Video Card Recommendation

[Calibrator]

I am getting the Blue Screen of Death on my Windows XP system and believe that my ATI Rage Fury Pro card is the culprit. I am going to replace the card and would like some recommendations. My target price is $100 (+/-) $35. I am not a hard core gamer but do like to blast the nasties every now and then. I do some web design and run the normal office applications and light photo editing.

If it matters I am running a Shuttle AK35GTR mb.

I am looking to purchase from NewEgg. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Saist]

www.pricewatch.com

Radeon 9000

 

[AnAndAustin]

Well check out NewEgg, everybody loves them, good prices and excellent service.

The Rad9000pro is INFERIOR and SLOWER than a Rad8500LE so you'd be better served by the latter. GF3 cards are also faster than Rad9000 cards and also offer better AA and Aniso than all Radeons below 9700, but I'd rec the Rad8500/8500LE cards as they're fast, have great image quality, TVout etc. Your budget extends to a 4200 card, clearly the best card in that price range. VERY fast, o/c's to 4400 or 4600 speeds and offers the best all-round perf and features; excellent image quality, AA, Aniso, enhanced TVout (but not as good as Radeon), dual display etc.

What card is best and what gains there are depends upon your current CPU and what plans you have to upgrade it. But going by your budget either get a Rad8500LE 128MB (pref TRUE ATI, $100ish) or GF4TI4200 which is much faster but priced $130 64MB or $150 128MB.

 

[Saist]

www.pricewatch.com

Radeon 9000 $70 now.

Hmm. Preformance that reaches up to GF4-4200 levels in some cases. Bout half the cost. He is not a hard-core gamer. Probably isn't going to care about running his apps all in extremely high res with massive 3d power...

I'd say the Radeon 9000 has this one in the bag.

 

[AnAndAustin]

Well whether you're an avid gamer or not the Rad9000 is little more than a GF4MX440 with DX8 hw functions but poorer AA. Even the Rad9000pro which is a fair bit faster than Rad9000 pales in comparison to Rad8500LE which is about $90, Rad8500LE is superior in every way except DVD playback as the Rad9000 cards can enhance the playback with DX8 functions which should help poor quality video. Even so the perf diff between the fastest Rad9000 (pro) and the slowest Rad8500 (LE) is pretty significant avid gamer or not.

Rad8500LE is faster than GF3 cards and offers superior image quality, dual display and better TVout too. However GF4TI4200 cards o/c to GF4TI4400 or 4600 speeds and are a world away from Rad8500 and GF3TI500 (let alone the Rad9000). There is no doubt Rad8500LE is a great card for $90 but GF4TI4200 is far superior in pretty much every dept, but then that is what you're paying an extra $50 or so for.

 

[AnAndAustin]

Here, take a look at how Rad9000pro scores:

TomsHW Rad9000pro review
AnAndTech Rad9000pro review
HardOCP Rad9000pro review
Firing Squad Rad7500 & 8500 vs GF3 & GF4
Tech Report Rad7500 & 8500 vs GF3 & GF4

 

[Saist]

um, just so you know, the last card I did buy was a 4200 (and the subject of a help thread I started)

 

[Calibrator]

Any Nvidia solutions? Thanks to all who replied. I appreciate the help.

 

[AdvancedRobotics]

Originally posted by: Calibrator
Any Nvidia solutions? Thanks to all who replied. I appreciate the help.

You can always get the Ti4200. It's still in your $100 +/- $35 range (Gainwards is $133), and will be the best bet for that money. If you want to go a little bit cheaper, then you can pick up the GF3 Ti200 (but at that price, I'd reccomend the 8500LE 128Mb instead). If you would prefer really cheap, get an MX420.

I would have to recommend the 8500LE over anything else.

 

[Calibrator]

Ok, it seems to be between the following two cards at this point. Grabbed from newegg

ATI RADEON 9000 PRO 64MB RETAIL
OR
GAINWARD/CARDEXPERT GeForce 4 Ti 4200, 3.5ns, 64MB DDR

Which One??

Thanks

 

[Saist]

If your willing to ant up for it, Chaintech's Special Edition 4200 128meg Vivo can be had for around $170 (including shipping, includes heatsinks)

Really up to you on how much you want to spend.

$70 for the Radeon
ONLINE ORDER ONLY -
ATI Radeon 9000 Atlantis 64MB DDR WITH TV OUT, and CRT, White Box/ Color Box
enet marketing inc.
Info...
866-850-3638
626-855-0370


or ~ $130 -- ~ $170 for the GF4.
ONLINE ORDER ONLY -
eVGA Geforce4 TI 4200 ti4200 64MB DDR CRT ONLY - Retail Box
GameVE.com
Info...
800-228-9395
626-282-6247


As future games come on, Directx games will fall probably fall behind on the Radeon while Opengl optimized for the 9000 will continue to preform. Plus there's always the memory issue. Putting out for 128megs now may not seem like it's worth the cost... but you'll have something that will preform for a couple years at least.

Personally, I'd ante up for the GF4 128meg. Might take another paycheck, but prices do continue to fall... And you'll be set for a while.

if your looking to replace your card in a year or so though, the Radeon is probably the better choice as you will get the performance you probably want, without the hit on the pricetag.

Your choice.

 

[Calibrator]

Thanks for the Input.

 

[AnAndAustin]

Calibrator, by far the most vital ingredient in all of this is the CPU are you running, so what is it?

In general the 4200-64MB is far better than any lesser (GF3, Rad8500 etc) 128MB card, even in games which need more than 64MB. Of course it is well worth having 128MB and well worth paying the extra $20 it costs but do consider the overall perf of the chipset itself. If GF3 and Rad8500 (any types) are the same cost you will be MUCH better served by the Rad8500 as it is slightly faster and has much better image quality, dual display and TVout, with image quality being the most important to you from what you say. GF4TI4200 are certainly better cards, and they o/c like a dream to 4400 or 4600 speeds, but then as said a GF3 or Rad8500 is still VERY good and costs around $90ish to the 4200-64's $130 or 4200-128's $150. Forget Rad9000pro, it is not a good buy while there are Rad8500 cards available to buy unless you have loads of low quality MPEG movies and desperately need to try out the yet unproven (is it?) DX8 hw enhancement video playback.

 

[RandomFool]

I'd go for the 8500.

 

[jacktesterson]

Dont get the Radeon 9000...go for the 128 MB Radeon 8500 period. If fits your needs better than any card currently available.

 

[Kcucumber]

I'm an ati radeon 8500 fan. Don't hesitate on buying this as this is a very good deal. I bought mine for 250 upon released. Didn't think it was a waste of money. It serves its purpose and offers extreme qualities you can't get from other cards. I'd say go for it you won't think twice after you'd install it. Everything is so beautiful and vibrant. hehe.

Actually i bought 2 more. since the price droped dramaticaly. 1 for my sis. and 1 for my gf. they liked it..well..they said so.

ps. you wouldn't believe how much they hate computers. but after they put the radeon 8500 in their system, it kind of open their puny minds. hehe

Peace.!