VGA Options

minhaz

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My Budget is Around $90-100 for VGA card

Available option in Sri Lanka for this budget is

MSI Geforce 9600GT 512MB $85
MSI Geforce 9500GT 1GB $86
ATI X4350HD 1GB $82

(Next Available option is 9600GT $130 which is two expensive for me so i will not try)

Can you Somebody Recommend me a card out of the 3 i have given
 

rsmith13

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Well I don't know anything about ATI cards but I can tell you that the GeForce 9600GT is much faster than the GeForce 9500GT card. You can run UT3 on high settings (1280x1024) with a 9600GT but 9500GT requires turning everything way down. The 9600GT usually requires an extra 6 pin power connector, the 9500GT doesn't.
 
Of the three the 9600GT is the best option, but a better option would be a 9800GT or a GT 240 if your PSU is weak. A GT240 is about as fast as the 9600GT while using much less power. A Radeon 4830 is also a good option, if you have good case ventilation and a decent PSU. The Radeon 4770 has all but disappeared, but if you can find one for under $100 I'd say go for that instead.
 

minhaz

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Thanks guys for the concerns.

I would love to go to a 9800GT or GTX but in my country it is two expensive to go with it.
It is Ranging from $200 upwards.

One more little Question When Comes to 9500GT 1GB and 9600GT 512MB Does or doesn't the on-board memory on the card play vital role.
 

Dramamine

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It starts to play a role when you get into using higher resolution monitors.
If you have a low resolution monitor, though, 512MB is fine.

What resolution would you be running at?
I think that when the resolution breaks 1600x1050 or whatever, it's recommended to have more memory.
 

Dramamine

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Oh, in that case, 512MB on your GPU should be fine. As I said, 1GB or more is only really necessary at higher resolutions.
 


Same card and vastly different prices, odd.
None of those cards would make real use of 1GB of RAM.
 

rsmith13

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I'm willing to bet that the 9600GT has ddr3 and the 9500GT has ddr2 ram. Am I right? I would chose a card with 512k of ddr3 over a card with 1gig of ddr2 any day, even if they were the same card. (There is a 20-40% performance hit when using ddr2 over ddr3.) Get the 9600GT!
 

sabot00

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Actually, my friend has a Phenom X3/9500GT combo, he can play UDK (the demo that comes with it) on high settings.

@the weird prices, I randomly customized a Dell PC one day, a 512MB 4670 was [+$25], a 512MB 4850 was [+$45], a 1GB 4670 was [+80].
The 1GB 4670 had the green "recommended" sign next to it, a 512 MB 4850 would SLAUGHTER a 1GB 4670 anyday.