NationStates Jolt Archive

Anyone recommend a good one?

I'm hoping to get a new P.C from www.pcspecialist.co.uk (http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk) soon, and I've been fretting over what card to get in my system.

I'm looking for something in the upper reaches of the mid-range section, that should make Half-Life 2 beautiful enough to make me spunk my pants and will play games coming out in the near future.

Here's a quick list of the ones they stock:

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a385/noblemen/Cards.jpg

The 512MB RADEON X700 seems tempting, but I've heard that at this point and for the forseeable future, it may not be worth it.

Note that I've had better luck with ATI in the past, and am hence more inclined to lean in that direction, but I'm not all that biased.

Ta.

Don't buy 512MB cards yet.

I have a 256MB Radeon X800 on my laptop, and it runs Half-Life 2 like a dream. It has problems with high light filtering settings, but otherwise it's great. Runs nice resolutions too.

You're on the right track. Anything ATI is superior (and will last longer, from my experience) than NVidia's crap.

512 is going overboard, unless you're a very hardcore gamer, or 3D animation artist (professionally).

Dont get any ATI or Radeon cards. Total bastards they are, their custome care is non-existant.

Dont get any ATI or Radeon cards. Total bastards they are, their custome care is non-existant.
Only noobs need customer support. And who else do you expect to buy from, champ?

GeForce 7800 GT is a solid choice. Some can be had for cheap ($299 on Newegg.com, last I checked), and it's a fairly bitchin' card.

Right now ATI just blows. Completely and totally. Their X1600 (or whatever they called it) doesn't really compare to nVidia's last generation cards, and I think it is expensive and hard to find. X1800 XT or XL (whichever is the cheaper one, can't remember) is way more expensive than the GeForce 7800 GT and is, in many cases, not as good a performer IIRC. The one thing it does do is have slightly better image quality.

Dont get any ATI or Radeon cards. Total bastards they are, their custome care is non-existant.

Unless of course they mke cards so good that you don't need it.

Besides, customer support is crap in anything.

Oh, some ATI vs nVidia rivalry going on.

I should have made a poll.

If it helps, I'm a professional web design/animation artist.
I don't game, though, so my GC use may differ from your intentions.

A 128MB 6600GT card will run both HL2 & Doom 3 beautifully. I'd recommend getting a 256MB card though.

The ATI cards probably can't give as much performance as the nVidia ones in that class, but the difference is most likely so small that it will never have a noticable effect.

The texture ram is prolly the most important bit. Textures keep getting bigger, so the extra 128 MB ram is prolly gonna make a big diffecence soon. But it depends on how often you upgrade. If you buy a new card each year, I suspect spending money on the 256 MB cards won't be worth it.

Keep in mind that the bigger cards may need to be plugged into your PSU, so you don't suddenly end up with a card without adequate power.

I have a 6600GT 256MB card myself, and holy shit the bugger runs smooth. Doom 3 runs in 1200x960x85Hz with 4xAA & 4xAF no problem. Haven't checked the actual fps, but it's not below 55-60.

EDIT: If it's for 3D modelling/animation, spend the money on extra CPUs or more RAM. The GFX card is not terribly important.

I got an ATI X800GT and it works like shit. Get a Geforce 7800GTX if you have the cash, if not, get the 6800GT.

If you buy a new card each year, I suspect spending money on the 256 MB cards won't be worth it.

For the record, I tend to buy something then use it until it no longer becomes practical for my needs or breaks down. And even then I wait a while.

EDIT: If it's for 3D modelling/animation, spend the money on extra CPUs or more RAM. The GFX card is not terribly important.

Games. I can't model/animate at all.

I'm not an "XTR3ME" gamer, but I do like to see the pretty lights as I shoot the good guys, or bad guys if it's one of those games where you are the villan.

Don't get a 6600 GT. In that class, I believe an ATI X800XL is the better choice.

I still say take the 7800 GT if you can afford it.

I still say take the 7800 GT if you can afford it.

They're selling it for about 300 pounds. Well out of my price range.

Don't get a 6600 GT. In that class, I believe an ATI X800XL is the better choice.

I still say take the 7800 GT if you can afford it.
Just out of curiousity, have you tried both?

- I haven't, and I don't know anyone with X800 cards, so I can't speak from experience. All I can say, is that I'm fairly impressed with my 6600GT card. I don't play games much though, and Doom 3 & HL2 are prolly the most GFX intensive games I have.

EDIT: TNM, you should consider the resolution you need. If you have a large monitor, for example, waiting a month & getting a really aggressive card would be much smarter than going for the 'cheap' midpriced cards.

I got an ATI X800GT and it works like shit. Get a Geforce 7800GTX if you have the cash, if not, get the 6800GT.
If you don not plan to overclock your GPU a 6800GS is a better choice than the 6800GT. The GS is cheaper but the GT can be overclocked more. What games do you like to play? some games run better on ATI while others run better on nVidia.

I haven't tried either. I've researched extensively and went to many hardware websites with numerous gaming benchmarks, done many price comparisons, and I've done this for months. I am building a computer, and I've currently only purchased the graphics card (7800 GT). You can build a computer with that card, a nice processor (AMD Athlon 64 3700+), a nice mobo (DFI lanparty), 1 gig of RAM (Corsair value select), a decent case, a decent PSU, a DVD burner, and a decent hard drive for about $1,000.

If you don not plan to overclock your GPU a 6800GS is a better choice than the 6800GT. The GS is cheaper but the GT can be overclocked more. What games do you like to play? some games run better on ATI while others run better on nVidia.

Whilst I assume you weren't talking to me, I'll answer anyway (in case that helps):
No plans to overclock
FPS, Freeware, RPG, Strategy, 3rd party shooters/slashers, Emulation, anything I've forgotten.

EDIT: TNM, you should consider the resolution you need. If you have a large monitor, for example, waiting a month & getting a really aggressive card would be much smarter than going for the 'cheap' midpriced cards.

Good idea, I'll see what happens. Maybe going to get a new monitor soon, so we'll see what that's like.

In order to put off doing maths homework, I've wrote down the cards people have been suggesting and finding out how much pcspecialist are selling it for (in pounds):

X800XL: 183
7800GT: 302
6600GT: 100
6800GS: 168

Couldn't find the others.

I'd advise taking a look at overclockers.co.uk, they have a good range (and a good forum for this kind of thing).

Personally I'd get a Radeon 800XL from that list (It has to be said my Radeon Mobility 9700 actually provides solid performance for new games like Rome:Total War ). My actual reccomendation would be an 850XT (one up on the Nvidia products in the same price range).

if you go with Nvidia then get a BFG card if you can, great after-service.

Whilst I assume you weren't talking to me, I'll answer anyway (in case that helps):
No plans to overclock
FPS, Freeware, RPG, RTS, 3rd party shooters/slashers, Emulation, anything I've forgotten.



Good idea, I'll see what happens. Maybe going to get a new monitor soon, so we'll see what that's like.

In order to put off doing maths homework, I've wrote down the cards people have been suggesting and finding out how much pcspecialist are selling it for (in pounds):

X800XL: 183
7800GT: 302
6600GT: 100
6800GS: 168

Couldn't find the others.
That's the 256MB cards, right?

Anyway, if you have/plan to get a 17" monitor, or smaller, then I suggest you get the 6600GT card. The 6800GS card isn't 68% more powerful - not by far. And 300 quid for a 7800GT card is just pure insanity. Spend 2 weeks in Thailand instead, it'll be more fun.

I'd advise taking a look at overclockers.co.uk, they have a good range (and a good forum for this kind of thing).

Personally I'd get a Radeon 800XL from that list (It has to be said my Radeon Mobility 9700 actually provides solid performance for new games like Rome:Total War ). My actual reccomendation would be an 850XT (one up on the Nvidia products in the same price range).

if you go with Nvidia then get a BFG card if you can, great after-service.

800XL: 183 pounds

Not bad.

I'd consider the 850XT, but I'd like the p.c to be ready to rock as soon as I set it up, rather than allow these inexpert hands install the card right away.

Also, what if I got my new card on the Internet from a different company, and they get delivered on different days? That's good time wasted waiting for the new card to show up, or the new P.C.

That's the 256MB cards, right?

Of course. Both camps agree on this issue, and who am I to disagree?

Anyway, if you have/plan to get a 17" monitor, or smaller, then I suggest you get the 6600GT card. The 6800GS card isn't 68% more powerful - not by far. And 300 quid for a 7800GT card is just pure insanity. Spend 2 weeks in Thailand instead, it'll be more fun.

Is that 17" in CRT or TFT land? I've heard that these mean different things, with a 15" TFT about the same as a 17" CRT and so on.

The 6600 does seem tempting. Cheap, and I can get another in an SLI setup later on if I want.

Thailand? With Dope-loving Amsterdam almost right next door?

SLI is not a good option from what I've heard. Some games don't like SLI and will actually performe worse in some circumstances.

SLI is not a good option from what I've heard. Some games don't like SLI and will actually performe worse in some circumstances.

Hmm...thanks for the heads-up.

Still doesn't change the fact that it "cost not lots". Indeed, since I don't need to buy another card plus a new motherboard, it could be seen as even cheaper.

Woo!

In terms of price and functionality, the 6600 is looking to be rather good.

Anyone want to change my mind?

I have a GeForce 6600 256 Mb, and it works beautifully. I really don't see the need for anything with more power, unless you plan on doing it on two screens.

Hmm...did a quick sum.

The 6600 is only 74 quid, 26 less than the 6600GT but with 256 instead of 128.

It's cheap, seems to work for many and I can always get a better one later.

And it means that, barring a change of heart, it'll cost me a piddling...

Six-hundred-and-nine-pounds!!!

Pretty darned cheap for a not bad gaming P.C that can be easily upgraded.

Thanks all!

(Any comments can be TGed to me. I'm off to bed.)

Go with 6600, pretty good for very little cash.

SLI is not a good option from what I've heard. Some games don't like SLI and will actually performe worse in some circumstances.

The only reason it would run slower is if you play a game on incredibly low settings, this means the overhead of running two GPUs drags the performance down. Why would you run it on very low settings when you can crank t up without really losing frames?