New Graphics Card

I might be buying a new graphics card in a few months time to replace my "RADEON 256MB 9600". I would like someone give me a list (because I know nothing about graphics cards! :heckle: ) of graphics cards in order of "greatness", starting with the RADEON 256MB 9600.

I don't know if you understood that, so basically, I need a list of cards (with approximate prices :)) starting from the one I already have upwards to about £150. I'm thinking of getting a 9800, but I want to see what else there is out there :p.

Thanks :bowdown:

Also, what are "all in wonder" cards or whatever they're called? Should I get one of those, or are they a lot pricier?

YourCard
Geforce 5700 Ultra
radeon 9600 XT
Geforce 5900 XT
radeon 9700 pro
radeon 9800 pro

I try and get a bit more cash and get a Nvidia 6800, they can be had for around £175 rather than buy a previous generation card for £150.

The lowest I would go at the moment is for a 9800 Pro for around £135. Above that, you have the latest generation - ATi's X800s and nVidia's 6800s. Personally, I would probably go for the 6800 because of Shader Model 3.0, but they're both so stupidly fast, you can't go far wrong with either of them.

So that means:

9600
9800 Pro
6800
6800 GT
6800 Ultra (Not much performance gain over the GT, and a lot more expensive, so not very good value for money)

Another thing you may want to look out for is the 6600GT. Hexus recently did a review of them: http://www.hexus.net/content/reviews...lld19JRD04NTM=

Interestingly, they seem to beat all of the previous generation cards except in tests with high resolution and high AA. If I were you, I'd wait for the AGP versions to start appearing on the market, as I think they'd fit in quite nicely with your budget, and should be excellent performers for the money.. Otherwise, I'd go for a 6800.

Thanks for the replies guys. I looked on ebuyer, and they're doing a Gforce 6800 for £176.20, with three games. Is this price likely to come down much in the next few months? I won't be buying the card now - my borther will buy my current card, when he builds his computer in a few months.

Failing that, I will definatly get a 9800 pro. I now have a few questions though:

* What's the difference between MSI cards and Sapphire - is one better than the other?
* Should I go for a 128 MB card or a 256? The one I have now is 256 - is there much of a difference?

256mb would probably only be a benefit on the higher cards i.e. the Geforce 6800s. A 128mb 9800 Pro is probably better than a 256mb 9800 Pro since the 128mb version is cheaper, with little, if any, performace loss.

Basically, there are 2 cards that I am willing to buy that are in my price range. The 9800 Pro, which I now know should be 128 MB. The other is the Gforce 6800. The one I found is only a 128 MB, but it is at the very limit of my price range. I'm guessing though that getting that will be better than the 9800 pro though.

Yup, the 6800 will be the better card, but with the appropiate higher price tag. 128mb wll probably be fine, and certainly much better than your current card.

How about a 6800LE? £133 inc VAT! :eek:

http://www.order247.co.uk/order247co...=gpu&pagenum=3

Info L'inq http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=18505

A 6800 but with 8 pipelines, not 12 (or 16 in the GT/Ultra), and probably slower speeds? Could be a super overclocker, especially on the core... :rockon:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by schmunk

How about a 6800LE? £133 inc VAT! :eek:

http://www.order247.co.uk/order247co...=gpu&pagenum=3

Info L'inq http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=18505

A 6800 but with 8 pipelines, not 12 (or 16 in the GT/Ultra), and probably slower speeds? Could be a super overclocker, especially on the core... :rockon:

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It might be a stupid question, but what's the difference between this card, and the card I found? What does the "LE" mean? Is it exactly the same, just without a TV-out, or some other sockets, or is it different in performance?

Also, what are these "pipelines" you speak of?

Just read a review of it here - sounds excellent for the money

http://www.tbreak.com/reviews/article.php?id=325

I would hate to only have 8 pipelines! :eek: Heck I already have 8! I would go for the plain jane 6800 or a GT... Or perhaps a x600... from ATi...... :p

Quote:

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Originally Posted by myth

I would hate to only have 8 pipelines! :eek: Heck I already have 8! I would go for the plain jane 6800 or a GT... Or perhaps a x600... from ATi...... :p

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But what are pipelines? Are they the "strength" or "power" of the graphics card?

Also, how many pipelines does the Gforce 6800 have?

Mathematical functions go through the pipeline and out comes a set of instructions to display the visual world

Pipelines relate to the number of pixels the card can render in each operation - more is better... Theoretically, all else being equal, a 16-pipeline card would be twice as fast as an 8-pipeline card. However, it doesn't quite work like that in real life.

Good explanation here: http://www.datafuse.net/pipelines.php


As I said above, the standard 6800 has 12 pipelines and the 6800 GT and Ultra have 16. The Radeon 9800 Pro/XT has 8. The X800 Pro has 12 and the X800 XT has 16.

However, it *may* be possible to 'unlock' the pipelines of the 6800LE to make it a full 12-pipeline 6800. I say *may*. In any case, it ain't bad for 130, especially overclocked... :devilish:

I'm almost certainly going to be getting the Gforce 6800 then, but do you think the price will come down much in the next few months (between now and xmas)?