CAG decide my video card.

[Graystone]

http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20050524/vga_charts-02.html#3d_mark_2005

I have been debating for about a month what vid card to put in my new pc I am buliding so I said fuck it and let you decide Since I can't. keep in mind about $250 is my limit. and this card is PCI express. The link for vid cards is at the top of this post.

Just post which one you would buy. or which ones have you had better experience with etc. I am not trying to hear how my CPU sucks or my mobo blows cause I don't care this is my first intel system. I have done tons of AMD systems and what something that is not normal or about to lose support :D so here is what I have so far.

Socket-T (lga 775) p4 3.0 ghz HT
1 gig of pc 3200 ram
sata hard drive.
my mobo is a
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=240339

thanks for all of the help.

[vihit]

I recently built a new computer and I went with the nVidia 6600 GT (PCI-E) for about $130. My budget was $150. It's been a great card. Worked for every game I've thrown at it - BF2, Doom 3, SWAT 4, Half-Life 2.

Edit - That's the same motherboard I bought for my new build too, and it's been working great as well.

[Graystone]

I recently built a new computer and I went with the nVidia 6600 GT (PCI-E) for about $130. My budget was $150. It's been a great card. Worked for every game I've thrown at it - BF2, Doom 3, SWAT 4, Half-Life 2.

Edit - That's the same motherboard I bought for my new build too, and it's been working great as well.


Cool thanks the 6600 gt. I was going to buy originally and then I thought if that is only 120 I want something bigger and better.

[CaseyRyback]

moving this to the PC board.

Personally I would look for an AGP motherboard and look for an AGP version of the x800 series. zipzoomfly had retail saffire x800 XT PE cards for 219 the other day and the x800 XL is on clearance at Best Buy for 206 from what I have read (may be Ymmv).

[Graystone]

moving this to the PC board.

Personally I would look for an AGP motherboard and look for an AGP version of the x800 series. zipzoomfly had retail saffire x800 XT PE cards for 219 the other day and the x800 XL is on clearance at Best Buy for 206 from what I have read (may be Ymmv).


I didn't even think about posting this in the PC board thanks.

Why AGP though. I though PCI Express had bigger bandwiths which in turn into made it run faster.

[fieldkillah]

moving this to the PC board.

Personally I would look for an AGP motherboard and look for an AGP version of the x800 series. zipzoomfly had retail saffire x800 XT PE cards for 219 the other day and the x800 XL is on clearance at Best Buy for 206 from what I have read (may be Ymmv).

The only problem is that AGP is being replaced by pci express. The 7800gtx isn't even being released in an AGP version, so if he goes AGP he'll just have to buy a new motherboard when he upgrades next. Also i have a 6600GT, and it's a great video card.

[SuprTnr2]

AGP - Cheaper and not a whole lot worse than PCIe right now ;)

[DangerDave]

$250 is alot of money. If you don't mind spending 10 dollars more you can easily get a Geforce 6800 Gt or a Radeon x800 XL for that much. Both of those cards will whoop on a 6600 Gt. Also, if you do want to save a little the budget card to get is a 6800 regular. There about 20 bucks more than the 6600 gt.

[SuprTnr2]

Why not just get a AGP and PCIe compatible mobo, have the best of both worlds :D

[jam3582]

AGP - Cheaper and not a whole lot worse than PCIe right now ;)

actually in some cases the pci express version is cheaper

heres the card I have but in agp form , I play probably every game out now (except doom 3) on the highest settings . http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=322251

heres a good listing of cards in your price range http://www.anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.aspx?i=2499&p=4

[CaseyRyback]

I didn't even think about posting this in the PC board thanks.

Why AGP though. I though PCI Express had bigger bandwiths which in turn into made it run faster.

this may not be entirely true, but from what I have read on numerous boards.

Basically because the cards from this generation are going to run the same. No difference in the speed the card is read at. PCI-e is the way of the future, but I doubt you are going to update your card anytime soon if you are spending 250 on it. The older AGP motherboards are also cheaper in most cases from what I have seen, so it would save you a few bucks there.


If you do want to go PCI-e still, I would look into the 7800 GT

[SOSTrooper]

If you do want to go PCI-e still, I would look into the 7800 GT


His motherboard only supports PCI-E, so he has to get an PCI-E. But that 7800GT will cost him a lot more than the $250 budget. :-#

For $250, you can easily get an ATI X800XL PCI-E 256MB, or wait around for deals like X800XT or 6800GT to get close to $250. My friend has the X800 Pro PCIE and it runs HL2, Doom 3 and the FEAR demo like a charm. My sister has the X800XL PCIE, which also runs them like a dream. So there you have it.

Don't even think about AGP.

[R1V3R5]

For $250, you can easily get an ATI X800XL PCI-E 256MB, or wait around for deals like X800XT or 6800GT to get close to $250.

And now that Nividia's 7 series cards are out, the 6 series will get a price drop across the board.


Also, sorta off topic but related to what another poster said. Nvidia did say the 7800 cards would only be pci express but they said the same thing about the 6800 cards and those made it to agp. Obviously, agp is pretty much dead but is still makes money. And Nvidia (like any company) loves money. I think it is unlikely but an agp version could happen.

[Theenternal]

I made the move as well about 2 months ago.. went with a pci-e board and a 6600 gt at around 120ish.. well worth it..

My view on the video card debate... just go with something around the 150 or less price range... by the time this card becomes junky, you will be able to get something better with the saved 100 that you would spend on that 250 dollar card.

[psiufoxx2]

I recommend the 6600gt. It can be had for $140 and kicks ass at 1280x1024. (It even kicks World of Warcraft's ass at 1600x1200). If you're satisfied with saving money, then buy the Leadtek Winfast PX6600GT TDH. You may be able to find it for $120.

see below -- :P

------------------------------------------

But if you REALLY wanna spend that full $250, then save up another $50 to pick this up:

Leadtek WinFast PX6800 GT TDH GeForce 6800 GT PCI Express 256MB DDR3 Video Card - $299 shipped (http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=323628&affiliate=pricegrabber)

So there you have it. I'm a big fan of Leadtek btw.. VERY reliable product - great customer service, and quality overclock potential. Well, that's my 2 cents.

[Graystone]

thanks guys for all the info.

[psiufoxx2]

Just wanted to say:

If you're satisfied with 1280x1024 gaming - get the 6600gt - and save your money.

If you NEED 1600x1200 gaming - the 6800 is nice, but it will be eclipsed just as rapidly as the 6600gt.

Neither of them will be contenders in a year. If you want to secure the future past that, buy a 6800gt. It will cost you close to $300.

But then again, if you buy the 6600gt now, you can always buy a 6800 gt next year to upgrade (it will probably be down to about $150 then).

So I'm changing my recommendation. Bottom line, the 6600gt is better than the 6800.

[Graystone]

I made the move as well about 2 months ago.. went with a pci-e board and a 6600 gt at around 120ish.. well worth it..

My view on the video card debate... just go with something around the 150 or less price range... by the time this card becomes junky, you will be able to get something better with the saved 100 that you would spend on that 250 dollar card.


Good point. I remember I bought a 5200fx and then like 2 months later it was no good I could barley run battlefield. I to run it on med setting.

[BeAt]

i would go with the regular 6800 thats what im running in my pc right now but mines the agp with the softmodded to run like the GT , im not so sure if you can softmod the PCI-E version either way its a great card lol, i can run HL 2 full setttings at 1280 X 1024, 8 x antialiasing, and 16x anisotropic filtering at a constant playable framerate

[CaseyRyback]

Good point. I remember I bought a 5200fx and then like 2 months later it was no good I could barley run battlefield. I to run it on med setting.

due to this, I would skip all budget cards from the last generation. Buy something with 16 pipelines so you would be set for the next little while.

The cost is not all that much more, and the performance boost and lastability is going to be much better

[SOSTrooper]

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=322262


ZipZoomFly has Gigabyte X850XT PCI-E 256MB Dual DVI Out and VIVO for $279 no rebate. Took this from phatty wally

[adrianchan56]

9800 pro for CAG
6600gt for normal pc gamer

[zzl365]

Good point. I remember I bought a 5200fx and then like 2 months later it was no good I could barley run battlefield. I to run it on med setting.
The 5200 to me is an example of one of the worst things a company can do. They released a new card with a higher number that was MUCH MUCH worse than their older cards with lower numbers.