ATI RADEON

[shadowagent]

I'm upgrading my computer and I'm going to be a new graphic card. I can get a ATI RADEON for 150.00 and I was wondering if you guys think this is a good card and if it will last me a few years. The new Geforce2 Ultra is coming out and will probably not be very cheap and I know that the RADEON surpasses the Geforce MX at higher resolutions so I just wanna hear your input

thanx

 

[Comp10]

Out of all the cards out now the Radeon is by far the most future proof, and for 150 you could hardly go wrong. The Radeon has exellent DVD, 2D, and 32 bit color performance, I would not hesitate to reccomend one.

 

[StickHead]

I disagree. For a $150 you must be talking the 32mb SDR Radeon? This is faster than an GeForce2 MX? I think not.

 

[Dark4ng3l]

It's faster than mx because of the hiden surface removal

 

[Ben88]

No he was talking about the DDR. They're right around $150 now.

 

[snow patrol]

In actual fact, a 32meg SDR Radeon can hold it's own very well against an MX...

 

[hjs]

The Mx is a bit faster at 16bit and the radeon is a bit faster at 32bits

The DDR Radeon is indeed the best card at the moment that will last some time. It has the most DX8 features already built in.

 

[Wooster]

HOLD.... are you guys are talking about Best Buy deal with $50 rebate? I am still confuse what kind of memory they are using.

 

[GaryB]

Just bought one at Best Buy is is the 32MB DDR Radeon. It too feel that for $150 this card is the most economical buy at this time. Better performance than the Geforce MX less prive then the Geforce 2.

 

[BAMAVOO]

I have the Radeon 64meg Vivo (Replaced 64meg GTS) THIS IS BY FAR THE BEST VIDEO CARD TO DATE!!!!!!! Man I can't believe how much better games look on this thing. True the GTS was faster but who notices? Not me.. I will keep this card until it quits running....Ask Murray he knows I like to trade video cards like crazy..But this thing is the real deal..Fast,beautiful and future proof!!!!!!!! Get the RADEON!

 

[shanehi]

BAMAVOO:
If the GTS was faster, why is the Radeon the best card ever?

 

[Agar]

Heheh!!
There it is! The usual 'Faster is better' statement!

This kind of philosophy truly sucks. Will you buy a card that can only renders in 8bit just because in runs Q3 at 400 FPS?

Don't get me wrong. GF2/MX and alikes are all excellent cards. But personnaly, I do not buy something just because 'it is faster'. What about visual quality, features, lasting time? You have to take those in considerations when buying a card, or any computers components (or anything!!). Or just buy the fastest one because its the fastest. Hehe. What an argument... anyway

 

[AMDfreak]

I got my Radeon 64 TIVO from the deal Hawk ran last week and this thing rocks! Games look great and DVD is really smooth. I even have it O/C'd: cpu=210 mem=205DDR (410) default is 183/183

 

[shanehi]

Agar,
It wasn't an argument. It was a question. I was asking, since BAMAVOO doesn't consider the speed to be that important, what makes the Radeon so great to him/her? I'm genuinely interested because I am considering buying one of these two cards.

And when we talk of "speed" it means all other things being equal. Such as bit depth. Obviously picture quality is important, but if you read anandtech reviews, you know that both cards have good quality images. High frame rates are very important to me (and a few others, I suspect) and I am willing to sacrifice other "features" that I will probably never use.

So, BAMAVOO or any other Radeon owner,
I am interested in why you love your cards so much. Convince me and I'll go buy one!

 

[Trifecta]

Seriously!

I cannot believe how many people rant on and on about the stupid frikin frame rates of the GTS.

I have the following vcards:

Asus v6800 (Gforce DDR)
Hercules MX (geforce that is..)
Elsa Gladiac (Geforce 2)
Voodoo 3 3000 (oldie, but a goodie)
ATI Radeon 32 DDR (best buy deal)

Ok, So the Gladiac seems to be a bit faster when your talkin, 1024 with texture levels and anti aliasing pushed to the max... But I seriously must do tests to see the frame rate difference.

Besides, who really pushes the levels of detail to that extreme in order to play a game at a competitive level... NO ONE!!!

Most of us just want to see 800x600 in flawless detail with blazing speed. Any of those cards above will do that in most games. The Geforce, quite honestly has some major performance issues under games that were specifically designed for cards like the voodoo (Dues Ex)

The ATI, IMHO, is the best card for the money at 150 dollars. The graphix just look sooo smooth with that card in 32bit with pretty darn good speed. Sure, you get about 12-20 fps higher in the GF2, but I just want to meet the anal retentive person who actually notices the difference. I mean, come on! 112 fps versus 128?!?!?!

that is rediculous speeds. Are you really going to pay 110+ to get 12 frames per second more?

You would be way better off spending 150 for the RAdeon and then slapping another 128 mb of RAM for the next 100 , better yet use the 100+ for a better processor.

I am sick and tired of the "Geforce is So much faster bull cr@p." I have one. It is faster. IT WAS NOT WORTH THE MONEY. The 150 radeon was the best deal on a video card that I have ever gotten. PEROID.

 

[shanehi]

Trifecta,
Thanks for that post! I agree with your sentiment, and I am very happy to learn that all these cards rock. I can't wait to get one. It sounds like they are going to blow away my aged SLI Voodoo2s!

I am interested in the Best Buy deal I keep reading about. What's the deal?

Thanks!

 

[shanehi]

<clipped duplicate post>

 

[Trifecta]

go to BB, buy the card, send in the mail in rebate. get 50 dollars back

they supply the forms, you send in the copy of recipt and UPC ...

easy as that!

 

[shanehi]

Trifecta,
Thanks!

Sorry to be a pest, but how long is the rebate offered? Should I run out tonight and get it? You know I'm just looking for a good excuse!

 

[Wooster]

I was surprise no one mention about the driver support. nVidia definity have mature driver support now, but what about ATI?

Currently I am also in the market looking for a new video card. Pretty much same price for both GeForce 2 GTS 32MB OEM &amp; ATI Radeon retail. I still haven't decide which one to go. Go for performance or go for quality. Hard decision to make.

shanehi
$50 rebate postmark sometime in Feburary 2001.

 

[radeonUltra]

As far as I'm concerned, my Radeon has had much less problems than my GeForce2 GTS did. A lot of ex-GeForce owners would agree with me.

Radeon DOES have the best performance you can get on the market today. With the latest drivers, it beats the GTS in most D3D games and surpasses GTS in Q3A in 32-bit.

Even though some Radeon benchmark numbers are slower, the card plays games much smoother, many people have expressed this, but don' know why, here is why: Radeon has little FRAME RATE FLUCTUATION compared to the GeForce2. Who cares about 60fps when you are at 20fps - 80fps. Radeon at 50fps will stay around 40-60fps range, which is much better than having games stutter on a GeForce2.

Also, the third texture unit of the Radeon has yet to be used and will be taken advantage once DX8 games come out, by that time Radeon will beat the GeForce2 GTS by at least 30% due to the extra texture unit

ATI has very crappy marketing which is the reason why many people still buy GeForce2s, but I took a chance to buy a Radeon and I am very impressed.

Current Radeon drivers are much more stable than D3 ones. Radeon has been one of the most stable graphics cards since the launch. New Windows 2000 drivers give me more stability and 30% performance increase in Q3A!

 

[BAMAVOO]

That is MRMr BAMAVOO to you shanehi Well the reason I say it is better is that is doesn't give up that much on fps and definitly adds a new breath of life to looks of things.. I have had all the latest cards and this is by far the BEST to me...You try it and tell me what you think...I am running the Radeon at 4x AGP with Fast writes enabled..Something I could NEVER do with the GTS!!!! I am running an Asus P3V4X..This Radeon installed perfect and is running like a champ..Don't take my word for newbie..Buy you one and FEEL and SEE the difference...

KEVIN
BAMAVOO

 

[rpr]

Hey Mr. Bamavoo: How did you get 4X AGP on the P3V4X? I have the same setup but the Asus probe only reports 2X AGP for me.

 

[RobsTV]

Trifecta, $260+ for a GF2 GTS? Huh?
$175 shipped seems to be fairly easy to find on AnandTech

I got 2 of these yesterday from ubid.com
VisionTek GeForce2 GTS 32meg DDR.
First one cost $159 + $7.99 shipping.
Second one purchased 4 hours later cost $144.
These are brand new cards, and no rebate required.

So, if the prices were equal, would you still go ATI?

 

[BAMAVOO]

Yep I still go ATI...I have had both.......The Visual Quality along with the speed of the ATI along with everything it offers the GTS can't touch is reason enough.. I have to say that I have had every Nvidia card since the TNT was introduced...This 64meg ViVo is by far the best Video card that ever touched a system I have personally owned....

As far as the AGP 4x..I installed the lastest 4 in 1 drivers and installed the new drivers from ATI and presto AGP 4x with Fast Writes enabled..Quake3 never looked so good! It turned a rather UGLY Microsoft Golf 2000 into a work of art..I am still testing other games I have at this time.Just the sheer beauty of Q3 gets me killed just looking around

Just looked again.I am running 1004

Here is my system
p3 800 @ 800
128meg Micron PC 133
Asus P3V4X (1004)
IBM 30gig 75GXP
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