New Video Card

[Ponderous]

Hey all. I need info on a new video card. I've been out of the tech picture for about a year now. Been checkin' out Tom's Hardware and CNet, but I can't seem to get a handle on what's a good deal now.

I have a LAN party comin' up and I want to gear up my box, but I don't have the scratch to make it happen.

I have an AMD 2000+ with 512 Mb DDR Ram, and I need a middle of the road video card.

Any suggestions? I'm looking to spend $200 or less.

FYI: I'll need it to play the regulars, HL, CS, DOD, but I also need it to play UT2K4, BF1942 and all mods.

[mascan42]

You'll need to get some pretty high-end stuff to play HL2, if it ever comes out.
The minimum system spec is currently targeted at a 700 MHz PC with 128 MB RAM and a DX6-level video card, eg: TNT2 etc, meaning you won't need a supercomputer to run Half-Life 2 but don't expect to see reflective water,dynamic shadows and bump-mapped textures.

The game running at reasonable detail eg: 25/40 fps, requires a 1600Mhz cpu, 256 mb ram, GeForce4 Ti or Ati Radeon card.

In real life you need the best from a new game so I would recommend a 2000 cpu, or higher 512 mb ram or higher, GeForce4 Ti4800 128 ddr or ATI Radeon 9600 pro.
IF you've got the money ATI Radeon 9800 pro. or Geforce FX5900 ultra
The more power the better but not essential with this game.

[NightStalker3]

A great card for the money, "Bang for the Buck" card is a ATI 9600 xt, which can be had for 150-180 bucs.

[OvaHere]

was wondering, is there much of a difference between these 2 cards? -
128MB PCI Express™ x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) ATI Radeon X800 SE
256MB PCI Express™ x16 Nvidia GeForce 6800 GTO Graphics Card

[Smoke]

was wondering, is there much of a difference between these 2 cards? -
128MB PCI Express™ x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) ATI Radeon X800 SE
256MB PCI Express™ x16 Nvidia GeForce 6800 GTO Graphics Card

Unless you have a brand new $2000+ system you don't have PCI Express... So you need an AGP card (make sure you've got the slut beforehand). Otherwise, there isn't a big difference between those 2 cards, check out ARS Technica and some other reviews. Benchmarks are good but aren't always perfect.

[Chlorofirm]

Get an ATI 9800 Pro. I rocked Doom III with it, and plan to do the same with HL2.

[OvaHere]

hm thanks for the comments. thinking of getting a dell desktop soon, and those were the 2 top options for a video card. for the 8400. for the 4700c, the best was a 64m ati card. is vid card upgrading easy for dell desktops? was thinking of getting the dimen 4700c, and just getting a better vid card later down the road.

[Smoke]

hm thanks for the comments. thinking of getting a dell desktop soon, and those were the 2 top options for a video card. for the 8400. for the 4700c, the best was a 64m ati card. is vid card upgrading easy for dell desktops? was thinking of getting the dimen 4700c, and just getting a better vid card later down the road.

I like working on the latest generation of Dells, very well designed. The only exception is the desktop ones that can't fit a full size video card, but from what you're describing I can't tell if that's the deal here.

Make life simple, get a Dell tower.

(sidenote)Yay! 680 posts, hello WRKO!(/sidenote)

[kompletist]

You can pick up the 5900FX card for under $200 now.

I used to be a staunch supporter of Nvidia just because their drivers were a lot better, but ATI has improved over the years.

[Hummercash]

go with the new ati x700 pro... can be had for about $195

hrm, now that i look for it, i don't see any agp version anywhere. hrm. go w/ a 9800pro then instead...
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-286&depa=0

oh, and the new nvidia cards take up not only the agp (or pcx) slot, but also an additional pci slot due to the huge cooling system they have in place. go w/ the new ati's, one slot, less power consumption


.//chris

[OvaHere]

hm thanks for all the comments. planning on playing some Star Wars Battlefront multiplayer when i get this shit worked out.

[Bananajuice77]

I like working on the latest generation of Dells, very well designed. The only exception is the desktop ones that can't fit a full size video card, but from what you're describing I can't tell if that's the deal here.

Make life simple, get a Dell tower.

(sidenote)Yay! 680 posts, hello WRKO!(/sidenote)

I definitly agree. If you get any of those Dells with the "c" in the model number, you will run into problems down the road upgrading because they a compact. I picked up a 4600 a few months back,and have had no problems. I recently put in a NVidia GeForce 6800 GT, it only took up the one AGP slot, and it's second only to the 6800 ULTRA as far as power is concerned, and that's thats the one that takes up two slots. I also slapped in an Audigy 2 ZS soundcard and still have room to grow.

[MonstrRainmakr]

My latest upgrade consisted of an AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (Newcastle core), EVGA GeForce 6800GT, 1Gb of OCZ 3500, 16X Dual layer, Dual format DVD burner (NEC 3500A). All that is housed in the tiny Soltek Qbic 3801. The power supply is only rated at 250W and still manages to power the whole system. Unreal. I highly recommend any of the above parts if you're thinking about a system.

I upgraded my GeForce 4Ti 4200 which was an awesome card. The friend i sold it to plays most of the newer games with it (on lower settings of course), but it runs them nonetheless.

[Farside]

I like working on the latest generation of Dells, very well designed. The only exception is the desktop ones that can't fit a full size video card, but from what you're describing I can't tell if that's the deal here.

Make life simple, get a Dell tower.

(sidenote)Yay! 680 posts, hello WRKO!(/sidenote)
Yep, I learned that the hard way. My Dell can't fit any Nvidia cards more recent than the TI4200 but it does fit ATI cards just fine. My rig has the 9800pro with room to spare. Great card in my opinion and at $200 its tough to beat.