Video Cards

[atholon]

Hey, I currently have a Geforce FX 5600 but the fan is dying on it. I would really like to get a Radeon 9800 Pro but I am only going to be around for a max of 3-4 mths (I hope).

Anywho I am thinking of gtetting a 128 Mb Geforce FX 5200 since they are dirt cheap. I hear that they handle better than the FX 5600...any one know if that be true?

Are there any other cheap cards someone can suggest?

[atholon]

What one you suggest?


Sapphire ATI RADEON 9250 Video Card, 128MB DDR 128 bit - $39.00

or

eVGA nVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Video Card, 128MB DDR, 64-bit - $46.00

[Steve]

can u stretch to a 9500?
they softmod to 9700 speeds

[atholon]

Ok...so get a 9500 or a 9600 Pro?

What is better? Is SE worse than the regular?

[Steve]

SE is worse iirc

[atholon]

So

SE = CRAP.
Plain = Ok.
Pro = Better.
XT = Awesome.


Higher the clock speed the better right??!!

Is Sapphire crappy?

[Steve]

yeah u got it right.
sapphire is generally cheaper, but their cards are great.

[atholon]

So should I get a 9500 or a 9600 Pro?

[Steve]

sry i don't know, i cant remember if the 9600 pro is actually faster than the 9700 (9500 + softmod).

[atholon]

So it will say 9500 + softmod? Or does 9500 just come with that?

[Steve]

the 9500 is essentially the same as the 9700 but the official drivers make it use 4 pipelines instead of 8 (9700 uses 8 pipelines).

you just have to get some drivers like the omega ones > http://www.omegadrivers.net/ that unlock all the pipes.

i think the 9600 only uses 4 pipelines, so therefore a 9500 + the softmod, would indeed be quicker / perform better.

[atholon]

Info-Tek ATI RADEON 9550 Video Card, 128MB DDR, 128-Bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP, Model "GC-95500GU-C3P" -RETAIL $93.00

Only has a core clock of 250mhz

That the right one? Know where to get a better deal?

[Steve]

sry never seen a 9550, only 9500.
i can only guess that it is the right thing

[atholon]

Alright...I didn't see any 9500 on Newegg.

Got any sites you recommend buying it from?

[Steve]

not unless ur in the UK

[atholon]

maybe I will find one.

I am going to take your advice because I didn't take some computer genius advice and get a Geforce 5200 Ultra and got a 5600 256 instead. 5200 Ultra would own my card.

Thanks Steve.

[atholon]

Hmm, the 9500's I see are the same price as the 9700

Edit nevermind 9500's are a bit cheaper...Sad part is I found a Radeon 9800 Pro for cheaper than some of those 9700's.

[teej]

i got my 9600 pro for about $120. Works great. I ordered it from www.pricewatch.com

[atholon]

That sucks...I hope that was a while ago.

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduc...240-014&DEPA=1

I think that is what I am going to get.
I am trying to find how fast of a core clock my 5600 has.

[Snakebite]

if your willing to spend the money i would go with a 9600 xt

its what i have and i got it 2 months used on www.ebay.com and havnt had a single problem...it handles games like doom 3 very well