60 odd quid to spend on a GFX card

[blue..matt]

whats should i be getting

pref from ebuyer

any advice please

looking at playing Black hawk down and CS online

[Kezzer]

just save up and get a good card :|

[Gubbage]

Gainward GeForce4 PowerPack TI4200 64MB DDR
£58.74 inc VAT

Hercules 3d Prophet 9000 Pro AGP x8 128MB
£60.02 inc VAT

i'd go with the TI4200

[Austin]

If you're looking for a 'cheap' card the GF4TI4200 is undoubtedly the champion esp if you can get a 128MB version. It is way faster than the Rad9600 or GF-FX5600 which are often higher priced and their DX9 is pretty pointless at stock speeds anyway. The Rad9000PRO-9200 are way way slower even if they possess twice the RAM, they're slower and inferior to the Rad8500 they replaced. GF3 are also inferior and GF2 or GF4MX don't even remotely compare. Unquestionably 4200 is the best card for £70ish.

[schrickvr6]

get the 64mb ti4200,it's alot of card for the money

[SilentDeath]

id say ti4x00 aswell, but the 9600p is a very decent card worth every pennny, if uve got £120 to spend. but i wont get better than ti4x00 for £60

[BoB_DoG]

for 60 quid, Id go for a radeon 8500LE, or a 9100 (as they are basically the same card). Better than a Radeon 9000, and well within your range. Otherwise, the TI4200 is a safe bet

[Howard]

Originally posted by Austin
If you're looking for a 'cheap' card the GF4TI4200 is undoubtedly the champion esp if you can get a 128MB version. It is way faster than the Rad9600

No it's not..

Just save some more and get a decent, up to date card.

[Austin]

Originally posted by Howard
No it's not..

Just save some more and get a decent, up to date card.

Originally posted by BoB_DoG
for 60 quid, Id go for a radeon 8500LE, or a 9100 (as they are basically the same card). Better than a Radeon 9000, and well within your range. Otherwise, the TI4200 is a safe bet

Actually unless I'm mistaken the Rad9100 & 9200 are effectively Rad9000 speeds hence a fair bit slower than the Rad9000PRO which in turn is a fair bit behind the Rad8500LE (10% slower than the Rad8500). So the Rad9000-9200 are not a good choice at all esp when you consider the FX5200 (not good but better) and the low prices of the GF4TI4200 which offer comparable speed to Rad9600PRO & GF-FX5600ultra outside of DX9 or medium to high AA+AF.

Howard I said "If you're looking for a 'cheap' card" then the 4200 really can't be beaten ... if you 'save some more' then you're no longer looking for a cheap card. I understand what your'e saying and in the past I have almost always recommended people spend that little bit more for the mid-range options but the mid-range DX9 cards are a little disappointing when you consider the improvement saw witht he introduction of GF2, GF3, GF4TI, Rad9700 and Rad9500PRO. Even if you can afford more than a GF4TI4200 it isn't always a wise move when considering perf per pound.

[blue..matt]

thanks for the help guys

the people who said, get a decent card, i dont have the money, yep, im poor (i was going to list what my money has goes on, my 160K house . nice cars etc etc , but i wont bother)

spending 150 quid on a GFX card is not happening, its way down on my list of things to buy

[Thorburn]

I'd go for a Ti4200 at that price, what about looking second hand tho?

[realityx]

Another vote for the ti4200 for under £60 new,
But the 9600 PRO is better and more future proof
then the ti4200 but then it does cost twice as much new:O)

But at least with a ti4200 you should still be able
to play the next gen of games like hl2, albiet not
at high rez or details I,d imagine.

[amoeba]

Originally posted by BoB_DoG
for 60 quid, Id go for a radeon 8500LE, or a 9100 (as they are basically the same card). Better than a Radeon 9000, and well within your range. Otherwise, the TI4200 is a safe bet

Aye if your into modding, get one of these. Then you can flash it into a 9100, and give it a pretty decent overclock too.

Its my 'backup' card atm :-)

[Trickle]

Originally posted by Austin
,...but the mid-range DX9 cards are a little disappointing when you consider the improvement saw witht he introduction of GF2, GF3, GF4TI, Rad9700 and Rad9500PRO.

Apart from the inclusion of the 9500 in that list, I would have agreed with this statement in the past until the recent HL2 benches.

Still, you would unlikely be playing HL2 in DX9 mode even with a 9600, so the 40fps result for a 4600 in DX8 isnt that far off the 9600 score anyway so I guess I agree with your overall premis. I've had my slightly slower 128meg GF4Ti for 16 months now and I'm not going to try to make HL2 play on it. [The new 50x drivers are only supposed to affect the abismal GFFX cards, yes? but I rekon they will still be pap]

tbh, even if someone gave me a 9600 for free I dont know if I could be bothered to muster the energy to swap out the GF4 until HL2 comes along. The GFX card market is REALLY SLOW this year and the mid - high range cards arnt really worth the money.

The only card with enough umph to make me want to bother upgrading the GF4 is a 9800 non pro and they arnt cheap - so yes, I say save your cash and buy a 4200 and play HL2 in DX8 800x600.

[Zathras]

Another vote for the 4200. I'm in pretty much the same position as yourself, with a max of £60 that I'll allow myself to spend, and the 4200 is by far and away the best card at that price. I'm going to hang on until HL2 is actually released though, because the card may come down in price even further by then.

[steve threlfall]

I have read on these forums that the 64mb version of the ti400 is faster than the 128mb version ?? can anyone explain

cheers steve