Advice Mid-Range Graphic Card

[SNiPEZ]

Hi guys, just looking for opinions on what video card I should stick into my 1.333 T-Bird. Dont want to spend much money, play mostly mmrpg, thanks in advance, currently thinking 9000pro or mx440

 

[chuck232]

Hmmm... A R9000/MX440 wouldn't give you DX9 goodness. I'd probably go for a R9500 non-pro 128MB or a R9500 Pro. The non-pro may software mod to a R9700 so goodness for less.

...And all the King's horses and all the King's men couldn't put my computer back together again...

 

[bloaty]

Just get an 8500 of some sort if you dont want to spend a lot of money. 9000's are crap and so are the mx400's.

 

[uber_m0j0]

An ATi 8500 or perhaps a Geforce 3. Most Geforce3s are under $90 now, I think a few TI 500s are selling for about $100. I think you'll be pretty happy with a GF3 ti500 on your system...

~m0j0

 

[SNiPEZ]

Ya thanks for the input guys, im now deciding between 4200 and 8500. Quick question for those still listiening, what 8500 should I get, the only one I can see that isnt AIW is called the LE ? I would love to buy a gf3 but no stores in my area are selling them ( the oldest thing I can buy is 7500)

 

[Crashman]

LE's are clocked slower. The BEST LE's use standard memory that's underclocked from 275MHz to 250MHz. Some others use very slow memory. If you buy your card from a site such as Newegg, you can read the user reviews and find out which one comes at what speed.

<font color=blue>You're posting in a forum with class. It may be third class, but it's still class!</font color=blue>

 

[HolyShiznit]

I recently bought a Sapphire 8500le from newegg.com. It runs really well. At $72 I find it to be an awesome value.

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<font color=blue><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by holyshiznit on 01/25/03 10:47 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Spitfire_x86]

Get a Radeon 8500/8500 LE

<b> "You can put lipstick on a pig, but hey, it's still a pig!" - RobD </b>

 

[Rubberbband]

If you can afford it get the GF4 Ti4200 you won't regret it. I have one and it's rock solid. The 8500LE is a good choice too but I'd only get one that is "Built by ATI". They seem to have better components.

The Men Behind the GUNS!

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[TheCommGuy]

I would go with the G4 4200 card also- easy to find and not too much money. Leadtek make good vid cards in the Nvidia line up. I also think- if you want to hold off- prices should drop towards the end of Feb when the G-FX line up breaks lose.

Also- maybe I am wrong but most games don't even use DX9 yet and to upgrade it- it's just some patching on the card. (new drivers/bios).

 

[namek0]

Yeah, I've got an athlon 1.1 and the 8500 works great with most games. And figure the 60-75 bucks for the 8500 is a damn good deal for the card. It's rock solid even when overclocked a good deal

It's all good ^_^

 

[Berman]

Can someone explain to me why the Radeon 9000 is so bad? For its price, it seems to get good benchmarks in Tom's tests. They're pretty damn cheap, and they appear to get at least double the framerates of my current Geforce2 MX.

I'm not sure, but I gather the reason that the 9000 gets negative feedback is because it simply doesn't get very good framerates compared to the high-end cards. Does it have any other drawbacks?

I've been thinking about upgrading to a 9000 for a while, so taking into account I'm not looking for high-end performance, and also taking into account that I'm upgrading from a Gf2MX, is the 9000 still a bad idea?

 

[knowan]

I can't understand the Radeon 9000 bashing either. It's faster than a GF4 MX and only slightly slower than the 8500. Outside of benchmarking tools will anyone seriously notice the 2 or 3 frames more that the 8500 has over the 9000? For what you pay it's a damn fine card.

Oh, and it's oodles better than the GF2 MX. I bought mine in October as a place holder until the 9700 comes down in price, but now I'm thinking I'll keep it at least until Christmas.

--------------
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[phial]

people bash teh 9000pro because its MORE EXPENSIVE by about 40 bucks than an 8500LE. and its slower

it seems kinda stupid. make a new product, thats slightly slower than the original product that its derived from, and charge 40 bucks more for it

its pointless to get a 9000pro. because you can get an 8500le for less Lol. can i say it any simpler?

 

[Spitfire_x86]

Yes, Radeon 9000 (non-Pro) is better than GF4 MX440 and cost equal. It's a very good GF4 MX alternative. But R8500LE cost only little more than R9000 (non-Pro) and it's a much better card.

<b> "You can put lipstick on a pig, but hey, it's still a pig!" - RobD </b>

 

[DCB_AU]

The ATI Radeon 8500 or 8500LE.

DCB_AU

 

[phial]

spitfire, were talkig about the 9000PRO, not 9000non-pro

the 9000 sucks, dont get it. 8500le is *cheaper* and much faster