Video Card Reccomendation...

[Joeberg]

Hello Everyone,

Seems like its time to put the 'ole GeForce 2 to rest :D

I've been looking around and these are the two its come down to, So what do you guys think?


ATI RADEON 9600 PRO 128MB 8X AGP DVI/TV RETAIL
Specifications:
Chipset:ATI RADEON 9600 PRO
Memory:128MB of double data rate SDRAM
Bus:AGP 4X (1.5V), 8X (0.8v) or Universal AGP 3.0 bus configuration (4X/8X).
Operating Systems Support: Windows® XP Windows® 2000 Windows® Me
4 parallel rendering pipelines
2 parallel geometry engines
Technology Features: SMARTSHADER™ 2.0, SMOOTHVISION™ 2.1, HYPER Z™ III+ TRUFORM™ 2.0 and VIDEOSHADER™
Max Res: 2048x1536 60HZ at 16.7M Colors
Ports:VGA + DVI + S-Video


Prolink Geforce FX 5600 256MB, 8X AGP, VIVO+DVI+VGA+TV Model VIO-5600-256AD - RETAIL
Specifications:
Chipset: nVidia GeForce FX 5600
Memory: 256MB 4.0ns DDRAM
BUS: 8X AGP
Max display resolution 2048x1536x32bpp at 85Hz
Ports: VGA, DVI, TV-Out, Video In/Out

The ATI costs 172 USD, and the nVidia costs 141 USD.
Looking to do some gaming with the card, any suggestions?
Thanks
-Joe

[lil Jimmie]

I'd go with the ATI but I am biased, I got the same 9600 card last week from newegg for $165 + free shipping.

[HAL9000]

I agree.. I'm ATI biased... so I also say go for the ATI.

[Joeberg]

Thanks Guys, but other than your preferences, are there any other reasons why you would take the 9600Pro over FX5600?
Thanks,
-Joe

[TwoRails]

Ya, it's an overall better card.... And I'm an nVidia fan. Or should I say "used to be," as my next card will be an ATI.

TwoRails

[pam123]

If you can find the $200 go for the 9600XT it beats the new 5700 ultra and should see you through the next 2 years.
Nvidia's next generatio0n will have to be better, or the company won't survive, but for now ATI is the way to go.

[imbest123]

Originally posted by TwoRails
Ya, it's an overall better card.... And I'm an nVidia fan. Or should I say "used to be," as my next card will be an ATI.

TwoRails
same with me.

[Joeberg]

Thanks Pam, I'll try to save up for the XT version.
Thanks for the suggestions everyone, I realy appreciate them :D
-Joe

[Surge1243]

Yeah, don't even look at the current crop of FX cards as they are really poor performers. Frankly I've completely sworn off nvidia and will be sticking with ATI from now on.

[Joeberg]

Wow, didn't know the FX cards were that bad...
Thanks everyone,
-Joe

[Glaive]

They're not THAT bad, it's just that they aren't that good, either, and since the prices are comparable to ATI, it makes more sense to go with the ATI cards.

The specific issue they have is their DX9 performance, more specifically shaders and trilinear filtering. In general, it seems the FX series cards are not as "designed for DX9" as Nvidia would have us believe. If you look at performance on DX8 games, the difference between the top offerings from both companies are pretty close. It's just DX9 where they start to very noticably diverge from each other.

I agree, the next Nvidia GPU, NV40, will need to be something spectacular. If not, then Nvidia looks to be permanently assigned to the Land of Suck.

[nocturnx]

Another vote for the 9600 Pro, its just an overall better performer.