I need a tip

[claras]

Hi all

At the time I have a 800mhz pentium III with 256mb ddr ram, 60 gigs of disc and a geforce 1 pro ddr graphics card.

As an overall I am very satisfied with my system and I don't want to buy a new system before next year. But I have been thinking alot of upgrading my graphics card, but I don't know which one I should buy. I use my system for work (programming and office tools) but also for gaming (planning to play morrowind, shadowbane and neverwinter nights). With current games I begin to se that my system is almost 2 years old.

I have been thinking about a geforce 4 ti-4400 with twin monitor capabilites (twin monitors would be a real nice feature for me for working purpose, so this is a nearly must for me). But I guess my general system is a little low end to get full effect of such a new card at a geforce 4. But what are the alternatives if I want a card the I could use for the next 2 years like I did my geforce 1?

Any input or maybe even experiences with upgrading a system similar to mine would be nice.

 

[deagol]

well, it all depends on how much money your willing to spend. i also have a similar problem, but it got solved with my friend selling me his GF2 mx400 for 15 bucks. don't get a 4600, i think its overpriced. i hear that the Radeon8500 is pretty good, but i'm not sure if it has dual monitor support. although i thought i heard it in a review. you should be able to get it for about 150-180 bucks. another good solution would be the Ti4200, that will be out very soon. its got good proformance and the 64mb version costs 170$ and the 128mb version costs 200$. get the 64mb one though. its faster.

 

[AMD_Man]

Yes, the R8500 (not the LE), has dual-monitor support. You can find the 128MB R8500 for just over $200US and the 64MB R8500 for $140-$180US.

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the <b>ULTIMATE</b> PC processor

 

[claras]

The Radeon seems to be an interesting card. and $200 is within in my price scope. But again maybe my computer is to weak to use this card, anyone ever tried a Rad 8500 on a 800mhz pentium III?

 

[bluzbrother]

it's not too weak, which really doesn't matter anyway if you upgrade your other components in the next few months. With the Radeon your getting alot for your money, not to mention a Ti4400 would be good too but the price obviously is less attractive. Obviously a Ti4600 would be overkill and a waste of your money since your system wouldn't be able to keep up. a G3 Ti200 might not be bad either, if you can get one for $110-$120.

AOL-For people who like to pay extra for their SPAM

 

[chuck232]

I'd definitely wait for GF4 Ti4200. They will be out shortly and they will give you quite a bang for your buck. They have dual monitor support I am sure and you could run those games no problem. Wait until end of may and pick one up for like $130-150US. Also there are going to be 2 versions. One with 128MB on DDR RAM and one with 64MB. The 128MB one has a 444MHz speed while the 64MB one has a 500MHz. If you use a lot of AA get the 128MB, if not get the 64MB. The 64MB one will be about $10-20US cheaper. If you really needed more power go for the Ti4400 or o/c the 4200 up to 4400 levels or farther. Read some reviews. In one of them you could get a Ti4200 up to nearly a 4600 level!! :lol:

 

[AMD_Man]

Performance-wise, the Ti4200 is nothing major, it matches the R8500 in performance (the previews use older R8500 drivers), but in the future the TI4200 may improve in performance, but since it doesn't have an major new features, it may not improve. The 128MB R8500 can reach ~325/325 (650MHz DDR) assuming you get one with BGA RAM.

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the <b>ULTIMATE</b> PC processor

 

[chuck232]

About those drivers, what are the latest drivers for ATi cards under WinME? I know it's a horrible OS, but my performance under it are better than under Win2K.

 

[chuck232]

About those drivers, what are the latest drivers for ATi cards under WinME? I know it's a horrible OS, but my performance under it are better than under Win2K. I'm gonna go download those Win2K drivers now.

 

[chuck232]

Whoops, i pressed the wrong continue button lol

 

[AMD_Man]

You can get the 9023 driver for Win9x/Me at rage3d.com.

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the <b>ULTIMATE</b> PC processor

 

[chuck232]

Thanks a lot!