Reccomend a decent GFX Card!

[Nick]

I'm running a GF Ti500 at the moment and looking at the likes of Doom3 and Half Life 2 I'm gonna have to upgrade.

So, whats a decent card to go for. I'm not looking to spend mega bucks here either, so whats the best value card out there?

What gives me the best bang for my buck?

[Austin]

Best bang for buck is GF4TI4200, it lacks DX9 and can't handle high AA or AF but is only £70ish and in pure 3D speed equal to Rad9600PRO and GF-FX5600ultra. The 4200 also o/c very well, often exceeding 4400/4800SE and won't devalue much either. When it comes to Doom3 and Half Life 2 it would seem GF-FX may run as DX8 cards anyway so again the 4200's DX8 isn't a problem. If you want DX9 now (makes those games look prettier) then Rad9600PRO is the way to go, £130ish and o/c's very well too. If you can find a 9500PRO or 9700 (even nonPRO) then those are even better, 9700 often o/c to yield perf close to a 9800PRO! Although gfx card is the main factor in gaming perf, do ensure your CPU is up to the job ... and 512MB is strongly rec'd.

[Darkmatter]

Out of the present market cards id recommend a Radeon based card. 9700 or Pro version is a great card, keeps pace with all the top cards today.

[SittingBull]

I'd say that if you are on a lower budget go for the Radeon 9600 Pro. In benchmarks of HL2 it even out performs the GFFX5900 on some benchmarks. ATI seems to be the way to go for good performance on the HL2 engine.

[Byatt]

Originally posted by Deckard
I'm running a GF Ti500 at the moment and looking at the likes of Doom3 and Half Life 2 I'm gonna have to upgrade.

So, whats a decent card to go for. I'm not looking to spend mega bucks here either, so whats the best value card out there?

What gives me the best bang for my buck?

they won't be out fer AGES...you may as well wait a wee bit longer, and get a more significant upgrade, in my opinion, the increase from ti500 to ti4200 isn't going to be massive enough to warrant you spending £75...

if you're determined to upgrade now, however, make it a 9600 Pro, I say...

[Zak33]

Originally posted by Byatt
they won't be out fer AGES...you may as well wait a wee bit longer, and get a more significant upgrade, in my opinion, the increase from ti500 to ti4200 isn't going to be massive enough to warrant you spending £75...

I agree with that mate..your Ti500 looked lovely at the LAN WAN this weekend....

a 9800 Pro is the next step for you......and that will be late this year....

trust me.....even a 9600 Pro aint what you will want

[Stoo]

Yup 9800pro later in the year.

[shiato storm]

Originally posted by Austin
Best bang for buck is GF4TI4200, it lacks DX9 and can't handle high AA or AF but is only £70ish

i'm on a limited budget too...so, where was this GF4Ti4200?
alternatively i've been hearing ATi is much better (more for your money etc...) where are the best places to look, there are so many on-line shops now it just does my head in!

[Nick]

After the massive ball ache I've had with nVidia drivers today I'm sorely tempted by the 3Dfx Voodoo 1.... least that went in and out with no problems... or maybe a ST Trio Virge 2mb.....

[SilentDeath]

and i have both of those, pm me if want one

[Austin]

Most GF3TI200 did manage to o/c to GF3TI500 speeds and that was fast. At stock a GF4TI4200 isn't hugely faster than the GF3TI500 but it is still very decently faster and gets streets ahead when o/c'ed (past 4400/4800SE speeds). Going from GF3 to GF4TI it's not only speed but you also get big improvements in '2D' image quality, dual display, standardised TVout and slightly enhanced AA+AF. I'm not saying it's truly worth forking out £70 for if you have a fast GF3 ... but then you can offset the cost a little by selling on that GF3 (£70-£40=£30) as GF3 is still faster than the Rad9000-9200 and GF-FX5200. Going from GF3 to Rad9600PRO gains you most of what you get going to GF4TI but with better future-proofing (DX9) and further improvements in AA+AF, they do o/c very well too though. 9600PRO hits you £130 though, about £90 over what you should get for your GF3. Waiting for the better performing DX9 cards to come out could be well worth while ... but aren't you getting tired of waiting?

GF4TI4200...

http://www.dabs.com/products/prod-se...p=&up=&mc=&sc=

£75 2C5WWS 4200-8X 128MB (no TVout or DVI?)

http://www.aria.co.uk/productsList.a...&Submit=submit

£69 GCD-ASU-GF4-T28S Asus Ti4200S-8x 128MB (4200S?)

£73 GCD-ASU-GF4-T28X Asus 4200-8x 128MB

http://www.kl1128.fsnet.co.uk/vga.htm

£65 Eagle 4200-8X 128MB

Ebuyer should have a cheap one too, but I wouldn't shop there peronally.

[doopydug]

I would recommend waiting a wee while longer as the games you are looking to run won't be out for a while yet.

By that time, you will probbly be able to afford a 9700 pro if not a 9800.

[madmaca]

One set of HL2 benchmarks I read (I'll try and find the link) mentioned that the best FPS/£ card was the ATI Radeon 9600Pro. For a few £s more you could try to pick up a used 9700pro, which is exactly what I did.

My advice is to steer well clear of Nvidia at the moment, based on benchmarks for HL2.

madmaca.