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

arabnight · Post by **arabnight** » 26 Dec 2005, 00:49

ok i upgraded my driver for my g-card and its giving me trouble....it frezzes most wanted...when i play..everyonce in a while it froze 5 times when i played one race...

donaldgladden · Post by **donaldgladden** » 27 Dec 2005, 18:42

i feel like a noob all over again. i found the box and it was pci express lol. but instead i found this gorgeous card. i brought a BFG 6200 OC. so far it's faster than a PCI express 6600 although its AGP.

Post by **Pabl0z** » 27 Dec 2005, 21:33

donaldgladden wrote:i feel like a noob all over again. i found the box and it was pci express lol. but instead i found this gorgeous card. i brought a BFG 6200 OC. so far it's faster than a PCI express 6600 although its AGP.

shiznit i say.

Jmac- · Post by **Jmac-** » 27 Dec 2005, 23:21

Some 6600s have 500 MHz 64-bit memory ..

64-bit 6600:
Core: 300 MHz x 8 Pixel Pipelines = 2400 MPixels/s
Memory: 500 MHz x 64-bit = 3.725 GB/s

BFG 6200 OC:
Core: 375 MHz x 4 Pixel Pipelines = 1500 MPixels/s
Memory: 400 MHz x 128-bit = 5.960 GB/s

Worse fill rate but more bandwidth than a 64-bit 6600 ...

If it's a 128-bit 6600 then your card isn't faster, but you may still be able to run games/benchmarks better since your graphics card isn't everything ...

2furio · Post by **2furio** » 28 Dec 2005, 01:31

Just gave it another try...

After purchasing a BFG 6600GT and getting those stupid flashing green shapes when playing NFS UG2/MW and returning it, I found it on sale and gave it another try.

Like I've said before, there seems to be two versions, 1 old that looks cool but has horrible cooling which results in overheating and getting those green artifacts and 1 new that looks like an average card that actually works and has a perty blue LED light.

So if you want an awesome card that's cheap this is the way to go:
http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.ph ... id=999.821
Just make sure it looks like the one in the picture.

donaldgladden · Post by **donaldgladden** » 29 Dec 2005, 04:12

Jmac- wrote:Some 6600s have 500 MHz 64-bit memory ..

64-bit 6600:
Core: 300 MHz x 8 Pixel Pipelines = 2400 MPixels/s
Memory: 500 MHz x 64-bit = 3.725 GB/s

BFG 6200 OC:
Core: 375 MHz x 4 Pixel Pipelines = 1500 MPixels/s
Memory: 400 MHz x 128-bit = 5.960 GB/s

Worse fill rate but more bandwidth than a 64-bit 6600 ...

If it's a 128-bit 6600 then your card isn't faster, but you may still be able to run games/benchmarks better since your graphics card isn't everything ...

its a 256 mb alright no shiznit. im looking at the specs on the box right now. as soon as i get COD2 for PC ill run a benchmark and get screenshots.

Post by **Pabl0z** » 29 Dec 2005, 13:13

I first thought i would get a 6600GT for my new pc but then i decided i'm gonna go for the GT7800

.
If i'd go for the 6600GT i could buy the new pc right now but i'm gonna wait for a bit so i'll get enough money for the 7800GT.
And i'm probably gonna wait even longer to get enough hd-space and memory so i won't have to buy more right away.

donaldgladden · Post by **donaldgladden** » 30 Dec 2005, 03:38

Pabl0z wrote:I first thought i would get a 6600GT for my new pc but then i decided i'm gonna go for the GT7800 .
If i'd go for the 6600GT i could buy the new pc right now but i'm gonna wait for a bit so i'll get enough money for the 7800GT.
And i'm probably gonna wait even longer to get enough hd-space and memory so i won't have to buy more right away.

just the thought of the 6800 ultra and how it hogs power. just think of the power the 7800GT will need. i would just get the 6600GT for now amd then get a new more powerful PSU. like one from ANTEC.

PSZeTa · Post by **PSZeTa** » 30 Dec 2005, 04:03

Getting a 6600GT now is a completely waste of money unless you are really short on money.

And the 7800 series cards don't eat up that much power.

Jmac- · Post by **Jmac-** » 30 Dec 2005, 04:23

http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/12/09/ ... age40.html

underoath285 · Post by **underoath285** » 30 Dec 2005, 06:03

hey, was the ATI Radeon 9550 a waste of my money?

korge · Post by **korge** » 30 Dec 2005, 06:09

7800 GTX = BS and waste of $500

Save the 300 dollars and 10 % increase in power and buy a 6600.

Jmac- · Post by **Jmac-** » 30 Dec 2005, 06:36

How do you figure the 7800GTX is BS ? It's the fastest card on the market ...

BTW, the 6600 is nowhere near within 10% of the 7800GTX ...

korge · Post by **korge** » 30 Dec 2005, 06:39

Jmac- wrote:How do you figure the 7800GTX is BS ? It's the fastest card on the market ...

You are joking right? Have you ever heard of a FireGL? They are primarily used for Workstation PCs and CG artwork, but perform faster then Dual 7800GTXs. Check it out on TomsHardware, you will see.

And the best part is, its only around $1000. That is the same price of 2 7800s.

Jmac- · Post by **Jmac-** » 30 Dec 2005, 06:49

I couldn't find anything on Tom's Hardware comparing the FireGL to the 7800GTX ... Link ?

Sir Ibi · Post by **Sir Ibi** » 30 Dec 2005, 06:53

FireGL is mostly used for CG work and renders, but apparantly cards like FireGL and NVidias Qaudro are crap for gaming purposes, or so I was told....

Jmac- · Post by **Jmac-** » 30 Dec 2005, 06:56

Sir Ibi wrote:FireGL is mostly used for CG work and renders, but apparantly cards like FireGL and NVidias Qaudro are crap for gaming purposes, or so I was told....

They're designed for OpenGL applications ... Most games don't use OpenGL; they use DirectX ...

Sir Ibi · Post by **Sir Ibi** » 30 Dec 2005, 06:58

that's why I said those cards are crap for gaming purposes. Usually when I do 3D work I change my graphics setting to OpenGL, because for 3D applications, DirectX SUCK!

korge · Post by **korge** » 30 Dec 2005, 06:59

They arent crap, but they perform eqaully as well as any gfx card out there. My father uses them at work and vouches, while you wont get the tremendous increase of power as you would with, lets say Qauke, You would however get the performance increase in programs written to take advantage of such cards, like Adobe products or 3D highend programs. You wouldnt wouldnt get the killer performance specs with blowing your money on the dual 7800GTXs. I havent seen benchmarks yet comparing the two(my bad), but for a $1000 budget, it actually may be best to go with a FireGL.

Sir Ibi · Post by **Sir Ibi** » 30 Dec 2005, 07:06

For an industry professional FireGL is perfect - it will be treated as working tool. But like you said for games, it ain't brilliant. 7800GTX and FireGL are meant for different applications, one for gaming and the other for CG, so its almost pointless comparing them I guess...

To be honest I'm quite happy with my 7800 GT using 3DS Max as my CPU has enough juice to take care of the rendering and the grapics card for gaming.

Post by **Pabl0z** » 30 Dec 2005, 12:20

donaldgladden wrote:
Pabl0z wrote:I first thought i would get a 6600GT for my new pc but then i decided i'm gonna go for the GT7800 .
If i'd go for the 6600GT i could buy the new pc right now but i'm gonna wait for a bit so i'll get enough money for the 7800GT.
And i'm probably gonna wait even longer to get enough hd-space and memory so i won't have to buy more right away.

just the thought of the 6800 ultra and how it hogs power. just think of the power the 7800GT will need. i would just get the 6600GT for now amd then get a new more powerful PSU. like one from ANTEC.

The 7800 series uses like half of the power that the 6800 series uses.

spartan.dk · Post by **spartan.dk** » 30 Dec 2005, 17:13

Right now, I own a 128 MB ATI Radeon 9200... is it complete and utterly crap? Because when I play The Sims 2, everything looks choppy, and there's alot of FPS lag, and from time to time, my ATI drivers have to reset during gameplay.

korge · Post by **korge** » 30 Dec 2005, 17:29

You just answered your own question.

spartan.dk · Post by **spartan.dk** » 30 Dec 2005, 17:58

Oh, so it's crap? Or it might be my RAM or processor, I don't know.

PSZeTa · Post by **PSZeTa** » 30 Dec 2005, 18:25

Doh.. If it looks choppy, it's your videocard.