need suggestions on a new vid card

[PCNUBY]

im looking to replace my aged geforce2 mx420...not looking to spend too much (about $150)...any suggestions?

[jackjones]

If you are into gaming then what you are looking for in that price range is a ATI 9500 Pro or geforce 4 4200.

[morriswindgate]

GAINWARD/CARDEXPERT GeForce 4 Ti 4200, 3.3ns, 64MB DDR. Golden Sample

[Alienware_Dude]

Ahhh, not so fast! http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.p...threadid=54997

[Jeradln82]

I second jackjones on the ATI 9500pro or the GF4 Ti4200.
I'd defenitly get the 128mb cards.

[Spyda]

whay get the 128 4200 when the 64 has faster RAM and no games are really gonna use 128 for a long time, most games max at about 32 for now

[PCNUBY]

...is spyda correct? o..and thanks for the warning alienware_dude

[PCNUBY]

hm..well the radeon 9500 pro sounds like a great deal. im currently thinking of a Sapphire Radeon 9500 Atlantis..or the Pro version...what's the difference between the 2 anyway? Both come in 128 Mb versions...so i don't see how they can be different other than maybe a software bundle or perhaps slightly increased clock speeds..does anyone know?

[jackjones]

ATI RADEON 9500 Pro. It features 8 pixel pipelines, 128bit DDR SDRAM graphics memory bus, 275MHz recommended chip frequency and 540MHz (270MHz DDR) recommended memory frequency.
ATI claims that its RADEON 9500 Pro features 128bit DDR SDRAM memory bus. If we take it for granted, then the only difference between this product and ATI RADEON 9700 will be exactly this twice as narrow memory bus.
RADEON 9500 Pro is positioned as a rival to NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti4200 and partially as a rival to a faster GeForce4 Ti4600.

ATI RADEON 9500. It features 4 pixel pipelines, 128bit DDR SDRAM graphics memory bus, 275MHz recommended chip frequency and 540MHz (270MHz DDR) recommended memory frequency.
This is the slowest chip of the entire ATI family. With twice as few pixel pipelines as by RADEON 9700 Pro, twice as narrow memory bus and lower working frequencies, RADEON 9500 can only compete with the NVIDIA GeForce4 MX family and a little bit with GeForce4 Ti4200.

Source: http://www.xbitlabs.com/video/radeon9500-9700/

[PCNUBY]

thanks for the info jack

[Xanieth]

I got a Geforce 4 Ti4200 128MB from MSI recently for $145. Don't go to retail stores to buy a video card, as they will rip you off.

[glc]

The only way you will get a decent deal at a big box retail store is if there is a mail-in rebate and you want to wait for the check - or if they are blowing out discontinued merchandise. Friend of mine picked up an Asylum GF4 Ti4200 with 128 megs at (I think) Best Buy - it was $199.99 (ouch) but rebates saved him $50, so in the end, not a bad deal considering he went home with a card.

[beerman]

I have the Gainward TI4200 and it's been ok for two months now. Have my fingers crossed that I got a good one. Seems the bottom line is that some of them had some bad capacitors that caused problems. I'm pleased with it's performance so far, it gets through 3DMark ok and graphics in FS2002 are great. If I were shopping now I would buy a different brand in light of the Gainward problems that have come to light.

beerman

[Alienware_Dude]

Why am I the only one who thinks that FS2002 graphics are terrible?

[Tuf]

I would take a long hard look at the Abit Ti4200, it looks like a good carrd for the money.

Our local Wal Mart had some of the Asylum Ti4200's for $125 last time I was there, maybe a day or two ago.

[cmillion]

FS2002 isn't like UT2003 or any of the newest games but still ain't half bad when you look at all the other flight sims. It can get boring fast seeing the same scenery no matter where you go though....

[Alienware_Dude]

I mean, compared to the terrain/aircraft models in IL-2 Sturmovik, I feel totally let down when I fire up FS2002, especially after all the hype.

[cmillion]

Well you are right FS2002 Isn't as good as IL-2 but it's a huge game and wouldn't be able to run smooth(doesn't anyways) if it had Unreal2 type graphics.

[Nuclear Krusader]

Thanks for the info JackJones. You saved me from a bad purchase.