whats a good graphics card? (1 Viewer)

[Ghost1788]

Currently the 6600GT is the card to buy for the best value it plays newer games relatively well such as Battlefield 2.
but like others have said if you are looking to improve gaming performance, improvement is relative to what you have already. It might be possible to upgrade your CPU or RAM which would give you a better performance boost.
tell us your comps config and we'll make a judgement.

Oh I wish I got crank up my FSAA and Anistropic filtering on my little raedon 9550....

Does brand matter with graphics cards that much (ie performance wise). I'm seriously thinking of a 6600GT, but prices can vary..so do cheaper cards generally suck compared to more expensive brands?

Different Brands crank out cards that are better for different purposes, i've heard some brands are just known to be expensive for no apparent reason ie. ASUS graphics cards

 

[SashatheMan]

with 2.4 gig intel pentium processor and 1024 mbs of RAM , what card do u think will work to its max capacity?

u need any more info ?

 

[Immolate]

The 6600GT would most probably be the best bang for your buck, if you're willing to stretch your budget a little bit further. I have heard nothing but praise for the 6600GT, many people are pleased with them.

Check out staticice.com for the best price avaliable.

 

[Templar]

With that CPU I don't think there will be any severe limitation on using a high end AGP video card, although I don't think it's good value to get a 6800GT/Ultra in that system unless you're an avid gamer, for which then you'll be trying to get a new system with PCIe and Athlon 64. As suggested, 6600GT is great value for performance, and will suit pretty much all the needs unless you want to crank up FSAA and AS.

As for CPU limitations, I have played Doom 3 in HD at 1280 with GIMPS running in the background with 50% CPU ultilisation. No effect on gameplay, although I don't have numerical data. With 3DMark05, it still returns a decent score of just over 4000, which isn't bad compared with the stock (no overclocking, minimal processes running in background) score of just over 4700. The processor does have HT on though.

On CPU limitations, if you have something over 2GHz for a Pentium and any Athlon 64 processor, CPU limitations is mostly a black and white area. Games where CPU will cause limitation will still have those limitations even if you have an Athlon FX.

Equiski: As you know, the FX series had some of the worst architecture ever seen, and 5200 being the lowest of that series...well, it's obviously a piece of crap.

 

[SashatheMan]

Didn't you just buy a FX5200 a few months back? Why are you asking?

curious.
plus i might get sometihng even better and flog this one of at ebay

 

[t-i-m-m-y]

Sashatheman: 6600GT would be best for you. for <250 you can get a XFX or XpertVisions 6600GT

equiski: Yes I'm very happy with the card. Its fanless, which is why I bought it, and as for VIVO, I haven't tried it yet, I don't need it anyway. Umm, memory overclocks pretty poorly, but the core is okay. I got 3877 in 3dmark05 with my CPU @ 3200+, if thats any indication of performance. Now, off to play GTA:SA with my new card

 

[SashatheMan]

Sashatheman: 6600GT would be best for you. for <250 you can get a XFX or XpertVisions 6600GT

equiski: Yes I'm very happy with the card. Its fanless, which is why I bought it, and as for VIVO, I haven't tried it yet, I don't need it anyway. Umm, memory overclocks pretty poorly, but the core is okay. I got 3877 in 3dmark05 with my CPU @ 3200+, if thats any indication of performance. Now, off to play GTA:SA with my new card

how do the differnt 6600 models differ? they always put some letters afterwards

 

[t-i-m-m-y]

Okay. 6600GT is the better version of the 6600. For your system, I recommend the 6600GT, and not the plain 6600 card.

For your info, 6600GT's run faster since they use DDR3 memory, even though they may have less memory than some of the 6600s.

 

[equiski]

Equiski: As you know, the FX series had some of the worst architecture ever seen, and 5200 being the lowest of that series...well, it's obviously a piece of crap.

I know all too well... I have one :'[. Its just that a few months back a number of us recommended to Sasha that he spend a little extra to buy at least a Radeon 9500 / 9600 series card, but he bought the FX anyway.

equiski: Yes I'm very happy with the card. Its fanless, which is why I bought it, and as for VIVO, I haven't tried it yet, I don't need it anyway. Umm, memory overclocks pretty poorly, but the core is okay. I got 3877 in 3dmark05 with my CPU @ 3200+, if thats any indication of performance. Now, off to play GTA:SA with my new card

Thats good to hear timmy. The heatpipe cooling was a feature for me too.

 

[Arvin Sloane]

Anything that is ATI related, and has an ’x’ in its name. And forshame for people that actually benchmark their cards. Forshame. For chewy shame. Mmm, rich shamery.

 

[Templar]

Anything that is ATI related, and has an ’x’ in its name. And forshame for people that actually benchmark their cards. Forshame. For chewy shame. Mmm, rich shamery.

Non of the cards with x except the 800 family is available on AGP, I don't think a 2.4GHz P4 system has PCIe.

And even if you have PCIe, 6600GT, in my opinion, is much better than the X700Pro.

 

[RUB!X]

6600gt seams like the standout option here .... cant go wrong

 

[Arvin Sloane]

http://www.ati.com/products/gamer.html

Lies! So many bittersweet chocolate like lies!

 

[SashatheMan]

I know all too well... I have one :'[. Its just that a few months back a number of us recommended to Sasha that he spend a little extra to buy at least a Radeon 9500 / 9600 series card, but he bought the FX anyway.



Thats good to hear timmy. The heatpipe cooling was a feature for me too.

i bought the radeon 9250

 

[SashatheMan]

http://www.ati.com/products/gamer.html

Lies! So many bittersweet chocolate like lies!

no point reading about products from its manufacturer . they'll praise a brick if they had to sell one.

 

[Templar]

Do not buy X300 or Geforce 6200 if you want to play recent games. Also avoid the X600 if you want to play recent games with decent quality at native resolutions.

 

[equiski]

i bought the radeon 9250

The more you know.

Anyway, the point remains.

 

[blackbunny]

this is bullshit how xbox 360 has the best graphics and ati does not want to (or still researching) release a matching card for pc's

 

[SashatheMan]

The more you know.

Anyway, the point remains.

i was in desperate need of something over 32mbs and no money at the time. now i have a job and have money , and willing to later buy a better card

 

[fantasia]

i got a p4 3.06 ghz, 512mb ram

i dont need anything too high-tech... i guess something which can support doom 3 would be good enough. Something which can handle some of the new games out.

I'm really trying to stick around the $200 budget, dont want to spend too much just for a graphics card.