Buy me a Card

[SpeedGeek]

ok .. ok..

I recently installed Doom 3,
seems like a pretty good game, but it doesnt run exactly the way i'd like it to run..
I dont really care about doom, since killing zombies was never my thing,
but soon Half Life 2 is coming out (in just a few days!!)
and i want a graphic card that'll do it justice

this is my system:

Athlon XP 2400+ (2033mhz)
1024 DDR 433mhz
Geforce 4 TI4400

so first of all, do you think the Graphic card is the bottle neck? maybe a new CPU will do me more justice?

i was thinking about the Geforce 6800, but although the THG faq says its around 300$ i could only find it for around 500$.

what i need is, a good card, which will run what you throw at it better then my 4400, with Video IN and OUT features (very importent) and it should be around 250$.

if you can help me by even posting a direct link to a shoping site, that would be great!

thanks!
good day.

~ forgive my stupid questions ~

 

[miahallen]

AIW Radeon 9800PRO should do the trick, plus it has all kinds of other cool "all-in-wonder" features. And yes, your graphic card is your current bottleneck, but your CPU isn't far behind.

<A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-297&depa=0" target="_new">$260 w/shipping @ newegg.com</A>

 

[SpeedGeek]

wow.. thanks for the reply..

the card looks great, 2 more questions though,

1. i dont really need an Analog video input, can i get a cheaper card without it?

2. what CPU do do you recommend i upgrade to (without changing my motherboard)

~ forgive my stupid questions ~

 

[pauldh]

You have to list your exact motherboard Make/Model/Revision or we couldn't tell you what CPU's it will support.

If it is a KT266a or KT333 based mobo, you are at max anyway. If it's an NF2 ultra 400 based board, you could throw in an XP3200+ or better yet a Mobile Barton and Overclock it past XP3200+ speeds.

With that Ram, have you attempted to OC that XP2400+? I think your CPU will be just fine for HL2 though. Video is a tougher choice as the Ti4400 should play it fine, but with reduced details and no DX9 features. Anything less than a R9700 Pro/9800 wouldn't be worth upgrading to IMO.


ABIT IS7, P4 2.6C, 1GB Corsair XMS 4000 Pro Series, Radeon 9800 Pro, Santa Cruz, TruePower 430watt

 

[pauldh]

By the way, there are many GF6800's hense the pricing confusion. The plain 6800 is $250-300, 6800GT is $350-400, and the 6800U is $450-500. There are also very limited higher models dubbed 6800 Ultra Exteme that are $600+ (not worth it). The 6800GT is the clear price/performance winner of the GF6800 series. It has near 6800U performance for $100 less.

ATI has the X800Pro $330-400, X800XT $400-450, and X800XTpe $450+. I've heard rumors that X800 Pro VIVO's will get rare now that the X800XT(non platinum) is out.


ABIT IS7, P4 2.6C, 1GB Corsair XMS 4000 Pro Series, Radeon 9800 Pro, Santa Cruz, TruePower 430watt

 

[Spitfire_x86]

Don't bother upgrading CPU without changing mobo. If you don't have money now, then get A64 with compatible mobo later.

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[sweatlaserxp]

Your computer is perfectly fine. If you want to experience HL2 in all its DirectX 9 glory, however, you're going to have to drop $200+ dollars to get a 9800 Pro or better.

<A HREF="http://atomfilms.shockwave.com/landing/landingIndex.jsp?id=dumb01&mature=accept" target="_new">DumbLand</A>

 

[miahallen]

"what i need is, a good card, which will run what you throw at it better then my 4400, with Video IN and OUT features (very importent) and it should be around 250$"

"i dont really need an Analog video input, can i get a cheaper card without it?"

If you don't need an analog video input, are you saying you need a digital video input??? The only types I know of would be ieee1394(aka "firewire") which you would need a seperate controller card for altogether (some sound cards have them too). Or an HDTV tuner card, again a seperate card altogether. Can you clarify what kind of video input you actually need.