Recommend a budget video card

shadrach · Post by **shadrach** » Sun Sep 26, 2004 10:15 am

I'm planning to replace my current box (see my sig) with a modest system: Intel 2.8G, D865PERLX, SATA, 512MB DDR400, etc...

I was looking at getting an ATI 9600Pro or something in the under $150 price range, but I'm so out of the loop right now I don't have a clue on what card to get. I want something better than my current GF4 Ti4200, something that could play Doom3 decent and move BF1942 along very fast, but most of my gaming is on the xbox lately.

Will the ATI9600 pro be a good improvement over the Ti4200, or is there something else I should be looking at?

Short version: "What's the best buy for a 3D card around $120-$150 right now?"

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Sun Sep 26, 2004 10:34 am

I would emphasize two things...specifically if you wish to run Doom 3 well.

Stretch the budget just a whisker...as the midrange cards such as nVidias 6600gt, and ATIs x700xt, are in the "just under 200 bucks" range right now. I'm sure quite soon they will be dropping a bit more towards the sub 175 range.

The 9600s will improve some games over the 4200...but the 9600 is an old card itself, and shows its age in todays current games.

And...todays games really do benefit quite a bit running a gig of RAM, compared to just 512 megs of RAM. Honestly...it's a big difference...going from 512 to 1024 really does make a difference in todays games.

BTW, long time no see!

shadrach · Post by **shadrach** » Sun Sep 26, 2004 10:57 am

It's defintely been a while since I posted here, I don't even know WTF a 6600gt or x700xt is...LOL

Yeah...I'll probably spend the extra $$ on getting the memory up to 1GB if I do all this. The current box is running okay, but I've got a occasional hardware lockup that I'm trying to pinpoint.

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Sun Sep 26, 2004 9:03 pm

shadrach wrote:It's defintely been a while since I posted here, I don't even know WTF a 6600gt or x700xt is...LOL

Todays current midrange cards.

nVidias high end cards are the 6800 family, with the 6600 being the midrange. Last years models were the 5600/5700/5800
ATIs high end cards are the 800xt family, with the 700xt being the midrange.
Last years models were the 9800/9600. Year before that were 9700/9500

Joel · Post by **Joel** » Sun Sep 26, 2004 9:07 pm

Does anyone know where you can get the 6600GT and X700XTs yet?

zooner · Post by **zooner** » Sun Sep 26, 2004 9:18 pm

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDe ... =Refurbish

150

Joel · Post by **Joel** » Sun Sep 26, 2004 10:07 pm

The 6600, not gt, is going to be around that much brand new.