Need help with new video card: 9500/9700/ti4200

[DannyNYC]

Hi all,

I need some help in deciding which video card is "right" for my situation. I am about to build a new Shuttle XPC with the following specs:

SB51G (Black)
P4 2.4ghz (533fsb)
512MB Corsair XMS PC2700
80GB Maxtor
TDK 48X CDRW

I do Photoshop quite a bit, but I also play Counterstrike, and Warcraft3. I need to find out which of the current video suits my needs and is the best "bang for my buck." I am looking to spend $200-$250, but would like to stay within the $200 range. I know that the ATI 9500Pro is pretty much the best in my range, but how is it with 2D Photoshop? I remember hearing that Nvidia cards have better 2D? or am I wrong? I also have concerns with heat, that is, since this will be a XPC, heat is a major issue; which card will run cooler?

And one last questions that is not quite about videocards: Does anyone know/have experience with Memory that has heat spreaders, do they really work? Will they make my system a bit cooler? Should I just get Crucial memory instead of spending the extra $30-40 for the Corsairs?

Thank everyone in advance for any suggestions.

Daniel...

 

[Boci]

welcome to the forums Daniel.

I would suggest a Leadtek Geforce Ti4200 series or 4400 or higher with 128MB or ram since these can be had for less than $200. Also, the leadtek Geforce4 Ti cards have very respectable 2d image quality and because nvidia has stable driver support, it seems to be the more "headache free" approach. Since I don't have any experience with the Radeon 9700 and I can't really say much about it. hope this helps.

 

[Markfw]

The Radeon cards have much better 2d than nvidia, and the 9700 (non pro) is definitely in your range at $248 or less. Mine is coming today. I don't know which brand is best though. Everyone likes Sapphire, but I just rma'ed one of those.

 

[HowAboutBob]

NewEgg is selling Ti4200 for as low as 145.
The LEADTEK WINFAST A280 GEFORCE4 TI 4200 sells for $155
(N82E16814122156)
128MB VGA & TV-OUT, DVI-OUT AGP 8X RETAIL BOX

I have built a Shuttle SN41g2 for the wife, and plan on using the onboard video for her.
I also own an Asus A7N8x (mine) and am considering this TI4200.
I also have little experience with ATI but don't want to spend the extra $50 to $150 (?).

IMHO Memory spreaders are not worth the $$$ as memory just does not get that hot.
If you want to keep the noise down (thats important for the Shuttle) I might consider buying a Zalman heat pipe for the card. That would void the warranty on the graphics card, though. Sigh.
Perhaps putting the GPU fan on a monitor so that it slows fan down during normal 2d tasks, and cranks it up when it gets hot.

I bought RAM from Crucial direct and they worked great.
One 512MB DIMM for the Asus, and two 256MB DIMMs for the Shuttle (two DIMMS required to maximize Integrated Graphics).

My philosophy was most bang for the buck.
I bought an AMD 2100XP for both.
Look at Anandtech's review of graphics cards.
http://www.anandtech.com/video/index.html?ATVAR_SECTIONDO=list

Compare to current prices and see where your "sweet spot" is.

Good Luck
Bob

 

[BoomAM]

Before you go out and buy a new Video card, make sure that the Shuttle pc that you are getting has a AGP slot, and enough room for the card that you are going to get.

 

[DannyNYC]

Thank you all for your insights, but I still would like some comaprisions between the various GeForce and Ati cards concerning 2D, does anyone know any? I already looked at anandtech and tomshardware's reviews, unfortuantely, they talk mostly about 3D. Thanks again

Daniel

 

[sash1]

Originally posted by: DannyNYC
Thank you all for your insights, but I still would like some comaprisions between the various GeForce and Ati cards concerning 2D, does anyone know any? I already looked at anandtech and tomshardware's reviews, unfortuantely, they talk mostly about 3D. Thanks again

Daniel

Your friends at FS talk about 2d

If you dun feel like clicking, here is the quote comparing 2d quality: "That brings us to our next topic of discussion, visual quality. For those of you who are no doubt wondering, in terms of 2D visual quality, the RADEON 9700 PRO surpasses the GeForce4 Ti 4600 reference board. Text is considerably sharper and colors are livelier, resulting in a clear, sharp desktop.

Keep in mind that this is entirely subjective, but in our opinion it doesn?t take a magnifying glass or a 24? monitor to see the difference. Even with the 17? Samsung SyncMaster 700NFs that we use on the test beds (that are capable of resolutions up to 1600x1200) we could see the difference at resolutions as low as 1024x768. Therefore we can say with a fair amount of certainty that end users will appreciate the 2D visuals the RADEON 9700 PRO brings to the table."

~Aunix

Oh and I almost forgot, welcome to the forums.

 

[WarSong]

for your situation the 9500 Pro or 9700 non-Pro would be a good fit.

 

[DannyNYC]

Thanks everyone for their comments. Looks like an Ati 9500Pro for me, but the P700 non-pro is pretty tempting too...I'll prob just pick one outta the hat...=]