Yet Another Video Card Thread

[John Crichton]

Okay, folks. I am somewhat in the know when it comes to computer tech. Built my own PC and a few more on top of that. I've had a few software issues here and there but nothing crippling.

Here are the vitals:

P4 2.8
ASUS P4C800 Motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce2 MX400 (yikes!)
1 gig-o-RAM
Antec Sonata Case (380 Watt Power Supply)
Windows XP (SP2)

The machine is whisper quiet and I'd like to keep it that way if I can. However I really need a new video card. I don't play most of the newer games that *need* it like Half-Life 2 or Doom 3 as I stick to mostly sims/strategy games like SimCity4, Rollercoaster Tycoon3, Civ3, blah blah blah. But I have been known to play newer stuff from time to time.

I don't mind spending $200-300 on a card at this point as I figure my last one was good for ~5 years and changed between 2.5 different systems. I keep getting lag in some games and even in Photoshop from time to time. Help a dude out. Oh yeah, I'll need an AGP card as the PCI-Express cards aren't supported by my MB (I don't think).

 

[Fenlock]

Nope.. your board dont support PCIe, but there is some good AGP cards out there anyway.

I usually go to anandtech.com or thg for reviews/recommendations and based on that i am looking to upgrade my GF5700 to a GF6600GT. Mostly because i dont game that often and because my main OS is linux (bad ati driveres, bad).

So based on that i would recomend a XFX GeForce 6600GT AGP 128 MB.

/F

 

[Allanon]

I'd recommend you wait until mid/end januari before purchasing anything. The new cards Ati is releasing could very wel result in a lowering of videocard prices across the board (both Ati and Nvidia) thus enabling you to get a better videocard for your money.

For the moment I'll echo Fenlocks sentiment that a geforce 6600 gt has a lot of bang for your buck (get the 256 mb version if your budget allows it as it will last longer that the 128mb version).

If the Ati cards are released in due time and in AGP versions the X800 is shaping up to be a very good performer in the 200-300 range but it's a big if. Otherwise Ati only offers the X700XT which is the equal to the geforce 6600gt in every respect except Doom III where the 6600gt shines and Halflife 2 where the X700XT shines.

Hope this helps.

EDIT: by the way, lag in photoshop is mostly always memory/processor related. Are you running a heavy virusscanner like norton in the background or editing very large pictures? Because a new videocard will probably do nothing to speed up photoshop.

 

[John Crichton]

I'd recommend you wait until mid/end januari before purchasing anything. The new cards Ati is releasing could very wel result in a lowering of videocard prices across the board (both Ati and Nvidia) thus enabling you to get a better videocard for your money.

​

Hmm, didn't know about that. I don't mind waiting a little bit especially if it means I save a few bucks. ​

For the moment I'll echo Fenlocks sentiment that a geforce 6600 gt has a lot of bang for your buck (get the 256 mb version if your budget allows it as it will last longer that the 128mb version).

Cool. I'll keep me eye on that one.

If the Ati cards are released in due time and in AGP versions the X800 is shaping up to be a very good performer in the 200-300 range but it's a big if. Otherwise Ati only offers the X700XT which is the equal to the geforce 6600gt in every respect except Doom III where the 6600gt shines and Halflife 2 where the X700XT shines.

Ah, ok. That works. Thanks again for the heads up on the new card release date. I'll have to do some extra surfng now...

EDIT: by the way, lag in photoshop is mostly always memory/processor related. Are you running a heavy virusscanner like norton in the background or editing very large pictures? Because a new videocard will probably do nothing to speed up photoshop.

Naw, I shut off just about everything when working with PS. One of my tech-buds had mentioned something to me about a year ago concerning a potential bottleneck into my videocard that could slow down PS a little. I know that the difference would hardly be worth noticing in general but I figured I'd mention it anyway.

 

[Rackhir]

For the moment I'll echo Fenlocks sentiment that a geforce 6600 gt has a lot of bang for your buck (get the 256 mb version if your budget allows it as it will last longer that the 128mb version).

I would not spend a significantly larger amount of money for a 256mb vs 128mb version of a card. If it's $30-$50 more fine, but don't spend $100+ for the extra memory. Generally in my experience, if you need more memory for a card, you need substantially more memory 4x or more. 32mb -> 128mb not 32mb -> 64mb. Also those sorts of memory increases usually come with other advantages, faster memory, wider memory bus etc...

 

[drothgery]

256MB 6600GTs are pretty much mythical, in any case.

 

[Ranger REG]

AGP vs. PCI-Express. The reigning champion vs. a newcomer.

So what's the pros and cons for each?

Should I get a motherboard with AGP x8 slot still or will PCI-Express be the new king in 12 months? How much life is left for AGP?

 

[drothgery]

AGP vs. PCI-Express. The reigning champion vs. a newcomer.

So what's the pros and cons for each?

Should I get a motherboard with AGP x8 slot still or will PCI-Express be the new king in 12 months? How much life is left for AGP?

If you're getting a new motherboard now, get PCI-Express (even though you might have to wait a few months before motherboards with PCI-E support for AMD CPUs drop down to reasonable prices). New cards have been coming out first for PCI-E since the beginning of the year, and only appearing months later, if at all, for AGP. The only disadvantage of PCI Express right now is that motherboards may be more expensive, and that's changing quickly.

On the other hand, it's not worth throwing away an otherwise current motherboard (nForce 3, Intel 865/875, or the Via equivalent) just to get PCI-Express, unless you're one of those crazy gamers who always has to have the latest $500 video card.

 

[Ranger REG]

But is PCI-Express better than AGP?

 

[Krieg]

But is PCI-Express better than AGP?

In the long run yes, but right now you aren't going to notice any real difference. Current games aren't pushing enough data to saturate 8x AGP so PCI-E's extra bandwith isn't going to do you much good.