Post by: 67thRaptorBull on July 13, 2004, 06:27:00 PM
| QUOTE (okandroid @ Jul 13 2004, 09:25 PM) |
| Alright to prepare for the release of Doom 3 I've decided to opt for a new video card. But the problem is ATI or Nvidia. Ive been looking at the Radeon 9800 Pro and the Geforce FX5900. I can't decide. I have no clue which is better, and most of all I have about 200 bucks to spend, maybe a little more. I want to be able to play doom 3/half life 2 and I have AMD XP 2000+ 512 MB DDR2700 RAM Geforce 4ti4200 64mb. ECS K7S5A Pro Motherboard. |
id go with the ATI 9800 pro (128mb, 256 bit interface), as its what i got and its a very solid, very reliable card
Post by: RiotMasterMeth on July 13, 2004, 07:16:00 PM
Post by: AnThRaX on July 13, 2004, 07:29:00 PM
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on July 14, 2004, 05:48:00 AM
| QUOTE (okandroid @ Jul 14 2004, 07:51 AM) |
| Well, here's another question I was pondering. Do two sticks of ram in a computer need to be the same brand? Because I have crucial ram in there right now but Ive seen some ram much cheaper than that. And what's the best card out there? I can get an official ATI card for 200 by trading in my old video card, but are the other cards better? |
RAM should be the exact same type, maker and speed
the best card for 200 is ATI RADEON 9800 pro 128mb
i suggest you do a search on ebay, as i got mine for 175 from a dealer, and it works fine
Post by: quall on July 14, 2004, 06:06:00 AM
Post by: okandroid on July 14, 2004, 06:10:00 AM
also is the hercules 9800 pro a good video card? because i found one on ebay for like 150 but without disc and cabels, but i can download those.
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on July 14, 2004, 06:37:00 AM
| QUOTE (okandroid @ Jul 14 2004, 09:10 AM) |
| huh? Im looking for ram for my computer. also is the hercules 9800 pro a good video card? because i found one on ebay for like 150 but without disc and cabels, but i can download those. |
yes, any maker of the 9800 pro is a good maker
and hercules boards are guranteed to be 256 bit interface (saphire recently made 9800 pros on 128 bit interface cards on accident)
so yes, its a good deal and card
Post by: Dark_Link2135 on July 14, 2004, 08:11:00 AM
| QUOTE (okandroid @ Jul 14 2004, 03:25 AM) |
| Alright to prepare for the release of Doom 3 I've decided to opt for a new video card. But the problem is ATI or Nvidia. Ive been looking at the Radeon 9800 Pro and the Geforce FX5900. I can't decide. I have no clue which is better, and most of all I have about 200 bucks to spend, maybe a little more. I want to be able to play doom 3/half life 2 and I have AMD XP 2000+ 512 MB DDR2700 RAM Geforce 4ti4200 64mb. ECS K7S5A Pro Motherboard. |
first of all, let me admit i do have a partial bias towards ATI. but as a proud Radeaon 9800 pro owner, ill do my best to help
i got the Sapphire Atlantis ATI Radeaon 9800 Pro w/ 256 MB DDR memory.
this can be flashed to run as a 9800XT.
also, make sure you have enough psu juice to power the nvidia....it uses a lot more power then the ATI, and will take up two slots, a pci slot which it will cover, and obviously the AGP slot.
the ATI takes up one slot, and beats out the nvidia card in *most* gaming benchmarkers. i think the nvidia however does have a slightly better pixel shader 2.0 support, im not sure. probably, since nvidia's forte is their pixel shaders.
the ATI cards tend to come with more freebie's too. ATI is also, from my experience, more accepted among gamers/geeks alike. nvidia will just get a nod of the head, and ATI gets an "awesome" well, thats an exaggeration, but you see what i mean. plus the card is red which is a contrast to nvidia, who keeps the green color you see on every other pc component. so if you have a window, you may want to choose the ATI for apperance purposes.
did nvidia switch to coloring their cards blue? im not sure, but im pretty sure the FX5900 is green. anywho, its not like that really matters. both have DX9 support, so you get the fancy lighing effects.
you may want to step up the processor and ram a bit if you want to play H2 and D3 tho. what you have will barely cut it.
and let be suggest a gigabyte mobo with the nForce2 chipset if you are going with a 32-bit processor. gigabyte usually has very good products, and the nForce chipsets tend to be very stable, especially when overclocking.
for the ram, you may want a high-quality company like corsair, or if you dont have the $$$$$ get kingston. a lot cheaper, but still very good quality.
"RAM should be the exact same type, maker and speed"
it all depends on the motherboard chipset, and a few other factors. there is no doubt it will work better, if it is all the same type, maker and speed, and will run far more stable.
if you want to take a wild chance, try different ones, sometimes it will work. on dual channel though, everything had better be the same speed. maker shouldn't matter terrible on dual channel, but like i said, depends on the chipset you are using.
most often, like 67thRaptorBull said, its a lot better to stay with the same type, maker, and speed.
also something to consider, if you do a lot of video editing/mapmaking/modmaking, etc., where you load a lot of info from the HDD, you may want two chips, and running in dual channel if possible.
also shop newegg. that shipping rate is horrible. newegg has free to extremely cheap shipping and is very realiable. all my stuff from there has always come at least a day early then expected. its fedex express saver, and nothing has come damaged, and its fast, normally about 3 days.
and apart from free shipping, if you dont live in CA, TN, or NJ, there is no tax.
and always lower prices then anywhere else i have shopped.
hope this helps.
Post by: okandroid on July 14, 2004, 08:30:00 AM
Post by: okandroid on July 14, 2004, 09:55:00 AM
http://www.newegg.co...-102-268&depa=1 (Sapphire)
Thanks.
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on July 14, 2004, 10:03:00 AM
Post by: okandroid on July 15, 2004, 09:28:00 AM
Just in time for Doom 3's gold release announcement. Now are there any tips that you guys have for me being a new ATI customer?
Post by: Dagoth on July 15, 2004, 09:56:00 AM
your card should come with Redline which should allow you to play around with the clock settings, so you can overclock it if you wish. remember a 30% increase is about the safe maximum for a card overclock, just remember your default settings & increment your speed increases in small steps checking for any artifacts (corruption) on screen.
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on July 15, 2004, 10:27:00 AM
| QUOTE (Dagoth @ Jul 15 2004, 12:56 PM) |
| here's a tip - D/L the Gargoyle screensaver from ATI's website your card should come with Redline which should allow you to play around with the clock settings, so you can overclock it if you wish. remember a 30% increase is about the safe maximum for a card overclock, just remember your default settings & increment your speed increases in small steps checking for any artifacts (corruption) on screen. |
dagoth, as a 9800 pro owner myself, i bought mine OEM, so i didnt get a install disc
but, is there a utility i can download that will tell me the temp of my 9800 pro?
Post by: Dagoth on July 19, 2004, 04:53:00 AM
Post by: okandroid on July 20, 2004, 06:57:00 PM
Post by: BlackAdam on July 20, 2004, 08:02:00 PM
$200 - Radeon 9800 Pro
$300 - GeForce 6800
$400 - GeForce 6800 GT
No Limit - Radeon X800 XT PE
I just bought a PNY GeForce 6800 GT to replace my Radeon 9800 Pro... one word: WOW!
For overclocking an ATI use ATI Tool, and for Nvidia use Coolbits.
Post by: Dagoth on July 21, 2004, 01:52:00 AM
| QUOTE (BlackAdam @ Jul 21 2004, 04:05 AM) |
| I just bought a PNY GeForce 6800 GT to replace my Radeon 9800 Pro... one word: WOW! |
I've got an XFX 6800GT in my system and it rocks
UT2004 - 1280x1024 maximum detail - maximum filtering
3D Mark 03 Score = 10,961
AquaMark 03 Score = 62,948
and I haven't even started on the overclock yet
Post by: Dagoth on July 21, 2004, 08:25:00 AM
Antec Sonata Piano Black Quiet Case - 380W TruePower Silent PSU
AcoustiPack Pre-cut Foam Kit For Antec Sonata
Viewsonic VP191B Pro Series 19" TFT Monitor - Black
AMD Athlon 64 3200 (Socket 754)
Asus K8VSE Deluxe (Socket 754) Motherboard
Corsair 1GB DDR XMS3200LL Pro TwinX (2x512MB) CAS2
Zalman CNPS7000B-Alcu Ultra-Quiet CPU Cooler
XFX GeForce 6800 GT 256MB
Samsung SpinPoint P SP1614C 160GB SATA 8MB Cache
Samsung SD-616EEPB 16x48x DVD-ROM (Black)
NEC ND2500A 8x DVD±R/±RW (Black)
Akasa Serial ATA 45cm Silver Data Cable
Akasa Rounded Ultra ATA133/100/66 IDE Cable (0.45m) - Metal Braided x2
MS Wireless Optical Desktop Elite
Creative Soundblaster Audigy 5.1
Genlec 1031a reference monitors
Post by: okandroid on July 22, 2004, 05:53:00 PM
Post by: BlackAdam on July 24, 2004, 12:16:00 PM
Antec PlusView1000AMG w/ Vantec Ion 400W
Intel Pentium 4 2.40C @ 3.3GHz (275x12)
MSI 865PE Neo2-S
Zalman CNPS7000-AlCu
Corsair XMS 2x256MB PC3200 2-3-3-6
PNY GeForce 6800GT @ 415/1120
I'm upgrading my case to a Chenbro Gaming Bomb II and my heatsink to a Thermalright XP-120, once they are both released. Hopefully it'll allow me to get that processor to 3.6GHz, since I know the only thing keeping me back is the heat.