up to $200 to buy a video card

[KrillBee]

My friend needs a new video card for his computer, and is fine with spending upwards to $200 for it. His old one (9800pro) had fan problems and he received a $140 refund for it.
He needs an AGP card to replace it.

He tends to like ATI more than Nvidia from previous experience, but is open to suggestions.

If he were to get an ATI card, I know there are several options available in that price range: x800 or x1600 based cards.

Does it matter if the card is built by ATI or powered by ATI? His last one was a 9800pro built by ATI, and he tells me he thinks built by ATI may mean its better, but the price gap is expensive!!
what are some good powered by ati brands??

For games right now he is playing Guild Wars a lot, and may consider Elder Scrolls Oblivion in the future.

 

[LW07]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102016
I would recommend this X850pro. It's got 12 pipelines, but due to higher clock speeds, it's comparable to a 6800GT and X800XL.

 

[evenmore1]

Get this: Ati Radeon X800GTO

It is quite good, go for it!

He could also get a nvidia 6800GS...it's hard to find though....

 

[evenmore1]

I was going to recommend that, but it is over the price that his friend requested...

 

[orangat]

Originally posted by: KrillBee
My friend needs a new video card for his computer, and is fine with spending upwards to $200 for it. His old one (9800pro) had fan problems and he received a $140 refund for it.
He needs an AGP card to replace it.
.......

Your friend got more money back than the broken card was worth (unless he bought it at 140). I would advise him to use that cash and upgrade his m/b and card to pcie. Oblivion is not a game for people with mid-level cards especially if they get eyestrain at 30fps.

 

[Ika]

If you can find an X800XT PE for under $200 (fairly common nowadays), get one.

 

[LW07]

Originally posted by: evenmore1
I was going to recommend that, but it is over the price that his friend requested...

I think he could go over $20.

 

[KrillBee]

what do you guys think about the x1600 cards? would they be a good buy, or should i just avoid them and go for an x800 or x850?

thanks for the tips so far!

so the sapphire's are as good as the built by ati cards?

 

[KrillBee]

Originally posted by: orangat

Originally posted by: KrillBee
My friend needs a new video card for his computer, and is fine with spending upwards to $200 for it. His old one (9800pro) had fan problems and he received a $140 refund for it.
He needs an AGP card to replace it.
.......

Your friend got more money back than the broken card was worth (unless he bought it at 140). I would advise him to use that cash and upgrade his m/b and card to pcie. Oblivion is not a game for people with mid-level cards especially if they get eyestrain at 30fps.

he bought it at 140 almost a year ago. I dont know if my friend would want to upgrade the board too. As long as Oblivion was playable he wouldnt mind. (I would think with an x800 it would be, but then again, i dunno.)

 

[Munky]

Originally posted by: LW07
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102016
I would recommend this X850pro. It's got 12 pipelines, but due to higher clock speeds, it's comparable to a 6800GT and X800XL.

That's a VIVO x800pro, which means it could possibly unlock to 16 pipes, and it would perform on par with a x800xt. It's worth the extra cost if he can afford it.

Also, don't buy the x1600 cards unless you can find one for $140 or less. In most games they perform slower than a x800gto.

 

[LW07]

Originally posted by: munky

Originally posted by: LW07
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102016
I would recommend this X850pro. It's got 12 pipelines, but due to higher clock speeds, it's comparable to a 6800GT and X800XL.

That's a VIVO x800pro, which means it could possibly unlock to 16 pipes, and it would perform on par with a x800xt. It's worth the extra cost if he can afford it.

Also, don't buy the x1600 cards unless you can find one for $140 or less. In most games they perform slower than a x800gto.

It's an X850pro, not an X800pro, unless I'm mistaken.

 

[evenmore1]

This is a good deal on an X1600Pro, and I might get one...but since your friend has more money to spend, get the X850Pro mentioned above or the X800GTO...both are great cards for the price...

and yeah, Sapphire should be OK..

 

[LW07]

Sapphire makes the built-by-ATI cards if I'm not mistaken, and they are good quality products, so I would definitly get one of their cards. I still recommend the X850Pro if he can afford it, but the X800GTO is good if he can't afford it, but the X850pro is comparable to a 6800GT and X800XL due to it's higher clock speeds while a X800GTO is comparable to a 6800 non-ultra(the 6800 with only 12 pipes, there's a significant speed difference between a 6800 and a 6800GT).

 

[KrillBee]

alright, i will let him know about the x850, and the x800gto
those sound like pretty fast cards, after i checked some benchmarks. it doesnt really seem like u even need a pcie motherboard unless u really want top of the line.


so whats the deal with the x1600pro? where does that lie in performance? why did ATI make the x1600 if the x800 and x850 series are better? lol

 

[evenmore1]

No idea, perhaps that's why they've gone down in price lol

 

[framerateuk]

Originally posted by: KrillBee
alright, i will let him know about the x850, and the x800gto
those sound like pretty fast cards, after i checked some benchmarks. it doesnt really seem like u even need a pcie motherboard unless u really want top of the line.


so whats the deal with the x1600pro? where does that lie in performance? why did ATI make the x1600 if the x800 and x850 series are better? lol

If im correct the X1600 supports extra features such as HDR. However the card would probably have difficulty keeping up with new games with HDR turned on.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Originally posted by: KrillBee
so whats the deal with the x1600pro? where does that lie in performance? why did ATI make the x1600 if the x800 and x850 series are better? lol

It has a newer feature set, including AVIVO. It is not for more than the very casual gamer, but with its HTPC capabilities in mind, offers a nice blend for $110.

 

[996GT2]

For $200 it may actually be a better deal for your friend to get a cheap PCie motherboard and a PCie card. Unless he has a high-end AGP board or an older processor that would not support new socket types, it will be a more futureproof solution and will cost about the same as PCIe versions of the same cards cost less than their AGP counterparts

For example: ASRock Dual-SataII mobo ($66) + eVGA 7600GT ($160) comes around to the same price

 

[Powermoloch]

x800GTO :thumbsup:

 

[KrillBee]

frickin a,

the irony here is that he just got a new motherboard recently. his old one broke so he sent that in to NewEgg to get it RMAd as well and they told him they'd either give him $45 or a socket 754 nforce3 250 board (worth around $55 on their site)

well that was a few days ago, so now its probably too late to call NewEgg and tell them differently

So I suppose he could get a new motherboard and video card, but then he'd have another brand new motherboard just sitting around, lol.

 

[The Dome]

Is it a PCIe or AGP mobo? (the new one)
If it is agp, my vote goes to the 6800GS since it has a more updated feature set, compared to the x8xx series cards.
If it is PCIe, my goes for a 7600GT since thier's not much in it's price range that can compete in features and performance.

 

[KrillBee]

Originally posted by: The Dome
Is it a PCIe or AGP mobo? (the new one)
If it is agp, my vote goes to the 6800GS since it has a more updated feature set, compared to the x8xx series cards.
If it is PCIe, my goes for a 7600GT since thier's not much in it's price range that can compete in features and performance.

Its an AGP board.

so how does the 6800gs compare to the ati x800 gt?

 

[OvErHeAtInG]

I'd sell my AGP X800XT PE for around $200 shipped. I haven't listed it in FS/FT yet since it's still in my rig, but I thought I'd run it by you.

so how does the 6800gs compare to the ati x800 gt?

Check out this article, it should give you an idea.... The 6800GS is faster. My card stomps them both. All good options tho.

/Shameless plug

 

[KrillBee]

Originally posted by: OvErHeAtInG
I'd sell my AGP X800XT PE for around $200 shipped. I haven't listed it in FS/FT yet since it's still in my rig, but I thought I'd run it by you.

so how does the 6800gs compare to the ati x800 gt?

Check out this article, it should give you an idea.... The 6800GS is faster. My card stomps them both. All good options tho.

/Shameless plug

thanks. but i talked to my friend last night and I think he's going to get the sapphire x800gto from newegg. he may have already bought it by now.

 

[OvErHeAtInG]

Originally posted by: KrillBee

Originally posted by: OvErHeAtInG
I'd sell my AGP X800XT PE for around $200 shipped. I haven't listed it in FS/FT yet since it's still in my rig, but I thought I'd run it by you.

so how does the 6800gs compare to the ati x800 gt?

Check out this article, it should give you an idea.... The 6800GS is faster. My card stomps them both. All good options tho.

/Shameless plug

thanks. but i talked to my friend last night and I think he's going to get the sapphire x800gto from newegg. he may have already bought it by now.

:thumbsup:
Cool