha. The included drivers aren’t up to Nvidia’s standards but the newest drivers from Rage3D are always excellent. Also, I disagree with Raven, 128 mb is only an extra $10-$20 and newer games like UT2003 and Jedi Knight II use massive texture files and benefit from more memory.