I haven't kept up to date with PC lingo lately..
I used to recall see Radeon 9700 PRO, and Ti4600 series, now they're all X700s, 6600, blah blah.
So which ones are now best?
My Mobo is 8x AGP, so I see a couple of 16x, so they're probably useless.
Wazza
11-19-2005, 11:53 AM
And my budget would be up to that $259 (plus tax) one.
Justin Martin
11-19-2005, 12:35 PM
I've heard that the nVidia 6600GT is the best in that price range, though I haven't been keeping up with video cards lately, so...
jtace
11-19-2005, 12:46 PM
Yeah in that price range I think the nVidia GF 6600 GT is the one to go, it'll run any modern game just fine and playable.
Myshkin
11-19-2005, 01:41 PM
I have the 6600GT, it's a lot better than my old Radeon 9600 and it does a decent job with new games. It's not a pair of 7800GTX's but it gets the job done well enough. I can run the NFS:MW demo at 1600X1200 and the only thing I had to turn down was the shading and the AF is on low.
I'd recommend it to people that want a decent card but either don't have or don't want to spend big bucks for top-of-the-line. Though I hear the mid-range ATI's aren't bad either.
Remko
11-19-2005, 02:32 PM
The 6600GT seems to hit the 'sweet spot' between price and performance for many people nowadays, much like the ati 9600/9800 did before it, and the GF 4200ti before that. Plus, it's generally getting good reviews, so it feels like a safe choice. ;)
Make sure that you get a 'GT' though. There are 6600s out there that are a lot cheaper (although I'm sure that you know right now that with video cards, you always get what you pay for. ;))
You are right that 16x cards would not work; those cards use PCI-Express instead of AGP, so you would have to upgrade to a motherboard with PCI-E (not to be confused with regular 'old' PCI) slots for that.
Commander
11-19-2005, 03:31 PM
I just paid $250 for a ATI Radeon X800 XL. It screams, period.
Wazza
11-19-2005, 05:54 PM
Thanks all for the recommendations. :)
I'll be looking at getting one of these on Thursday (pay day) :rolleyes:
Maybe if I stopped buying nice camera gear, I would still have a good computer. &(
VQ
11-19-2005, 06:01 PM
heh, or ADSL..... I have a 9700 pro and love it, but it was $100AUD cheaper then the 6600GT so yeah.
chris
11-19-2005, 08:02 PM
6600 GT is the best choice. Make sure you only get the PCI-Express one if your PC supports it, otherwise get the AGP version.
Wazza
11-19-2005, 10:51 PM
OK cool, any particular chipset? MSI? I know sometimes there are subtle differents between brands..
Seems they all have TV tuner... Could be useful.
Wazza
11-19-2005, 10:59 PM
How much faster is PCI Express as to AGP8X..
I see motherboards are extremely cheap from what I remember. I'm sure I could build a damn fast PC for a third of what I originally paid for this.
I'm running 1Gb DDR 333mhz (2x512Mb)
MSI Mobo
2.4Ghz PIV
200Gb
120Gb
80Gb HDDs
They're all full, as I have 100,000 images on my pc... Many Raws, duplicate JPGs....
I'll have to buy a complete stack system where I can put say 10HDDs into one super case.. ;) I forget what sort of system I would have to run.
I'll also have to build a massive DVD library, backing every photography job I do, as I'm saying I will keep copies of original RAW files for say 2 years, in case customers want further reprints, or DVD copies.
Myshkin
11-19-2005, 11:31 PM
Right now I don't think you will see any performance gain between PCI-E and AGP. But in the future, there will be. For a 6600GT, from the specs that I have seen, you may as well stay with your AGP. If you are going to upgrade your mobo anyway, go with PCI-E if you have the money for a new CPU and all. Don't buy a new mobo with the same CPU just to change to PCI-E.
BTW I have the AGP 6600GT.
Wazza
11-20-2005, 12:51 AM
Yeah, actually a full PC rebuild is out of the question. Moving back to England around April next year, so will be travelling light. Take my HDDs with all my photos. And give the rest to family.
chris
11-20-2005, 01:39 AM
OK cool, any particular chipset? MSI? I know sometimes there are subtle differents between brands..
Seems they all have TV tuner... Could be useful.
I've got a Gigabyte one with a DVI output as well as a normal VGA output. I can use dual monitors with that through the use of the bundled adaptor. Mine also has video out/video in features so I can record stuff happening on computer to my DV camera. That's why I went for the Gigabyte one. Mine doesn't have a TV-tuner on it.
Choose the one that offers the most useful features for you. :)
jtace
11-20-2005, 04:19 PM
Yeah unless you can do a pretty close to full pc rebuild just stick with an AGP vid card. If you're gona worry about PCI-Express you might as well get a new processor too, which probably means more RAM is good, and it all just starts to snowball. If you go PCI express do it right, otherwise the 6600 GT will keep you playing decently for another year or so.
chris
11-20-2005, 05:01 PM
Yeah, for PCI-E, it's a new mainboard, new processor and new ram.
Wazza
11-20-2005, 10:28 PM
Yeah I'll wait till I'm in England, on a higher income. :p
Actually, no point in buying stuff again, and only having to sell a year later. Could be a very nice gift to a family member though.
Frank N. O.
11-25-2005, 11:15 AM
Yeah, for PCI-E, it's a new mainboard, new processor and new ram.
Sorry for borrowing your thread but since it's the same topic I hope you didn't mind.
Why would one have to replace those as well? Can't you re-use RAM and CPU in a PCI-E mb? I currently havce a Intel P4 - 530, 3.0 GHz, 1mb, 775pin and 2x Kingston DDR PC3200, 400MHz (3-3-3) all specifically selected and set-up for a complete 800MHz FSB mounted in a Asus P5P800 i865PE mb, why can't I use that in a PCI-E mb? To my knowledge you can get a PCI-E mb that uses the same CPU-slot.
Would it be practical to get a Asus graphicscard now I use a Asus mb? I was thinking of a XT800 or XT850 with at least 256mb to replace my 2 year old 9600Pro AGPx8 128mb.
Btw my powesupply is a wonderful danish-made Chill CP-510A (yes, 510 real watts, with all modern plugs and quieter than a whisper!!)
Frank
P.S. Warren did you write earlier: Back To England, I thought you were from New Zealand? In any case, I hope things work out well :wave:
Justin Martin
11-25-2005, 11:27 AM
Sorry for borrowing your thread but since it's the same topic I hope you didn't mind.
Why would one have to replace those as well? Can't you re-use RAM and CPU in a PCI-E mb? I currently havce a Intel P4 - 530, 3.0 GHz, 1mb, 775pin and 2x Kingston DDR PC3200, 400MHz (3-3-3) all specifically selected and set-up for a complete 800MHz FSB mounted in a Asus P5P800 i865PE mb, why can't I use that in a PCI-E mb? To my knowledge you can get a PCI-E mb that uses the same CPU-slot.
I haven't kept up with the Intel sockets, but yeah, if it's the same socket and the motherboard supports that processor, then you don't need to replace the CPU.
As for memory, it shouldn't be a problem to find a motherboard that has PCI-E and DDR1, so that can be reused as well. However, if you only have a small amount of memory - particulary 512mb or less - then it might be worth it to ditch the existing memory and go for DDR2.
Would it be practical to get a Asus graphicscard now I use a Asus mb? I was thinking of a XT800 or XT850 with at least 256mb to replace my 2 year old 9600Pro AGPx8 128mb.
Personally, i'd just get a new AGP video card, then upgrade everything in a few years.
Frank N. O.
11-25-2005, 12:04 PM
Oh, so PCI also covers RAM-blocks now? The thing with my graphics is that rF isn't that smooth on my computer, and the Most Wanted Demo couldn't run smoothly even at minimum specs, as far as I could adjust, that's why I'm wondering. The memory I have are 2x512 400MHz blocks so they could run as 1 800MHz block, the blocks were selected by the store, that also sells to companies, to be compatible for this.
Thanks a lot for the info :wave:
Frank
Justin Martin
11-25-2005, 12:42 PM
Oh, so PCI also covers RAM-blocks now?
No, it's just that alot of PCI-E motherboards use DDR2 instead of DDR1, since DDR2 is the "latest and greatest thing" in memory.
Frank N. O.
11-25-2005, 12:52 PM
Ah yes I can see that now. I can't even see my old P4 LGA775 CPU any more, it's just 1 year old :(
Also there are almost no AGP-cards I can find, apart from the sub-100 USD ones that I doubt are even equal to the current card. It does indeed look like I have to wait a fair bit and also forget Most Wanted. Indredible, simply incredible, just 1 year ago this was in the upper range of machines, at least I think it was, and now, mediocre and falling fast :(
Frank
Justin Martin
11-25-2005, 01:03 PM
Ah yes I can see that now. I can't even see my old P4 LGA775 CPU any more, it's just 1 year old :(
Also there are almost no AGP-cards I can find, apart from the sub-100 USD ones that I doubt are even equal to the current card. It does indeed look like I have to wait a fair bit and also forget Most Wanted. Indredible, simply incredible, just 1 year ago this was in the upper range of machines, at least I think it was, and now, mediocre and falling fast :(
Hmm, here's plenty of good AGP cards. Maybe not the latest and greatest, but lots of good mid to lower-upper range cards like the 6600's and X800's that would be twice as fast as your current card.
Frank N. O.
11-25-2005, 02:07 PM
Thanks for the link :) An X800 is twice as fast as my 9600Pro Ultimate Edition? Wow! Not bad! I did also see that what's also importans is the number of pixel-lines, I guess these are kind-of databuses since what good is a powerful cpu/gpu if you can't transfer the results fast to the other important places of the computer.
Thanks again for the replies, I've already gotten a lot of good information I didn't know before :wave:
Frank
Wazza
11-26-2005, 02:04 AM
Frank
P.S. Warren did you write earlier: Back To England, I thought you were from New Zealand? In any case, I hope things work out well :wave:
I spent the first 3 years of my life in the England. In Kent.
My whole family is British. But we moved to New Zealand in 1986. I was in fact born in NZ though, when my parents were on a holiday, checking out how this wonderful place was. Took 3 years to save up, and do other things, before immigrating across.
Basically, I want to do my European trip and have some fun, before I settle down, and look for full time work in photography. :)
Chaul
11-26-2005, 03:27 AM
Thanks for the link :) An X800 is twice as fast as my 9600Pro Ultimate Edition? Wow! Not bad! I did also see that what's also importans is the number of pixel-lines, I guess these are kind-of databuses since what good is a powerful cpu/gpu if you can't transfer the results fast to the other important places of the computer.Frank
Kind of, yes.. They are called pipelines. To put it short, it means that the GPU can process that many pixels at a time. There also texture units, which means how many textures can be used on each pixel pipeline (read: per pixel). Obviously if you need more textures per pixel than that, the gpu has to wait for the next cycle. I won't go into vertex processing or shaders because I don't know how it's done in hardware yet..
Frank N. O.
11-26-2005, 05:35 AM
Thanks for the explanantion Chaul :) I've looked again at the stores and the lack of Mondeo-parts so maybe I'll swap the purchase-order since my brother will be over for christmass and can help, and I'm not sure how long this mb I found will still be on the market but I'll make a new thread about it since it covers more than graphics-cards.
Frank
Frank N. O.
11-26-2005, 10:09 AM
I spent the first 3 years of my life in the England. In Kent.
My whole family is British. But we moved to New Zealand in 1986. I was in fact born in NZ though, when my parents were on a holiday, checking out how this wonderful place was. Took 3 years to save up, and do other things, before immigrating across.
Basically, I want to do my European trip and have some fun, before I settle down, and look for full time work in photography. :)
I see, well I hope you find what you're looking fore, but I sure wouldn't want to exchange NZ with UK but that's just me. If your european trip includes any nordic countries then I recommend packing very warm clothes! Brrrr, it's cold here!