Video card upgrade question

[PainhammeR]

Hi everyone, long time reader, first time poster.

I am getting around $400 back from income tax and I am looking to upgrade my vid card and CPU in anticipation of HL2 and Stalker (and other games)

I have an AMD XP 1800 and a Ti4200.

I will probably get an AMD 2500 for $120, so that leaves approx $250 for a vid card.

Just wondering if I should try for a ATI 9600 and try unlocking the 8 pipelines, or wait for a while and see what the prices look like.

Here is the link to the place I buy my hardware at...

http://www.otvtech.ca/pricelist/otvpricelist.pdf

 

[endyen]

Anitec.ca has the Saphire 9600XT for $250can, and the xp2500+ for $113. If you dont live in B.C. you only have to pay GST.

 

[pauldh]

I can't help you on Canadian Pricing. But a few suggestions just in case you haven't thought of it.

You don't list your current motherboard and memory. If you are buying an XP2500+, make sure your motherboard supports 333 bus barton chips, and your memory should be PC2700 or higher so it too can run at 333MHz. If you have an NF2 or KT400, you should be fine. Also, the retail heatsinks are plenty good for those chips unless you plan to do any extreme OC'in. Around here buying the retails is a no brainer as you get the longer warranty and a decent heatsink/fan for about $5 more.

ABIT IS7, P4 2.6C, 512MB Corsair TwinX PC3200LL, Radeon 9800 Pro, Santa Cruz, TruePower 430watt

 

[PainhammeR]

Thanks for the replies.

I could order from BC, but unless there is free shipping I'll be spending just as much as I would here.

My Motherboard is an Asus A7V333, so it has 333 fsb and I think it supports barton, not sure about that. I have PC2700 ram (2 sticks of 512, which is nice) so that is covered as well. I don't O/C my box, but I might rely on Tom's heat sink guide and grab a quiet fan.

I have a full tower and the case fans are noisy enough, so I will grab a quiet CPU fan if I can. Any advice on quiet case fans? Are the magnetic ones less noisy than ball bearing fans? If you can give me advice from the price list link I posted that would be excellent.

So I should go with a 9600xt or should I wait and see what the prices for the 9800's do in the next while?

 

[cleeve]

Just a note here, there aren't any pipelines to unlock on a 9600. They have 4 pipes from the factory.

The cards you can unlock are Radeon 9500 non-pros and Radeon 9800SE's, both of which are bad buys right now, especially since unlocking the pipelines has about a 50% chance of failure.

________________
<b>Radeon <font color=red>9500 PRO</b></font color=red> <i>(hardmodded 9500, o/c 322/322)</i>
<b>AthlonXP <font color=red>2600+</b></font color=red> <i>(o/c 2400+ w/143Mhz fsb)</i>
<b>3dMark03: <font color=red>4,055</b></font color=red>

 

[HardWareBoss]

Go to ATi's web site trade in your old vid card. 9800Pro for $199 US.

 

[pauldh]

I think your fine with that mobo. You may need to flash the bios at worst.

Honestly the retail heatsinks for the XP2500+ do a very good job and aren't too loud. From your price list, the Coolermaster Jet 7 and Aero 7 lite are both full adjustable fans. I have a Aero 7 + and a jet 7 on the way. It's nice because you can run it very low RPM most of the time, boost the rpm a little for extreme gaming or when the room is warm, or boost it all the way while overclocking. At the lowest RPM, you will never hear it over your case fans. Volcano 9's are also a good option for queit cooling, although are pretty loud if you crank the RPM. I haven't used the Aero lite version, but the price sure looks good. Again, I'd try the free retail fan first and only upgrade if you aren't satisfied.



ABIT IS7, P4 2.6C, 512MB Corsair TwinX PC3200LL, Radeon 9800 Pro, Santa Cruz, TruePower 430watt

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Good thing I've been so busy here at work (still frigging with a 6pack of DS-1s that won't turn-up/go live), that's one of my favourites.

How do I mod my R9600Pro into an R9800XT.

Well son, take out the liquid paper....

Duh! D'oh! Dang!

BTWm how do I mod my R9000non-pro into a GF FX 5950, there's gotta be some way!?!


- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! - <font color=green>RED </font color=green> <font color=red> GREEN</font color=red> GA to SK

 

[GeneticWeapon]

I'm glad I was here to see this

<A HREF="http://rmitz.org/AYB3.swf" target="_new">All your base are belong to us.</A>
<A HREF="http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k3=2106920" target="_new"><b>3DMark03</b></A>

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Well it took about a year, but we knew it was going to happen eventually. :lol:


- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! - <font color=green>RED </font color=green> <font color=red> GREEN</font color=red> GA to SK

 

[HardWareBoss]

To much time at work makes Jack a dull boy.

 

[GeneticWeapon]

Well it took about a year, but we knew it was going to happen eventually. :lol:

It has come to pass.... :lol:

<A HREF="http://rmitz.org/AYB3.swf" target="_new">All your base are belong to us.</A>
<A HREF="http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k3=2106920" target="_new"><b>3DMark03</b></A>

 

[PainhammeR]

Thanks for the cooling tips. I flashed my bios already, I had a hell of a time getting RAM that worked with my mobo. Finally got some that worked well though.

Seeing the post before yours I just might go with trading in for a 9800pro since the cdn dollar is at an all time high. Trading in the 9800pro will cost me about $260 cdn, which is good since it costs around $350 cdn in stores and I doubt I could get $100 for my Ti4200.

That being said, what heatsink should I get for a 9800pro if I get one? I want it to be nice and cool so if I want to o/c it a bit it will not get too hot.