Choosing a Manufacturer of a video card

[CBMLude]

With the prices dropping on GF4 ti4200 cards, I thought it would be a good chance to do an upgrade. The problem is, which manufacturer, or model number should I go with? Basically which one has the best performance. I've been trying to find some benchmarks on different manufacturers with the same GPU but was unsuccessful. Therefore I turn to you, the almighty PUBLIC OPINION. Here's a few that are generally the same price.

- MSI 8894-80 G4Ti4200-TD8X 64MB DDR VO+DVI+VGA
- Forsa Geforce4 TI4200 64MB DDR w/TV AGP8X
- Chaintech Geforce4 TI4200 128MB DDR DVI+TV AGP8X
- Leadtek Geforce4 TI4200 128MB DDR AGP8X,TV+DVI
- ASUS V9280TD GF4 TI4200-8X 64MB, DDR, AGP8X, TV-OUT, DVI
- Albatron GF4 Ti4280-128TDP GF4Ti4200 Dual Head 128MB DDR AGP w/ TV-out

If there are any other boards you could add or recommend, please feel free to bring it to my attention.

 

[elzt]

All those cards should perform pretty much the same. So you should compare them in terms of features, bundled accessories and software. BTW, what's the purpose of your upgrade? For new games? If yes, then I don't think Ti4200 is a good choice.

 

[CBMLude]

Well the upgrade is mainly for games. But I don't game that hard anyways. I play once in a while, but not that often. That's why I figure a GF4 ti4200 would do. Why do you suggest that I NOT get one?

 

[elzt]

At about the same price of Ti4200, you can get a Radeon 9500 which is much better. It will also handle the latest and upcoming games. On the other hand, if you can live without DirectX 9 and are happy with 2x FSAA, then the Ti4200 is fine.

 

[CBMLude]

I was considering the Radeon 9500pro... but the ATi version is actually quite a bit more than the gf4 ti4200 cards. What is the difference in performance between a ATi Radeon 9500pro and say a Saphire Radeon 9500pro

 

[elzt]

They both use the same GPU and chipset, so the difference in performance is unnoticeable. Again, you should go for the one that has the best bundled accessories and software.

I thought I mentioned the Radeon 9500 (non-pro) one.

 

[CBMLude]

Heh... you're right, you did say 9500 (non-pro) I guess I jumped the gun.