Best card for HL2

[Dan]

Archived from groups: alt.games.half-life (More info?)

Hello guys and gals,
I'm sure you get this all the time, but having trawled through the group
for a bit, I couldn't find much info. I've received HL2 for Christmas and
have about £100 (~$70) to spend on a new graphics card to replace my ailing
GeForce II <shame>. Anyway, after checking a few sites, it appears the
Radeon 9600XT seems to have the best performance for my budget. I don't want
to start off any ATI vs NVidia arguements, but if anyone has any other
suggestions I'd be glad to hear them !

Many thanks,

Dan

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.half-life (More info?)

Dan wrote:
> Hello guys and gals,
> I'm sure you get this all the time, but having trawled through the group
> for a bit, I couldn't find much info. I've received HL2 for Christmas and
> have about £100 (~$70) to spend on a new graphics card to replace my ailing
> GeForce II <shame>. Anyway, after checking a few sites, it appears the
> Radeon 9600XT seems to have the best performance for my budget. I don't want
> to start off any ATI vs NVidia arguements, but if anyone has any other
> suggestions I'd be glad to hear them !

Yup the 9600 offers pretty good performance for the pound, as Peter
said, if you can stretch to a 9800XT, then even better.. 1 Warning
though - when buying an ATI 9xxx series card, make sure you avoid
"Powercolor", who offer cheaper & less powerful versions of ATI cards.
Prefer Hercules, Sapphire or ATI Branded cards instead



--
Ben Cottrell AKA Bench

 

[sleepy]

Archived from groups: alt.games.half-life (More info?)

"Dan" <no@spam.please> wrote in message
news:LnSBd.85$A56.62@newsfe6-win.ntli.net...
> Hello guys and gals,
> I'm sure you get this all the time, but having trawled through the
> group for a bit, I couldn't find much info. I've received HL2 for
> Christmas and have about £100 (~$70) to spend on a new graphics card to
> replace my ailing GeForce II <shame>. Anyway, after checking a few sites,
> it appears the Radeon 9600XT seems to have the best performance for my
> budget. I don't want to start off any ATI vs NVidia arguements, but if
> anyone has any other suggestions I'd be glad to hear them !
>
> Many thanks,
>
> Dan
>
the 9800 listed here is in your price range and will do very nicely
http://www.retekdirect.co.uk/acatalog/Video_Cards.html

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.half-life (More info?)

"Dan" wrote

> I'm sure you get this all the time, but having trawled through the
> group for a bit, I couldn't find much info. I've received HL2 for
> Christmas and have about £100 (~$70) to spend on a new graphics card to
> replace my ailing GeForce II <shame>. Anyway, after checking a few sites,
> it appears the Radeon 9600XT seems to have the best performance for my
> budget. I don't want to start off any ATI vs NVidia arguements, but if
> anyone has any other suggestions I'd be glad to hear them !
>
Go for the 9600 or if you can raise to 9800XT

- Peter

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.half-life (More info?)

"Peter Lykkegaard" <polonline@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:33qar7F43ii09U1@individual.net...
> "Dan" wrote
>
>> I'm sure you get this all the time, but having trawled through the
>> group for a bit, I couldn't find much info. I've received HL2 for
>> Christmas and have about £100 (~$70) to spend on a new graphics card to
>> replace my ailing GeForce II <shame>. Anyway, after checking a few sites,
>> it appears the Radeon 9600XT seems to have the best performance for my
>> budget. I don't want to start off any ATI vs NVidia arguements, but if
>> anyone has any other suggestions I'd be glad to hear them !
>>
> Go for the 9600 or if you can raise to 9800XT
>
> - Peter
I bought a 9800xt....it works great! I give it a big thumbs up...on the
other hand I know others with 9600...and they have no complaints.
I think it's down to budget....if you can stretch to 9800xt go for it...I
did
....I didn't eat for a week, but hey it was worth it

--
Dr C [AGHL]

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.half-life (More info?)

"Dr C[AGHL]" <DRCowling99spam@hotmail.com> wrote

> ...I didn't eat for a week, but hey it was worth it

The saved food managed to feed the rest of our town for 4 days though, so
all was not too bad
--
David
davidfirewater(a)hotmail.com

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.half-life (More info?)

"David Firewater" <davidfirewater.nospam@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:33qc9uF3vvptiU1@individual.net...
>
> The saved food managed to feed the rest of our town for 4 days though, so
> all was not too bad

Apparently the local Oxfam shop were able to send
a years worth of food parcels to Africa.

I helped millions and all because of Half Life 2

--
Dr C [AGHL]

 

[jimbob]

Archived from groups: alt.games.half-life (More info?)

Sleepy wrote:
> "Dan" <no@spam.please> wrote in message
> news:LnSBd.85$A56.62@newsfe6-win.ntli.net...
> > Hello guys and gals,
> > I'm sure you get this all the time, but having trawled through
> > the group for a bit, I couldn't find much info. I've received HL2
> > for Christmas and have about £100 (~$70) to spend on a new graphics
> > card to replace my ailing GeForce II <shame>. Anyway, after
> > checking a few sites, it appears the Radeon 9600XT seems to have
> > the best performance for my budget. I don't want to start off any
> > ATI vs NVidia arguements, but if anyone has any other suggestions
> > I'd be glad to hear them !
> >
> > Many thanks,
> >
> > Dan
> >
> the 9800 listed here is in your price range and will do very nicely
> http://www.retekdirect.co.uk/acatalog/Video_Cards.html

Are refurbished cards to be trusted?

--
To alcohol. The cause of and solution to all of life's problems.

 

[sleepy]

Archived from groups: alt.games.half-life (More info?)

"Jimbob" <meandyou@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:33qgk7F42jo79U1@individual.net...
> Sleepy wrote:
>> "Dan" <no@spam.please> wrote in message
>> news:LnSBd.85$A56.62@newsfe6-win.ntli.net...
>> > Hello guys and gals,
>> > I'm sure you get this all the time, but having trawled through
>> > the group for a bit, I couldn't find much info. I've received HL2
>> > for Christmas and have about £100 (~$70) to spend on a new graphics
>> > card to replace my ailing GeForce II <shame>. Anyway, after
>> > checking a few sites, it appears the Radeon 9600XT seems to have
>> > the best performance for my budget. I don't want to start off any
>> > ATI vs NVidia arguements, but if anyone has any other suggestions
>> > I'd be glad to hear them !
>> >
>> > Many thanks,
>> >
>> > Dan
>> >
>> the 9800 listed here is in your price range and will do very nicely
>> http://www.retekdirect.co.uk/acatalog/Video_Cards.html
>
> Are refurbished cards to be trusted?
>
> --
> To alcohol. The cause of and solution to all of life's problems.
>
>
I got one 6 months ago - a 9700 non pro thats going great and even
overclocks from 275/270 to 321/291 rock stable - cost me £60.

 

[jimbob]

Archived from groups: alt.games.half-life (More info?)

Sleepy wrote:
> "Jimbob" <meandyou@nospam.com> wrote in message
> news:33qgk7F42jo79U1@individual.net...
> > Sleepy wrote:
> > > "Dan" <no@spam.please> wrote in message
> > > news:LnSBd.85$A56.62@newsfe6-win.ntli.net...
> > > > Hello guys and gals,
> > > > I'm sure you get this all the time, but having trawled
> > > > through the group for a bit, I couldn't find much info. I've
> > > > received HL2 for Christmas and have about £100 (~$70) to spend
> > > > on a new graphics card to replace my ailing GeForce II <shame>.
> > > > Anyway, after checking a few sites, it appears the Radeon
> > > > 9600XT seems to have the best performance for my budget. I
> > > > don't want to start off any ATI vs NVidia arguements, but if
> > > > anyone has any other suggestions I'd be glad to hear them !
> > > >
> > > > Many thanks,
> > > >
> > > > Dan
> > > >
> > > the 9800 listed here is in your price range and will do very
> > > nicely http://www.retekdirect.co.uk/acatalog/Video_Cards.html
> >
> > Are refurbished cards to be trusted?
> >
> > --
> > To alcohol. The cause of and solution to all of life's problems.
> >
> >
> I got one 6 months ago - a 9700 non pro thats going great and even
> overclocks from 275/270 to 321/291 rock stable - cost me £60.

oooh.. tidy. I'm looking for a 9800, might give them a go.

--
To alcohol. The cause of and solution to all of life's problems.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.half-life (More info?)

Ben Cottrell wrote:
> Dan wrote:
>
>> Hello guys and gals,
>> I'm sure you get this all the time, but having trawled through the
>> group for a bit, I couldn't find much info. I've received HL2 for
>> Christmas and have about £100 (~$70) to spend on a new graphics card
>> to replace my ailing GeForce II <shame>. Anyway, after checking a few
>> sites, it appears the Radeon 9600XT seems to have the best performance
>> for my budget. I don't want to start off any ATI vs NVidia arguements,
>> but if anyone has any other suggestions I'd be glad to hear them !
>
>
> Yup the 9600 offers pretty good performance for the pound, as Peter
> said, if you can stretch to a 9800XT, then even better.. 1 Warning
> though - when buying an ATI 9xxx series card, make sure you avoid
> "Powercolor", who offer cheaper & less powerful versions of ATI cards.
> Prefer Hercules, Sapphire or ATI Branded cards instead
>
>
>
Yes, good point. Avoid 64 bit cards at all costs.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.half-life (More info?)

"Jimbob" wrote
>> >
>> I got one 6 months ago - a 9700 non pro thats going great and even
>> overclocks from 275/270 to 321/291 rock stable - cost me £60.
>
> oooh.. tidy. I'm looking for a 9800, might give them a go.
>
(Afaik The 9700 is not dx9 cards, but very, very decent dx8 cards

- Peter

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.half-life (More info?)

"Peter Lykkegaard" <polonline@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:33r444F430rluU1@individual.net
> "Jimbob" wrote
>>>>
>>> I got one 6 months ago - a 9700 non pro thats going great and even
>>> overclocks from 275/270 to 321/291 rock stable - cost me £60.
>>
>> oooh.. tidy. I'm looking for a 9800, might give them a go.
>>
> (Afaik The 9700 is not dx9 cards, but very, very decent dx8 cards
>
> - Peter

9600 and up are DX9 I think Peter.

 

[DaveL]

Archived from groups: alt.games.half-life (More info?)

Actually, 9500 and up.

DaveL


"McGrandpa" <McGrandpaNOT@NOThotmail.com> wrote in message
news:0dZBd.43442$yv2.23775@fe2.texas.rr.com...
>
> 9600 and up are DX9 I think Peter.
>
>

 

[Andrew]

Archived from groups: alt.games.half-life (More info?)

On Sun, 2 Jan 2005 21:33:04 +0100, "Peter Lykkegaard"
<polonline@hotmail.com> wrote:

>(Afaik The 9700 is not dx9 cards, but very, very decent dx8 cards

Wrong, they are decent DX8&9 cards.
--
Andrew, contact via interpleb.blogspot.com
Help make Usenet a better place: English is read downwards,
please don't top post. Trim replies to quote only relevant text.
Check groups.google.com before asking an obvious question.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.half-life (More info?)

"Andrew" wrote

> Wrong, they are decent DX8&9 cards.

Oh ok - thanks
One of the first dx9'ers then?

- Peter

 

[Dan]

Archived from groups: alt.games.half-life (More info?)

Cheers guys, another quick question : is there a diference between an 'SE'
and 'Lite Version' ? It's just that I've found a
'Sapphire Radeon 9800 128mb 128-bit DDR, AGP8x, DVI/TV-Out - Lite Retail
Box' on eBuyer that looks pretty good, just don't want to buy an SE version
if possible !

Many thanks,

Dan

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.half-life (More info?)

Dan wrote:
> Cheers guys, another quick question : is there a diference between an 'SE'
> and 'Lite Version' ? It's just that I've found a
> 'Sapphire Radeon 9800 128mb 128-bit DDR, AGP8x, DVI/TV-Out - Lite Retail
> Box' on eBuyer that looks pretty good, just don't want to buy an SE version
> if possible !
>
> Many thanks,
>
> Dan
>
>

"Lite Version" smells like a SE to me. also try looking for ones with
more/faster memory (256MB and 256-bit) if you can stretch the budget to it.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.half-life (More info?)

Actually the Powercolor 9800SE version is a 4 pipe 256 bit card. Better than
even odds of soft modding to a full blown 9800Pro. The default clock speeds
are 380/340; so even if you can't do the soft mod you're still doing better
than a 9600Pro.
"Chris Hawley" <chris@blood-god.NOSPAM.co.uk> wrote in message
news:cra68h$7$1@wisteria.csv.warwick.ac.uk...
> Dan wrote:
>> Cheers guys, another quick question : is there a diference between an
>> 'SE' and 'Lite Version' ? It's just that I've found a
>> 'Sapphire Radeon 9800 128mb 128-bit DDR, AGP8x, DVI/TV-Out - Lite Retail
>> Box' on eBuyer that looks pretty good, just don't want to buy an SE
>> version if possible !
>>
>> Many thanks,
>>
>> Dan
>
> "Lite Version" smells like a SE to me. also try looking for ones with
> more/faster memory (256MB and 256-bit) if you can stretch the budget to
> it.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.half-life (More info?)

Chris Hawley wrote:
> Dan wrote:
>
>> Cheers guys, another quick question : is there a diference between an
>> 'SE' and 'Lite Version' ? It's just that I've found a
>> 'Sapphire Radeon 9800 128mb 128-bit DDR, AGP8x, DVI/TV-Out - Lite
>> Retail Box' on eBuyer that looks pretty good, just don't want to buy
>> an SE version if possible !
>>
>> Many thanks,
>>
>> Dan
>>
>
> "Lite Version" smells like a SE to me. also try looking for ones with
> more/faster memory (256MB and 256-bit) if you can stretch the budget to it.

I agree, 128-bit memory looks like an SE. getting 256-bit memory should
be a priority. Quantity (256MB or 128MB) isn't quite as important..
the difference is usually only noticable when you crank up FSAA and AF
in games

--
Ben Cottrell AKA Bench

 

[shawk]

Archived from groups: alt.games.half-life (More info?)

Dan wrote:
> Cheers guys, another quick question : is there a diference between an 'SE'
> and 'Lite Version' ? It's just that I've found a
> 'Sapphire Radeon 9800 128mb 128-bit DDR, AGP8x, DVI/TV-Out - Lite Retail
> Box' on eBuyer that looks pretty good, just don't want to buy an SE version
> if possible !
>
> Many thanks,
>
> Dan
>
>
I can't believe that the 128bit cards are still being sold as Pro's in
some stores. I thought this had stopped 6 or more months ago after a
huge outcry. A 128bit card is a crippled 9800Pro. You need to find a
256bit card. Note 'bit' not 'MB'.

A 128MB, 256bit 9800Pro would be a good buy. The names are definitely
confusing. I have the Sapphire 'Lite' version. 'Lite' when I bought
mine just meant that it didn't come with games etc. It was still a
256bit 9800Pro. Dont forget - it's the 'bits' that count not what it's
called. Look at the specs before buying. Shaun

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.half-life (More info?)

"Dan" <no@spam.please> wrote in message
news:vm0Cd.774$Ms5.389@newsfe1-win.ntli.net
> Cheers guys, another quick question : is there a diference between an
> 'SE' and 'Lite Version' ? It's just that I've found a
> 'Sapphire Radeon 9800 128mb 128-bit DDR, AGP8x, DVI/TV-Out - Lite
> Retail Box' on eBuyer that looks pretty good, just don't want to buy
> an SE version if possible !
>
> Many thanks,
>
> Dan

That card with 128 bit DDR is a "lite" card. The full 9800 should be
128 megs of 256 bit DDR.
McG.