Question about Video Cards
 

Well I finally got my new computer, and let me just say that it is teh win. In case you didn't hear me raving about it in other threads, here's the specs:
AMD Athlon 3000+ w/ 800 MHz FSB
160 GB HD (7200 RPM)
512 MB PC2700 DDR-SDRAM
and the main reason for this thread...some crap GeForce 4MX 440 Vid card. Anyway, I have around $100 right now, and I can scrounge up a bit more, but don't expect me to win the lottery anytime soon, so I'm on a tight budget here. I want to know your thoughts on manufacturers and vid cards...and for you to go on, I'm thinking about gettin the ATI Radeon 9600 SE ($120). So tell me if it's a good choice, if I should go Nvidia, or if I should save my money for something else.

wowo

dont go nvidia, you must get an ati card...now if you have an 8x slot then buy a 9600 xt which isnt that expensive and will utilize that videao card to the fullest...if you only have a 4x slot then an 8x card will be pointless, in that case i would go with a 9700 or 9800 pro which you can find fairly cheap

I agree, get an ATI. ATI > Nvidia fo realz.

and yes definately get rid of the mx440

I have a good computer now.

Lesse....Whatever card lets you play FFVII.

you can play that on an mx440 easy

Well, for several cards, it is incompatible, even though the cards rock.

But k.

I'd say that right now, ATI is your best bet. If I were getting a new video card, I'd get a 9600XT, but I have heard rumors of the 9800 bios being flashable to 9800XT, so, for me I'd have to think about that. I'd say that the best price to performance ratio right now is with the 9600XT, plus you might be able to get a copy of HL2 if you snag one retail. Other than that though, if you can find one left on ebay, 9700 pros perform quite well as do 9500 pros. In fact, I know firsthand that 9500 Pros can be soft-modded directly into a 9700pro, except for the clock speed. The downside of the 9500 pro is that if you don't flash the bios you are clock locked at some pretty low numbers (compared to what it can do).

It's all up to how much looking you want to do compared to how much softmodding you feel you may want to do in the future compared to how much money you are willing to spend.

you dont want to buy 9600 xt or a 9800 xt if you dont have an 8x slot it just wouldnt be worth it...go for a 9700 or 9800 pro otherwise

There's more of a diffrerence than just the agp multiplier.

Edit: In fact, that's wrong. The agp isn't even a difference because all post 9500 cards have 8x. The price difference to performance gain is really in favor of the XTs.

Edit2: 9700 is not worth the money and neither is the 9800pro. besides, he doesn't have $300 to throw around.

Edit3: Saying you have a XP3000+ w/ 800mhz FSB is misleading, since it is only 200mhz FSB.

I think you don't need to change your video card from GF4MX440 if you have $100.
and waiting for new chips, which will be released soon.
at $200, GeForce 5900XT is the best now I think. (or Radeon 9700 if you can find.)
Radeon 9600XT is a bit slower than them.

From what benchmarks I've seen, that is true about the 5900XT/SE (over the Radeon 9600XT), but in nVidia's case, XT means slower memory.

I'd still advise you to look into a used 9700pro if you can find one though.

the agp speed is definately a difference...i never said you couldnt use a 4x card in an 8x slot...what i said was it isnt worth the money buying an 8x card for a 4x agp slot becasue you cant get the maximum performance out of it...9800xt and 9600 xt cards are made for 8x slots...you can use them in a 4x but you wont get your moneys worth...9700 and 9800 pros are not $300...i hate your biasedness towards them just because you have a 9500...i bought my 9700 pro with a new fan and heatsink for $200 and that was about 4 months ago..you could probably get the one i have for $150...

on e-bay sure. and all those card are 1x/2x/4x/8x compliant so there is no difference in that. I said 9700 wasn't worth the money but if you could find one for about 200 like yours, the 9700 PRO is worth it. 9600xt and 9800xt will perform better at 4x than a lower quality card that was made for 4x. Besides that, the 4x/8x difference is currently negligible.

yeah, GF5900/R9700 are fast especially in anti-aliasing mode because they have 256bit memory interface.
and they are less than $200 now.

well that was my point exactly...true the 9600 and 9800 xt's will work better on 4x than other lower end cards, but the performance drop for those cards is significant between 8x and 4x, hence i said it isnt worth paying $250 for a 9600xt when you would get a minute deifference in performance form a 9800 pro for $150...plus i dont think you can get a 9700 or 9800 pro anywhere besides ebay...they dont carry them in most stores anymore

Wow, thanks for the comments all...well, here's what I want to know, since I'm strung along on a shoestring budget and all...is the 9600 XT really worth the extra $80 in relation to the cheaper 9600 SE?