Ok I need help choosing a video card

ramdexramdex Tucson
edited December 2004 in Hardware
Well I have been building comuters forever but I just cant deside on what to get. I want a new video card, mainly because of half life 2. I currently am packing a Ti 4200 128megs. Yes it will play HL 2 but im looking to get the best out of the game. Well even though Im willing to fork 300 I think that 450 - 500 is too much. So here is what Im looking at. Should I get the 6800, 9800XT, 6800 GT, or just the 9800 pro 256.

I am really looking at the 6800 but its 128 megs of ram. does the 256 found on the xt and other models really worth it or should i just get 128?

Please give some fair insite, I understand that some people are die hard fans of one brand, I know. I prefer Nvidia, always has always will. I just want a good choice for the money.

Comments

  • lordbeanlordbean Ontario, Canada
    edited November 2004
    the main difference between the 6800 and the 6800 GT is number of rendering pipelines available - the 6800 is significantly slower than the GT because it has only 12 pipelines vs the GT's 16. Throw in the fact that the GT has more RAM, and it's a much better card. You'd be better off buying a 6800 GT out of that list, it will be able to handle future games a lot better than the 9800s will.
  • KholdKhold KY
    edited November 2004
    I currently use the 4200 ti 128ddr (4x version) and it handles things quite well, but I also am wanting another card and am looking at the 6600 and 6600GT. The prices on these cards for me is unreal. Either card will handle the top games with the GT having a slight to moderate edge.
    Theres not to much in the middle between the 4200 and the 6600 I would buy unless I REALLY had to... which would be maybe the 5950. ATI on the other hand makes powerful cards but I will stay with Nvidia.
  • GnomeWizarddGnomeWizardd Member 4 Life Akron, PA Icrontian
    edited November 2004
    i havent heard of 1 leadtek 6800 not being able to use the 4 pipelines that are locked. I know i have mine at 16
  • OverLoadOverLoad
    edited November 2004
    All i can say is go with nvidia-Had a 9800 Pro it was ok. Then I got a eVGA 6800 ultra- I will never ever go back to an Ati card! lol
  • ChemicalChildChemicalChild Canada
    edited November 2004
    if you are going to play HL2 alot then consider the X800 seems most ppl here prefer nVidia but ATI I believe will be considerably better with HL2 especially if u want to run high AntiAliasing and Anistropic filtering, however if thats not a concern and u want more bang for ur buck get an 9800Pro I am quite satisfied with the way it runs

    only Benchmarks will show better performance in HL2


    how can you compare an 9800Pro to an 6800Ultra they arent even in the same category!

    X800 is the competitor to 6800 which ever model u choose to buy be it Ultra,GT,Pro,Platinum
  • lordbeanlordbean Ontario, Canada
    edited November 2004
    ChemicalChild makes a good point... you can't compare a 9800 pro to a 6800 ultra, because they are not in the same generation. You could, however, compare an X800 XT or XT PE to a 6800 ultra.
  • ramdexramdex Tucson
    edited November 2004
    I wasnt comparring, I was just wondering if it was worth getting it or just jump up. I think im going to get a 6800 GT from new egg. It seems like a good price and a lot of people like it.
  • GnomeWizarddGnomeWizardd Member 4 Life Akron, PA Icrontian
    edited November 2004
    go for it!
  • yipihayipiha
    edited November 2004
    Possiby too late but you can find a good comparison of different cards of all generation at www.tomshardware.com under the graphic cards menu/VGA Cards Chart IV. Ati x800 and nVidia 6800 are more or less on the same league but the prices do not really reflect that as I found a nVidia 6800 for a price below the one of an Ati 9800 pro and am definitely going to buy take that bargain when payday comes... http://www.lowestonweb.com/Products/DisplayInfoMain.asp?e=3633B7C0-E08A-44B6-B583-8A8D0253C1B2
  • lordbeanlordbean Ontario, Canada
    edited November 2004
    The same can still be said for the mellow X800 against the 5950 ultra. You could get an X800 for cheaper, and it would far outweigh the 5950's performance.
  • LianadLianad
    edited November 2004
    All I got to say, is although Valve says ATI's cards will run HL2 better, I ran it at 1280 * 1024 with EVERY setting maxed, and AA at 8X with a BFG Geforce 6800 GT, and I got frame rates steady in the 50+ fps. So don't think the new lines of Geforce cards won't play it well, because they do just fine.
  • NeoFXNeoFX Utah, US of A
    edited November 2004
    My Albatron 5900 Non Ultra 128Mb (bios modded to 5950 Ultra) can play HL2 flawlessly at 1024x768 w/ all settings maxed except I don't use any AA... so that would probly hurt my performance but since I never use AA it's perfect.
  • CK77SmanCK77Sman
    edited December 2004
    I'm getting my first computer next week, and I plan on getting World of Warcraft.

    According to the requirements, you need a "32MB 3D graphics card with hardware transform and lighting, like GeForce 2 or better".

    My future PC has a "Integrated Intel Extreme Graphics with 64 MB shared video memory". How do I know if it's a 3D card? I notice the MB's are higher which is probably a plus, but what in the world is "shared video memory"?

    I need to learn this stuff anyway...

    Thanks,
    CK
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited December 2004
    WoW will run like total crap on that card, I hate to tell you.

    Integrated video means the video chip is on the motherboard. You are basically screwed for gaming, since all current and future games will look like crap on that board. It's a marginal 3D accelerator at best.

    The shared memory means that the video card doesn't even have it's own ram. It uses your system ram for texture memory, so whatever your total amount of ram is (say it's 256) you'll be taking 64mb off the top of that, which actually drops your system ram down to 192mb.

    I'm not trying to be mean, but just be aware that your computer is not designed or built for gaming. It will not play 3D games very well.

    Your only hope is that if your computer does have an AGP slot available for future expansion, you can turn off the onboard card and put a real video card in there.

    What is the exact computer you are getting? We can tell you if it has an AGP slot or not....
  • SSR_06SSR_06 Iowa
    edited December 2004
    Lianad wrote:
    All I got to say, is although Valve says ATI's cards will run HL2 better, I ran it at 1280 * 1024 with EVERY setting maxed, and AA at 8X with a BFG Geforce 6800 GT, and I got frame rates steady in the 50+ fps. So don't think the new lines of Geforce cards won't play it well, because they do just fine.
    yep, i've played HL2 will everything maxed out @ 1024x768 on a xfx 6800nu and it ran flawlessly(avg of 40fps). i played for 5hours too :D so i would say that the 6800 series of cards can run HL2 pretty well. i personally think that the x800's are overpriced. i know that the upper range 6800's aren't too much better, but the lower range 6800's are very nice cards from what i've seen.
  • GnomeWizarddGnomeWizardd Member 4 Life Akron, PA Icrontian
    edited December 2004
    I beat HL2 on my 6800 and it was fine ran flawlessly. BUT i did just buy a 6800gt for hte hell of it
  • CK77SmanCK77Sman
    edited December 2004
    primesuspect wrote:
    WoW will run like total crap on that card, I hate to tell you.
    Your only hope is that if your computer does have an AGP slot available for future expansion, you can turn off the onboard card and put a real video card in there.
    What is the exact computer you are getting? We can tell you if it has an AGP slot or not....

    Thanks prime! I was afraid the pc may not be good for games. My wife will be using it for school and net use, but I'll be using it for games. I knew I would probably have to upgrade it to at least an 80gb hd, as well as a current video card. The good thing is as long as we don't open the computer, when my in-laws give it to us for Christmas, we can always take it back to Wal-mart, and then go spend a little extra for better specs. These are the exact specs:

    ""HP Pavilion A705w-B Computer w/ HP vx74 17" Flat Screen CRT Monitor:
    Intel Celeron D Processor 340 (2.93 GHz, 533 FrontSide bus, 256 KB L2 Cache)
    40 GB Ultra DMA hard drive
    256 MB DDR-SDRAM with up to 64 MB allocated to video memory
    Memory expandable to 2 GB
    Integrated Intel Extreme Graphics with up to 64 MB shared video memory
    CD Writer and DVD combo drive (CD-RW/DVD)
    Drive Speeds: 48x32x16x48 (CD Read speed x CD Write Speed x CD Rewrite Speed x DVD Read Speed)
    Front Panel 9-1 reader: Compact Flash I/II - SmartMedia - Memory Stick - Memory Stick Pro - MultiMediaCard - Secure Digital (SD) - IBM MicroDrive, xD
    High-speed 56K flex modem
    Integrated 10/100Base-T networking interface
    HP keyboard, HP scroller mouse
    Available Slots: 2 PCI; Available External Ports: 5 USB 2.0 - 1 serial - 1 parallel; Available Bays: one 5.25", one 3.25"
    Software Included: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2, Microsoft Works 7.0, Microsoft Money Standard 2004, Intuit Quicken New User's Edition 2004, and much more""
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