Author Topic: Skuzzy, Bloom, anyone...Which Video Card? (Read 1045 times)

SOB · « **on:** February 05, 2003, 02:32:11 AM »

Since I'll soon be recieving a nice fat refund from the government, I decided I could afford a new video card. I've decided to stick with my current system, with the exception of getting an IDE raid card and a second drive so I can mirror my data.

So, what do you guys think would work well with my system - assuming that when I upgrade next, I'll be buying a whole new system. Basically, what video card will perform optimally in my system and not be overkill.

I'm running a PIII 1GHz, 512MB PC133, Asus GeForce 3 Deluxe, Adaptec 2940U2W w/18gb barracuda drive, and an ASUS CUSL2 motherboard with the following specs...

------------------
Socket 370 for Intel® FCPGA Pentium® III 450MHz~933+MHz processors and Intel® PPGA CeleronTM 333~566+MHz.
Chipset

Intel® 82815 Graphics and AGP Memory Controller Hub (GMCH)
Intel® 82801BA Enhanced I/O Controller Hub 2 (ICH2)
Intel® 82802AB Firmware Hub (FWH)
Support 4x AGP, 4MB AIMM, PC133/PC100 SDRAM, UltraDMA/100 IDE Devices
Memory

3x 168-pin DIMM Sockets Support 16MB to 1.5GB 3.3V PC133/100 SDRAM

Maximum 512MB PC133/PC100 non-ECC SDRAM

Expansion Slots

1 x 32-bit AGP Pro/AGP 4X slot

6 x 32-bit PCI

2x CNR (Communication and Networking Riser)

Supports AGP Pro Slot with Universal AGP Connector and additional Power Connectors
----------------------------------------

Thanks for your insights!

SOB

Vermillion · « **Reply #1 on:** February 05, 2003, 07:02:28 AM »

SOB, I have a Athlon 1.3Ghz machine and just bought a Radeon 9500 128mg DDR RAM card. It max'd out my processor and took my 3Dmark2001 benchmarks from 2800 to almost 7500.

It was $158 including shipping from Googlegear.com

Anything more (ie a more expensive card) would probably not help you much without a processor upgrade.

And many people have had good experience with overclocking these up to Radeon 9700 Pro speeds.

ATI Radeon 9500 Atlantis AGP 8X 128MB DDR Video Card w/TV-Out & DVI by SapphireTech

SOB · « **Reply #2 on:** February 05, 2003, 11:11:36 AM »

Thanks, after reading other posts here I was leaning toward the 9500! Any difference in OEMs versus cards manufactured by ATI?

SOB

Skuzzy · « **Reply #3 on:** February 05, 2003, 11:27:32 AM »

If you mean OEM as in Sapphire, Gainward,....

Sapphire is the only one I know much about. They use the reference PCB from ATI and appear to use the same parts for other components as ATI. As ATI builds the RAMDAC's into thier chips now, none of the OEM's can have much impact on the image quality produced.

You might want to wait until next month to decide SOB. ATI will be shipping the R350 based cards next month and it might have a downward pricing effect on the current line.

I say "might", as ATI is not under much pressure to reduce prices due to lack of competition right now in the upper end video card market.

Animal · « **Reply #4 on:** February 05, 2003, 11:51:52 AM »

I'd say wait for the new line from ati and then get a Radeon 9700

It will max out the rest of your system, but later when you upgrade your cpu/ram/motherboard the extra speed will be worth it.

SOB · « **Reply #5 on:** February 05, 2003, 12:21:21 PM »

Thanks for the sound advice, but I'm gonna buy a card as soon as the money hits my bank account. Any waiting and I'm sure to find other places to spend the money!

So, it sounds like that Sapphire board is the ticket. Thanks all!

SOB

Pfunk · « **Reply #6 on:** February 05, 2003, 04:08:40 PM »

IF you hurry FAST newegg has a refurb sapphire 9700 pro for $233, cant beat the price on that. Newegg refurbs have like a 90% success rate, hell I bought my ebox board there and got everything it would have had new, never had a problem with it.

bloom25 · « **Reply #7 on:** February 05, 2003, 05:37:15 PM »

You already have a GeForce 3? I don't think you will see much of an improvement going to a Radeon 9500, but that said you could always transfer that card to a new machine once you build it.

SOB · « **Reply #8 on:** February 05, 2003, 05:44:31 PM »

Really? It's not a Ti or anything.

SOB

Skuzzy · « **Reply #9 on:** February 05, 2003, 05:53:44 PM »

I think bloom is referring to you being a bit CPU limited.

The 9500 justs gets started with a 1Ghz CPU and its full potential won't be exploited until you get above a 2Ghz CPU.

SOB · « **Reply #10 on:** February 05, 2003, 06:09:32 PM »

cc...but what about the performance boost from the Geforce 3 to the 9500? I figured my video card was the biggest thing holding me back at this point...am I looking at a CPU & vid card upgrade to get any real performance boost?

SOB

bloom25 · « **Reply #11 on:** February 05, 2003, 07:12:06 PM »

You are most definately CPU limited with a GeForce 3. (The regular GeForce 3 falls between the Ti200 and Ti500 in performance.) A Radeon 9500 would be a bit faster, but not nearly as much as it would be if you had a faster system. The one advantage it would gain is the ability to run 2x AA with a minimal performance penalty. The GeForce 3 also supports AA, but it takes a severe performance hit enabling it.

SOB · « **Reply #12 on:** February 05, 2003, 07:36:09 PM »

Thx bloom, maybe I'll just hold off a while longer.

SOB

FOGOLD · « **Reply #13 on:** February 06, 2003, 02:40:22 AM »

Yes, I would. I have a Geforce3 Ti500 on an XP1800. I doubt very much if I would see an imporovement at the moment especially in AH. I figure on waiting for Aces High new version which will be a lot more demanding.

The only thing that attracts me about a faster card is AA. But tell me you guys is it worth it. I turned 4 x on with my Gf3 Ti500 and I noticed diddly squat difference except the crash in speed!

Beware the hype!

Remember all that stuff about how amazing the geforce 3 was and the games were not yet written to take advantage of its amazing features? Well, guess what? they're still not!

Skuzzy · « **Reply #14 on:** February 06, 2003, 07:11:45 AM »

NVidia's AA implementation lacks a lot to be desired, even on the new FX board.

The ATI 9xxx series do a better job with AA, without much penalty in performance.

You can find screen shots showing the difference between NVidia and ATI all over the net these days. Basically, ATI's 2xAA is slightly better than NVidia's 4xAA, with much less performance degradation.