What VIDEO CARD would you guys and chicks get?

minos1067

minos1067

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There's an ATI 9800 PRO on sale at Fry's for $199, but I'm not sure if I should hold out for a cheaper ATI 9600 OR 9700 XT. Right now I just have the onboard ATI 9100 w/o TV in/out and only 64M (I think shared.) I'm looking to play my Painkiller and Far Cry on my 2.8 P4 512M. Anybody have a suggestion?
 
I'm pretty sure they're always $200 at newegg.com, so if you want to wait awhile you can.
 
one of the sunday ads have a 9600XT for $140 after rebate. i have that card and I am happy with it so far.

the 9800 pro is a better card though, so it really depends if you want to spend the money.
 
i havnt gotten educated on video cards yet. i'm not sure why i find 9800's w/128 and 256MB. are they the same or should i be carefull of the retailers that advertise 256. of course, 256 sounds better. any advice on that, also?
 
I just went through card shopping a week ago. I was trying to choose between the 9600xt and 9800 pro but the deciding factor was that my comp's power supply couldn't handle the 9800 pro (because it actually has to plug into the power supply). I think it needs about 400w to run properly. So i went for the 9600xt last week and it has been a pretty good card, though it doesn't run Halo as perfectly as i hoped it would.
 
im running a 9800 pro 128 just great on my 350 watt power supply. If you want to play farcry, then I suggest getting the 9800 pro, $200 is a great value. Farcry will run with a 9600xt, but you wont be able to turn the graphics up near as high. Plus a 9800 pro will be good to have when future games like half life 2 etc. come out.
 
I've got a Dell 8300 that came with a 9800pro and 250 watt ps. Granted, Dell's power supplies are underrated and tough as nails, but if your current ps has an extra plug, chances are it'll run fine.

As far as 128 vs. 256, I read an article, I think it was on tomshardware.com where they benchmarked the two and there was very little difference.

This will blow away your current onboard video. I went from a gefore4 ti 4600 and this is about 2x as fast with the new games that utilize DirectX 9 stuff. A little faster with the older games, but for games like farcry and painkiller, this card is pretty much the bomb. (Unless you're willing to spend twice as much for an X800 or Geforce 6800)
 
I really appreciate all of the feedback you all have given. I always hope that my replies to other's posts are as effective and helpfull as the replies that my fellow CAG's have shared w/mine. Peace!
 
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