Which card to go for?

SoulBlade · Post by **SoulBlade** » 05 Sep 2005, 09:58

Hi

I've got R800-900 to spend on a new graphics card.
Can someby tell me which card to go for? (in terms of performance/price ratio - I don't care about the bundle)

It must be AGP. I prefer ATi but don't mind getting an nVidia as long as it isn't from the FX series.

I'm not a hardcore player but don't wanna play games @ 800*600*16 either. So that put me in the medium market.
And I'm not overclocking the card!

Thanx in advance
SoulBlade

PS. My current card is a Gigabyte Radeon 9000 Pro II 128MB but sadly needs replacement... (I can play Doom III (low Q) and HL2 (medium Q) on it!!!)

DEeRaY · Post by **DEeRaY** » 05 Sep 2005, 10:05

new or second hand

SoulBlade · Post by **SoulBlade** » 05 Sep 2005, 10:24

Rish_zn · Post by **Rish_zn** » 05 Sep 2005, 10:31

DEeRaY wrote:new or second hand

He said he got 800 - 900 bucks to spend on a new card...

Well i say put a little more bucks and get a 9800 series card... For maybe just over a grand... .. Probably a 9600 series as well will suffice.. Look for 128or256bit Direct X 9 compatible card...
From Nvidia u can probably get a 6600 agp version for a R1000! 6600gt for R1300... This card would be better as it supports later shading models than the older ati cards....

Rish_zn · Post by **Rish_zn** » 05 Sep 2005, 10:38

Oops i forgot to mention that those are dealer prices... So retail should be a little more...
U can probably get a second hand card for that price...

But u say that u an average gamer.. So i suggest u invest a little more money and get the 6600 gt from nvidia.. Its a high end Mid range card thats supports all the features for newer games and gives good bang for the buck...
Doom 3 and many newer games would run nicely and high resolutions...
Also consider looking at the ATI X800gt, its a nice card as well.... Sorry for being repetitive

SoulBlade · Post by **SoulBlade** » 05 Sep 2005, 11:04

Thanx Rish_zn

I was thinking af a 9600 Pro but saw that one can get a 6600 for R1000!
It's stretching my budget a bit though. (i'm a student)

Do retailers still stock 9700/9800's? (the vanilla type) I don't mind getting those babies for R1000.

The ATI X800gt is way out of my league. Will need to change job or win the lottery to think bout that...To bad I stopped believing in Santa...

SoulBlade · Post by **SoulBlade** » 05 Sep 2005, 11:30

More opinions anyone?

qwiksilva666 · Post by **qwiksilva666** » 05 Sep 2005, 11:37

i think you can get a plain 6600 for around R1200....

SoulBlade · Post by **SoulBlade** » 05 Sep 2005, 11:45

Maybe a bit off-topic but what are u guys opinion on the 9550/9600 PRO/x550/plain 6600

qwiksilva666 · Post by **qwiksilva666** » 05 Sep 2005, 11:49

well the 6600GT is a bril investment....the 6600 should be ok for toadays games....

how much is the x700 and x600 range cards? im not to shure on performance for these...but if you have enough...definately get the 6600GT

Nerevar · Post by **Nerevar** » 05 Sep 2005, 11:50

get a plain 6600, its way faster than a 9800 and a 9600 you can get one for about R1000

SoulBlade · Post by **SoulBlade** » 05 Sep 2005, 11:55

Thanx guys!

I'm more of an ATi nut but looks like I'll have to give nVidia a try. (6600 plain)

Can u guve me links to reliable online shops with good prices?

Rish_zn · Post by **Rish_zn** » 05 Sep 2005, 13:28

SoulBlade wrote:Thanx Rish_zn
Do retailers still stock 9700/9800's? (the vanilla type) I don't mind getting those babies for R1000.

I dont know what u mean by the vanilla type... But i do knw retailers still stock the 9800 series..... The 9800pro/xt is a bit pricy... My best bet if your going Ati is get the 9800se... 256bit version... and then try modding it to perform like a pro..... 9800se retail for just over a grand
Im presuming the 9700 series is discontinued as dealers dont stock that anymore...

ADV4NCED · Post by **ADV4NCED** » 05 Sep 2005, 15:56

I disagree, I dont think a plain 6600 is faster than a 9800, in fact, I think the 6600 is kinda crappy.

It is probably your best option to go for a 9800SE and mod it, but now days its becoming extremely hard to find a good 9800SE that can mod properly without any trouble! I would say you should save up a little more and wait for the 6600GT to come down in price.

Guang · Post by **Guang** » 05 Sep 2005, 18:10

try to get a 6600 plain from China,the retail price is around 799 yuan,($1=8.10 yuan,$1=R6.3).or get a good 9550(around 499 yuan),mod it as 9600XT.

Zell · Post by **Zell** » 05 Sep 2005, 18:30

But wouldn't import duty/shipping make it more expensive? And also, some chinese brands are not advisable to buy, as they would break quickly, and then what?

I am not dissing China, just repeating the advice my Chinese friends gave to me.

MoH · Post by **MoH** » 05 Sep 2005, 23:36

Well u could get the Nvidia 6200 then flash it with a 6600 bios which will unlock all the pipes then overclock the card. It will be as good as a 6600GT

Or do what i did. Bought my self a Leadtek A6600 128m and flashed the bios with the sparkle one and walla 518 on core and 701 on mem.Stnd is 300 core and 550 on mem.

Check this link http://www.digital-daily.com/video/peredelki/

Zell · Post by **Zell** » 05 Sep 2005, 23:39

He said he didn't want to overclock it at all...

jPm · Post by **jPm** » 06 Sep 2005, 13:25

The Ati x700 128mb is about R900 wholesale,so it should be arounf R1000 retail, its much better than the vanilla 6600

Nerevar · Post by **Nerevar** » 06 Sep 2005, 13:30

I'm a ati fan...and the x700 sucks!!!
get a 6600, it has better game performance, 3dmark aint a realy good card tester.

qwiksilva666 · Post by **qwiksilva666** » 06 Sep 2005, 13:42

MoH wrote:Well u could get the Nvidia 6200 then flash it with a 6600 bios which will unlock all the pipes then overclock the card. It will be as good as a 6600GT

Or do what i did. Bought my self a Leadtek A6600 128m and flashed the bios with the sparkle one and walla 518 on core and 701 on mem.Stnd is 300 core and 550 on mem.

Check this link http://www.digital-daily.com/video/peredelki/

My 6600GT is running at 525/1050

SoulBlade · Post by **SoulBlade** » 06 Sep 2005, 16:32

Hmmm.
Looks like everyone is leaning towards the plain 6600. I can dig out an extra R100 to make it R1000, but the i'll rather wait a month or 2 for prices to fall.

I'm based in Cape Town. Any ideas where i can get a 6600 relatively cheaply around here?
If not, an online shop will do. I can ask my buddy to put it on his credit card.

MongwopMan · Post by **MongwopMan** » 06 Sep 2005, 19:19

Whoa, can u unlock a 6200 to make it a 6600????????????????????

MoH · Post by **MoH** » 06 Sep 2005, 22:14

Yes u can. Check that link i posted

Also look at this site

http://www.mvktech.net/

look in the forums

MoH