What do i upgrade to...

[bikinistud]

Currently i have a radeon ve. IT SUCKS! Now i'm a 15 year old on a budget and so i can only upgrade one thing at a time and with not a lot of money.

my rig

Epox 8kha+ (kt266a)
512mb ram
30gig 7200rpm
radeon ve

thats about all and what would be the best upgrade for that radeon ve? Needs to be Under $175.

Thanks!

(any advice is welcome)

 

[bikinistud]

forgot i have a athlon xp 1900+ also

thanks!

 

[FrustratedUser]

GF4 Ti4200

 

[Orbius]

I'd say Radeon 9500pro it has double the pipelines of the Ti4200 and it uses DX9. You should be able to get an ATi retail card for about $180, you can get a Sapphire OEM for about $160 but personally I'd get the ATi card.

 

[AnAndAustin]

On a budget the Rad8500LE esp with 128MB is one heck of a card, if the 4200 isn't much more then grab one of those. The Rad9500PRO is great but it's also going to be way out of your price range. If you can find a Rad9000PRO cheap then that's okay but still largely inferior esp in 3D speed to a Rad8500LE. GF3 are okay too, if cheaper than the cards mentioned above but do forget any GF4MX, GF2 or Rad9000 (non PRO) card as your XP1900+ will be totally wasted! The diff between any of the above rec cards and a RadeonVE is huge so you won't be disappointed at all ... Rad9000PRO, Rad8500LE, Rad8500 or GF4TI4200 are all great cards with great perf so check the prices and make your selection!

 

[Slappy00]

blarg

 

[bikinistud]

Thanks for the advice! I'm contemplating a gf4 ti4200 if the price is right or the 8500 with 128mb.

merry x-mas

 

[nRollo]

"The Rad9500PRO is great but it's also going to be way out of your price range. "
Errr, AnandAustin, the MSRP on the 9500Pro is $199.99. Here in America, we rarely pay MSRP for things, so he can probably get a 9500Pro for the $175 he said he needs to stay under....

 

[AnAndAustin]

LOL $175 is like £110 ... yikes! There are some issues with the Rad9500-9700 regarding poor minimum FPS, some minor driver issues, poor optimisation for Athlon systems and relatively lower perf on OpenGL apps ... but those things still rock and I'd easily take a Rad9500PRO over a GF4TI4600. nVidia GF4 are simply 'old' technology though made more efficient and clocked higher so the drivers have had LOADS of time to mature, for such new hw Rad9500-9700 have excellent drivers and fantastic capabilities!

Anyway, it's just the thought of a 15 year old (esp one 'on a budget') being able to blow $175 on a single PC component! Of course if he doesn't mind blowing it all and can get a 9500PRO for that then cool, but with the prices of basic Rad8500 and GF4TI4200 I'd be tempted to get one of those and find somewhere else to put the cash! After all he does already have excellent components ... XP1900+, 512MB, KT266A (as fast as both KT333 & KT400 BTW) and a 7200rpm HD ... what it must be like to be 15 LOL!

 

[nRollo]

Merry Christmas all, and I second the thought about how it wouldn't be bad to be 15 again!

 

[AnAndAustin]

Esp with $175 to spend on a hw upgrade on a top end PC ... yummy LOL! If only I knew back then all that I know now ...