firefly2442 0 Posted February 25, 2003 Share Posted February 25, 2003 Ok, this is cool. My parents said that because I had a great quarter in terms of grades and stuff in school that they'd get me something. I've been looking to upgrade my video card which is currently a GeForce2 Ultra 64MB. I'm thinking of getting another GeForce. I like the stability of their drivers more than Radeon. So..... any recommendations? I don't really know what's out there.... What is the difference with the MX cards? How can I find out if the card is used through the AGP? Thanks in advance! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GP_Joltin_Joe 0 Posted February 25, 2003 Share Posted February 25, 2003 (edited) I'm jealous. I wish someone would by me a video card. Sometimes if I want to upgrade and stay with something main-stream, I just go to Dell or Alienware or someplace and start to configure a high-end machine on their website. When you get to the section with the part you are researching, usually you can click on "More Info" about a part and they usually compare some card stats for you. It's just a starting point to get some ideas about which cards to look into further. Edited February 25, 2003 by GP_Joltin_Joe Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stinger 0 Posted February 25, 2003 Share Posted February 25, 2003 Ok, this is cool. My parents said that because I had a great quarter in terms of grades and stuff in school that they'd get me something. I've been looking to upgrade my video card which is currently a GeForce2 Ultra 64MB. I'm thinking of getting another GeForce. I like the stability of their drivers more than Radeon. So..... any recommendations? I don't really know what's out there.... What is the difference with the MX cards? How can I find out if the card is used through the AGP? Thanks in advance! The card will say if it is AGP. To tell if you have an AGP slot ot put the card into look on your mobo for a Brown slot above the PCI slots. The MX series (GF4 MX that is) isnt too great. If you have AGP go AGP. How much can you spend on it? Im thinkin Ti4400 or Radeon 9500 depending on $ amount. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
firefly2442 0 Posted February 25, 2003 Author Share Posted February 25, 2003 Ti4400 sounds pretty good. That's the best card out in that line right now isn't it? Money has some issue but I think I can convince em. I'll check and see if I have AGP slot. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stinger 0 Posted February 25, 2003 Share Posted February 25, 2003 Ti4400 sounds pretty good. That's the best card out in that line right now isn't it? Money has some issue but I think I can convince em. I'll check and see if I have AGP slot. The best GF4 is the Ti4600 not sure if the 4800 is out yet. But I have seen 4600's by leadtek low as $200 in deals b4. And heck depending on how much they will spend and if you want anything else soon, you could look at the Ati Radeon 9700... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cobblers 12 Posted February 25, 2003 Share Posted February 25, 2003 I use the Ti4600 128mb card and it runs GR like a dream!! Highly recommended, and the price weren't bad too either, I got it from dabs.com for near on a couple of hundred pounds, which compared to the 9700 (fair enough it's looked on as being a better card) is a lot cheaper. But I reckon the next time I go to upgrade it will be for a brand spanking new pc with all the trimmings. It'll probably coincide with a release for GR2! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RooK 0 Posted February 25, 2003 Share Posted February 25, 2003 Problem with Radeon drivers stability? I've had one problem with Cat 2.3s not wanting to uninstall, and that's the only problem I've had in using Ati cards over 3 years. Stability or compatibility has never been a problem. People used to criticized Ati for not releasing enough new driver sets. Now they outpace nVidia. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dark Ranger 0 Posted February 25, 2003 Share Posted February 25, 2003 I'd stay away from the 9000 or 9500...unless you get a PRO. And forget any of the MX Series, AGP or not. If you go ATI and want some cash left over, get an 8500. If not, 9700PRO is ATI's top-end card. If you go nVidia, I'd recommend a Ti4200 128MB. The prices have come down significantly since their release. I have the 64MB version of the card, because they had not yet released the 128MB version to the public. If you want pure performance and no cash left over, get a Ti4600. Top of the line nVidia card right now. I don't see any difference between the 4800 vs. 4600 specs/performance and 4800SE vs. 4400. Perhaps someone will prove me wrong. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RooK 0 Posted February 25, 2003 Share Posted February 25, 2003 4800 is an excuse to add 8x AGP to the ti cards. Fact is, 8x isn't utilized fully and probably wont be for years. So get a 4600 if you're getting the top card. 8500s, if you can still find them, are great cards. Mine scored 9600 3dmarks out of the box and 10003 after some overclocking. This is similar to most low-grade, i.e. cheap, ti4200s you can buy, and it sells for less. You should be able to get one for around or just under $100. Mine cost $200 in the summer of last year Quote Link to post Share on other sites
snakebite1967 0 Posted February 25, 2003 Share Posted February 25, 2003 well a few of the new gf4 cards specialy the 8x agp ones are running some trick features tho i agree 8x isnt of any benefit at this point in time some of the new cards are running 4200 chips on 4600 pcbs so even tho it seems as if they are conning ppl some of the newer cards are a good upgrade both MSI and abit and albotron to name a few now offer turbo or golden sample 4200 and 4400 cards that are clocked higher than a standard 4600 at a much lower price. i think youl see a huge explosion of non standard 4200 cards this year due to the not concrete rumour that all 4400 and 4600 chips will be discontinued to make way for 5000 series cards, 4200s outsell any other gf4 card except the mx series so it makes sense to offer more choices based on that chipset and also make room for a newer series of higher end cards Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stinger 0 Posted February 25, 2003 Share Posted February 25, 2003 4800 is an excuse to add 8x AGP to the ti cards. Fact is, 8x isn't utilized fully and probably wont be for years. So get a 4600 if you're getting the top card. 8500s, if you can still find them, are great cards. Mine scored 9600 3dmarks out of the box and 10003 after some overclocking. This is similar to most low-grade, i.e. cheap, ti4200s you can buy, and it sells for less. You should be able to get one for around or just under $100. Mine cost $200 in the summer of last year I know the MX series isnt thought of highly at all. But if somebody pays $100 for a card that wil get near 7000 Marks & at least 6500 then it may be a good trade off.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Havok 30 Posted February 25, 2003 Share Posted February 25, 2003 seeing as we on the subject..how good are sapphire cards? powered by ati ?..anybody have issues with the generic cards ? my buddy has a radeon 128 by sapphire can he use the ati drivers or sapphire's ? i loaded the ati drivers for him-the latest ones- and they work fine except for when testing direct x the white box skitters all over the screen , not smooth like ya know? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
firefly2442 0 Posted February 25, 2003 Author Share Posted February 25, 2003 Wow, I've been reading reviews and stuff and the Radeon 9700 Pro blows everyone else out of the water. So their driver problems have been solved? Mostly? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stinger 0 Posted February 25, 2003 Share Posted February 25, 2003 Wow, I've been reading reviews and stuff and the Radeon 9700 Pro blows everyone else out of the water. So their driver problems have been solved? Mostly? There drivers probs have been solved to my knowledge. And yes they are the best right now but also the most expensive at over $300. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
firefly2442 0 Posted February 25, 2003 Author Share Posted February 25, 2003 (Pictures Load Slowly)... Well, here are some pictures. My current GeForce2 Ultra: The Video Card Slot: Some unknown connectors that I have no idea what they are???!!.... Btw, my current power supply is 250 watts....I believe, any software to check this? and ATI recommends 300 or greater. So what does this mean? Get a new power supply? Thanks for the help. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NYR_32 6 Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 The unknown connectors look like ram expansion slots. Looks like you have four total. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
WhiteKnight77 1 Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 The brown slot is an AGP slot and it looks like your current card is an AGP card. The long black slots in the second pic are RAM slots and it looks like you have fake DIMMs in the other 2. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
firefly2442 0 Posted February 26, 2003 Author Share Posted February 26, 2003 DIMM? What's that? RAM expansion? Wow, cool, so I could put in more RAM? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
WhiteKnight77 1 Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 You could add more RAM yes, but you have to use the right kind of RAM. Your mobo documentation will tell you what kind of RAM it uses. Some kinds of RAM require you add equal amounts in pairs while other kinds makes no difference what size it is. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stinger 0 Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 Btw, my current power supply is 250 watts....I believe, any software to check this? and ATI recommends 300 or greater. So what does this mean? Get a new power supply? You'll need a new psu yes. Otherwise you'lll have system shutdowns and a very unstable system. And dont just go for 300. Get a quality PSU like Enermax, Sparkle or Antec. 350 and upi will do. And remember, are you gonna want a bigger psu for later upgrades...? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
firefly2442 0 Posted February 26, 2003 Author Share Posted February 26, 2003 And remember, are you gonna want a bigger psu for later upgrades...? Yeah probably, now I'm thinking about a memory upgrade too... This could get expensive But it's worth it! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rs600cubed 0 Posted February 27, 2003 Share Posted February 27, 2003 LOVE my Ati A_I_W 9700Pro!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
firefly2442 0 Posted February 28, 2003 Author Share Posted February 28, 2003 Well, I have the ultimate decision before me. I could upgrade my system for about 400 dollars which would last about 1/2 year or get a new system in a couple months. Hmmmm.... have to think about this. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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