Need a new Video Card

[RotorHead]

Ok, here is my dilemma.

I’m looking for a video card that will give me acceptable frame rates but not be bottle necked by my processor. No sense in spending money that I can’t use. Anyway, this will probably be the last upgrade for the ol dually box before moving on to a more up to date system. :(

If I can make this thing last about 6 more months and play Doom 3 on it, I’ll be a happy camper.

Dual PIII-s 1.26@1.37 on a Via Pro266 chip set. Hopefully this will be running at around 1.5Ghz in the near future.

I am thinking about a 9600pro or 5700 ultra, or am I aiming to high. :bonk:

Any comments, suggestions.

[Hybrid-Mods]

I wouldn't recomment a 5700 ultra.. owning a 9600 my self.. it's a fair card, volt mod it and overclock pretty nice. I would go for a 9700/9800 pro actually. I don't even think my system can handle doom III at stock speeds.

[Hawk]

RH, why not the 6800 GT?

[RotorHead]

RH, why not the 6800 GT?

Wouldn't it be a little overkill in a PIII system, I mean, sure I could use it in the new system, but then I would still need one for the old.

[NeoShowtime]

I think a 9600pro or Xt would be good. Even if they are a little bit of overkill, its no problem becasue they didnt cost all that much.

[Snafu]

Debating whether to post this or not but here it goes ( :hide: ).
Will these cards work well with the PIII and its board or is it okay because it is a dual PIII?

[JayisunJ]

Personally, I would go with a 9800 Pro w/128 Megs RAM. I just sold mine on Ebay for $150.00 and most are going for around that price. I loved my 9800 Pro for the year I had it, but I wanted to DOOM at 1600x1200 and that would have been a No-Go for my 9800. I also bought a cheap 9800SE off of newegg.com (Sapphire I believe) for my little sister to game on and used the Omega Catalyst drivers to automatically unlock the 4 disabled pipelines. The driver has the option built right in. Most of the Sapphire 9800SE's also have the 256-bit memory interface while many other brands (and even some Sapphire's I've heard) have a 128-bit interface. Anyway, that is my input. Otherwise, if you waited a little while, I believe a LE version of the 6800 is going to be released (8 pipeline version of 6800). The question is: Can you wait? I know I would have trouble waiting with Doom 3 just days away :)

[Brian]

Crucial has some refurbs with a limited lifetime warranty and a decent price.


128MB Crucial Radeon 9700 Pro (refurbished) For $129.99 (http://www.crucial.com/store/PartSpecs.asp?imodule=CTRFBV9700P128A28&cat=)


Don't know if a refurb would interest you but I thought I'd let you know about it. :o

Crucial has never let me down.

:)

[RotorHead]

Thanks for the input guys :thumb:


Debating whether to post this or not but here it goes ( :hide: ).
Will these cards work well with the PIII and its board or is it okay because it is a dual PIII?

Snafu, ya they should work, but thanks for bringing that up. I didn't even think about compatibility, I'll double check to see what is supported by my board. Dual processors don’t really help on the gaming side of the house, but the cool thing is, that I can rip CD’s while fraggin’ on line. :mischeif:

JayisunJ If I can get away with 800 x 600 and a little bit of eye candy I'll be happy. I'll look into the 9800se thanks.


I think a 9600pro or Xt would be good. Even if they are a little bit of overkill, its no problem becasue they didnt cost all that much.

Neo I do have an 9600xt in the sons shuttle rig (http://www.bleedinedge.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1959) , I might try and snag it for some testing. :mischeif: :look:

Brian Thanks, that is always an option. :thumb:

[JayisunJ]

Hey, were you able to decide on a card yet? If so, which one did you decide to purchase? BTW, with the new Cat 4.8 drivers, I was able to get Doom 3 running at 1024x768 w/High Quality on my sister's 2500+/9800SE rig. This was even without the "Omega Driver" 9800SE -> 9800 softmod.

~Jay~

[RotorHead]

I’m leaning towards the 9600XT, but then I just saw a sub $200 6800 LE over on HardOCP with some damn good performance numbers.

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=791852

Right when I’m about to make a decision, something always throws a wrench in the process. :beat:

[JayisunJ]

I’m leaning towards the 9600XT, but then I just saw a sub $200 6800 LE over on HardOCP with some damn good performance numbers.

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=791852

Right when I’m about to make a decision, something always throws a wrench in the process. :beat:

LOL, there are just so many choices out there right now in the world of video cards. That is what we get with 6 month product cycles and two HUGE competitors that both want our business just as bad as the other. And even more confusing, when you finally decide on a GPU, you still get to decide which manufacturing brand you want!!!
I guess, however, that I would much rather complain about too many choices than about too few. All of this competition helps to keep prices (fairly :hide: ) reasonable except at the enthusiast level of course. Keep us up to date about your decision and try to hurry because the 6 month product refresh is nearing :help: LOL.