In the market for a new video card.

[Dark Jezter]

With the release of Half-Life 2 and World of Warcraft just around the corner, I've decided that it's about time I upgraded to a new video card. So I thought I'd ask hardware-savvy ENWorlders which video card would be a good one to get, as well as which would be a good place to buy it online. My current video card is a GeForce 3 Ti200, which I've had for over two years.

Other details about my PC:

AMD Athlon XP 2.1 GhZ processor.
512 MB RAM.
Soundblaster Live Value.
Windows XP Professional.

Reccomendations?

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

Price range?

You can get boards using the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro chipset for ~$200, and they are still competive in most situations. I'm using one, and I'm playing EQII at a pretty high detail level. I have the same processor as you, with 1GB of RAM.

You've got to watch the high end Nvidia boards -- the power requirements are obscene. Everything is kind of at a transition point right now, as the industry switches from AGP to PCI Express for the video connection.

 

[LightPhoenix]

As for where to buy it, I'm a big fan of www.newegg.com, they have very reliable service. If you're looking for solely the lowest price, search on www.pricewatch.com.

As for video cards, I'm a big fan of the ATI Radeon 9600XT. Only $189 at Newegg, and I'm sure you could find it someplace cheaper on Pricewatch.

 

[drothgery]

It really depends on degree of urgency, budget, and if there any special features you really need. The recommendations up-thread are pretty solid assuming you're going to spend $150-$200 on a video card, and want to get a new video card right now.

If you're willing to wait a few weeks, AGP versions of the GeForce 6600 and Radeon X700 should become available, and you'll want to consider them as well if you're looking in the upper-midrange segment (at that's generally considered the best value). I'm almost certainly going to grab a 6600GT as soon as the AGP versions become available.

If you've decided to break the bank and spend over $300 on a video card, just get a GeForce 6800GT; the only real difference between the ATI and NVidia high-end cards is in Doom 3, and the NVidia cards have the edge there.

And the current generation of low-end cards aren't all that much better than your GeForce 3; it's probably not worth the $100 upgrade.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Well I have found myself in need of a good video board myself - my PC go boom - my last one was old - 2001/2 and figure it is about time. Don't want to speand more than 150$ as I am not a big gamer, most graphic game I have at this time is Dawn of War and Freelancer.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Went with a GeForce 5500 and have to say not a bad card.

 

[Dark Jezter]

Okay, after reading over this thread, browsing various web sites, and discussing the issue with my friends, I decided to grab myself an ASUS GeForce 6800GT. It was pretty pricey ($340), but I know that I won't have to upgrade it for a good long time, and it should be great for running new and upcoming games.

Thanks for all the advice, everyone!

 

[drothgery]

Okay, after reading over this thread, browsing various web sites, and discussing the issue with my friends, I decided to grab myself an ASUS GeForce 6800GT. It was pretty pricey ($340), but I know that I won't have to upgrade it for a good long time, and it should be great for running new and upcoming games.

Thanks for all the advice, everyone!

Two mild notes of warning

• You may get used to having a high-end video card (and so playing the newest games with all the features enabled). This makes it difficult to keep the same card for a few years.
• It's possible that a 6800GT is "too fast" for an Athlon XP, so your CPU will be the bottleneck in games, rather than your video card.

 

[Dark Jezter]

Two mild notes of warning

• You may get used to having a high-end video card (and so playing the newest games with all the features enabled). This makes it difficult to keep the same card for a few years.
• It's possible that a 6800GT is "too fast" for an Athlon XP, so your CPU will be the bottleneck in games, rather than your video card.

Bottlenecking is a valid concern, but here in another month or two I will probably be upgrading my processor and RAM. Still, thanks for the tip.

 

[JamesL85]

Excuse my tardiness, but I just found this....But....

Rodrigo said:

You've got to watch the high end Nvidia boards -- the power requirements are obscene. Everything is kind of at a transition point right now, as the industry switches from AGP to PCI Express for the video connection.

Did I happen to sleep through this transition???? Granted, I'm not an avid follower of hardware (as I should be), but has AGP gone by the wayside, similar to the ISA boards??? What are the advantages of PCI Express, and does it require better MB's?????

I apologize for my ignorance......