Videocards.. which to buy and whatnot.. simply videocards!

ghost_4ce · Post by **ghost_4ce** » 13 Dec 2004, 00:13

I am personaly waiting till feb next year for a complete sustem overhaul. Hopefully by then we'll know if there IS a significant difference with PCI express and also the industry-revolution of SLi cards will become clear. Not to mention DDR2 and the new Intel chipsets and maybe even 64 bit Windows. And while i'm at it some some price droppngs wouldnt hurt.

celluzion · Post by **celluzion** » 13 Dec 2004, 02:12

Looks like I'll be getting a Radeon 9550 instead.

For one, next year I'm taking my GCE 'O' levels, no time to play games there, and only 2 weeks are left of my holidays, and the 6600 GT is coming out next week.

So I'll just get a 9550 until my O levels are over, then I'll buy my monster of a card when I have my 6 months break.

You could say, X700 is more like the 6600 GT though.

And 600 USD for a card is too damn much, here currency is like 1.8 times the US Dollar. So we get to pay 1000 for a nice 6800 Ultra.

EmptyWords · Post by **EmptyWords** » 29 Dec 2004, 15:47

the thing i noticed about those cards (x700,6600Gt, and all those cards in the series) is that they have 128-bit interface, and some of the 9800pro have 256bit interface. what is good about 256 bit interface?? and would the PCI-E socket make up for the 128bit thign missing??

PSZeTa · Post by **PSZeTa** » 29 Dec 2004, 16:11

No.

128 mb is about equal to 256, but it gets laggy when the bigger things come in, like higher resolutions and anti aliasing.

Stereo · Post by **Stereo** » 29 Dec 2004, 16:21

Is a Radeon 9600 XT 128MB x8 AGP good? I might be lucky to get it...

EmptyWords · Post by **EmptyWords** » 29 Dec 2004, 17:14

im not talking about mb.. im talking about bit.. like some cards are 128bit. or did you mean bits?

ghost_4ce · Post by **ghost_4ce** » 29 Dec 2004, 18:30

That 128bit part is the gfx chipset configuration. I am not too sure about this but IMO it is similar to a processor. You must have heard about the 64bit revolution of the AMD proc. Thats the "bit" in gfx cards. I know it makes the common 32 bit intel procs seem ancient but it is not easy to change bit size without some software suport. thats the reason AMD built the 32bit emulation on its 64 series and is the only reason it currently works.
As game are different from normal OS software, the hardware can be changed more easily without the fear of backward-support. Thus you get upto 256bit gfx chipset and DDR3 gfx ram, where desktop PC are just starting on 64bit procs and DDR2.
And to answer your question about PCI-EXPRESS, it is an altogether different aspect. PCI/PCI-express/PCI-X/AGP is the "bus" which allow the device (the gfx card, in this context) to interact with the PC (aright i know that was shiznit, but i couldnt think of anything better). The only thing PCI-express has done is made it faster for them to transfer data between each other. But to be honest, it has yet to to provide a huge lead in performance over AGP. Actually currently there is not MUCH of a difference between AGP 4x and 8x either.
(not if ur hardcore gaming pHr3@k).

EmptyWords · Post by **EmptyWords** » 16 Jan 2005, 18:56

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDe ... 114&depa=1
what do you people think about this card? its the first one i see that has 512 mb ram and its GDDR3

Tunerfreak · Post by **Tunerfreak** » 18 Jan 2005, 09:06

I just brought a computer and I havent got it yet. It has a Leadtek winfast 128mb gfx card. Are they any good?

Post by **GT3x24x7** » 18 Jan 2005, 09:31

Umm, no.

Tunerfreak · Post by **Tunerfreak** » 18 Jan 2005, 09:34

Are they better than nividia gforce 4 128mb 5200 non-ultra?

Post by **GT3x24x7** » 18 Jan 2005, 09:37

That's just it - no they're not. You'll wanna change that out pretty soon man.

Post by **Bojan** » 18 Jan 2005, 09:57

Em just one thing.

I had a Leadtek Winfast 128MB once. But it was the A250 (which means a GF4). If you have a Leadtek Winfast 128MB with a GF6800ULTRA gpu, then it's one of the best cards on the market

Leadtek Winfast is a brand name, same as Mercedes Benz. And there's a difference between Mercedes Vito or A class and Mercedes SLK, isn't it

Post by **GT3x24x7** » 18 Jan 2005, 11:35

Cheers for that b!

Drewb99 · Post by **Drewb99** » 18 Jan 2005, 22:34

ghost_4ce wrote:I am personaly waiting till feb next year for a complete sustem overhaul. Hopefully by then we'll know if there IS a significant difference with PCI express and also the industry-revolution of SLi cards will become clear. Not to mention DDR2 and the new Intel chipsets and maybe even 64 bit Windows. And while i'm at it some some price droppngs wouldnt hurt.

A. There's a huge difference with PCIE in how much easier it is for the card makers and for the people building the motherboards. It's better for everyone, makes the components cheaper, and allows video cards to operate without a molex plug at the very least.

B. DDR2 is unstable at best today, and may end up like RDRAM (flopped miserably). PC3200+ DDR is perfectly acceptable and is becoming cheaper all the time, the more the merrier. I got PC3200 for my system a full year ago and I can't think of anything that would really be more economical even today. If you want lasting performance, get some BH-5 low latancy memory- likewise, get fairly cheapo CH-5 ram if price is your game.

C. If you want 64-bit, Intel isn't the way to go. I don't even know if they'll have enough of an act together next year to counter AMD.

Just my $0.02.

Tunerfreak · Post by **Tunerfreak** » 18 Jan 2005, 23:11

The guy who sold me the computer was really entusiastic about the card. Maybe it is the gf6800ultra? All he said was leadtek winfast 128gb but he seemed REALLY happy with it.

Ive still gotta get a 17 inch monitor and keybord and mouse. I hope Ill have enough money to get a new graphics card in case it isnt. Otherwise ill have to steal the 5200 outta mums computer.

qrdel · Post by **qrdel** » 23 Jan 2005, 12:03

what do you say about GFFX5900Xt ?? is is good VC ?? I want to buy it to my PC I read that it is quite good pc card for its cost ...

Post by **Bojan** » 23 Jan 2005, 12:46

Rather go with the 6600GT. Same price, better performance and quality.

EmptyWords · Post by **EmptyWords** » 23 Jan 2005, 16:33

or a 9800pro? or 9700pro

PSZeTa · Post by **PSZeTa** » 23 Jan 2005, 17:03

The 6600 GT shiznit on the 9800 Pro.

Stereo · Post by **Stereo** » 23 Jan 2005, 17:06

9800 Pro, 9600XT and Pro are somewhat better than the 9700 series...

ghost_4ce · Post by **ghost_4ce** » 23 Jan 2005, 17:27

Drewb99 wrote:A. There's a huge difference with PCIE in how much easier it is for the card makers and for the people building the motherboards. It's better for everyone, makes the components cheaper, and allows video cards to operate without a molex plug at the very least.

While that is true, I was stating the fact that the performance differnece between a PCI-E and AGP 8x is not yet large enough for a "revolution" as of yet. In a couple of years i'm sure they will unbeatable but right now if I can get my hands on a cheap-as-chips good AGP card I may buy it and then upgrade to a much better PCI-E card later on.

Drewb99 wrote: B. DDR2 is unstable at best today, and may end up like RDRAM (flopped miserably). PC3200+ DDR is perfectly acceptable and is becoming cheaper all the time, the more the merrier. I got PC3200 for my system a full year ago and I can't think of anything that would really be more economical even today. If you want lasting performance, get some BH-5 low latancy memory- likewise, get fairly cheapo CH-5 ram if price is your game.

Here is an eye-opener for you then

http://download.micron.com/pdf/flyers/ddr_to_ddr2.pdf

Drewb99 wrote: C. If you want 64-bit, Intel isn't the way to go. I don't even know if they'll have enough of an act together next year to counter AMD.

I NEVER said i was going to look for INTEL 64-bit proc!! But they do have a supposed release date of around mid-year but I will believe it when I see it. And anyways the AMD chips will probably have an advantage.
And if you were talking about the Itanium sereis, they are for servers only.

EmptyWords · Post by **EmptyWords** » 23 Jan 2005, 21:41

whats so fantastic about the 6600gt?

PSZeTa · Post by **PSZeTa** » 23 Jan 2005, 23:14

There is nothing fantastic. It's faster and better, that's it.

EmptyWords · Post by **EmptyWords** » 24 Jan 2005, 00:56

whys it better? the 9800pro has 256bit interface w/e not sure how much of a difference it makes, buti think it shold affect it in a positive way