Video cards questions

Sylvos · Post by **Sylvos** » October 28, 2004, 11:22 am

It's about that time to buy a new video card for WoW.
Unfortunately I haven't had the need to buy one for several years.
I've asked around and the general consensus is Nvidia Geforce 6600+
However all I can find is PCI cards unless I want to spend 380+ bucks for a video card.
I've seen some nice priced video cards of the 5900 variety but have no idea if they are good or not.
Ideas? Information? Experiences?

Post by **Sylvus** » October 28, 2004, 12:04 pm

irc wrote:[10:58] <miir> youre using a ti4600 now?
[10:59] <Sylvos_wrk> geforce2 mx400!

Just to help people who want to provide him suggestions. I think he's also running it on an Apple ][e.

noel · Post by **noel** » October 28, 2004, 12:11 pm

I have an ATI RADEON 9800 pro with 256MB that works well for every game except for Doom 3. They're around $200 now according to pricewatch.com. I think the comparable Nvidia card is the FX6800? The pricing seems kind of weird comparatively. Maybe the 6600.

Syenye · Post by **Syenye** » October 28, 2004, 12:12 pm

are you set on nvidia? the radeon 9800 pro is still a great video card for an AGP slot. if i were buying a new card, i would go with that until the SLI motherboards come out and i could afford a couple of 6800s.

if you do go with nvidia, i'd recommend buying a PNY card... their lifetime warranty is very much

.

Tenuvil · Post by **Tenuvil** » October 28, 2004, 12:21 pm

GeForce FX 5700 is an excellent card that with 8x AGP and 256MB video RAM can be had for about $100. FX 5900s are in the $200 range right now.

Sylvos · Post by **Sylvos** » October 28, 2004, 12:58 pm

ok great thanks guys!

looking atm at the 5900XT and the ATI 9600XT its a close decision
i've got a p4 2.1 and so i think i won't really be able to fully take advantage of all the hardware bonus's the higher end cards give, that and I have to probably get a new power supply =/

Kilmoll the Sexy · Post by **Kilmoll the Sexy** » October 28, 2004, 1:05 pm

I would highly suggest checking out the technical support on WoW's forums to see what problems people are having with any of the brands of cards and avoid those that are having problems. Even if Blizzard was working with one company they could have driver issues.

We saw that with Planetside during beta....they worked with Nvidia, yet Nvidia cards were the ones having all the issues while the ATI's worked perfect.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » October 28, 2004, 1:59 pm

Coming from someone who has loved their ATI 9700 Pro for several years, the 6800GT is the best high end "value" out there but it's out of your price range at 370.00 for the cheapest ones.

If you plan on watching DVDs or videos using your computer, I'd suggest checking out the 6600 cards coming out. They are cheaper than the 6800s but have the same nice onboard prossessing that the 6800's have (NVIDIA NVDVD v3+ DXVA kicks ass over other decoder solutions, even without FFDSHOW post processing, for DVD picture quality).

This particular round of nVidia cards (6800GT and 6600 specifically) beat up on their ATI counterparts. The ATI x800 XT is still the best of the best but that's 600.00.

If you plan on a HTPC, it doesn't get any better than 6800GT with NVDVD 4 codecs in DXVA smart mode with VPP processing!

Bottom line: consider the 6600 in your desired price range.

Edit: read kilmolls post. ATI cards actually have an advantage over nVidia cards in EQ2 atm although that's not the game you're playing. Just kind of funny at ATIs sucked in EQ before and were better in everything else. Kind of a reveral but that could change with some fine tuning. 6800GT is by no means sluggish in EQ2. We're talking a few FPS difference in the high end cards atm.

Tenuvil · Post by **Tenuvil** » October 28, 2004, 2:12 pm

I'd have speced nVidia 6600 cards, but every single one I have seen is PCI Express 16 bus rather than AGP. This card requires a new motherboard with this new interface slot that virtually no computers more than a few months old have at this point.

ps: die ati fanbois

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » October 28, 2004, 3:00 pm

Tenuvil wrote:I'd have speced nVidia 6600 cards, but every single one I have seen is PCI Express 16 bus rather than AGP. This card requires a new motherboard with this new interface slot that virtually no computers more than a few months old have at this point.

ps: die ati fanbois

The AGP versions are being released in November. : )

Tenuvil · Post by **Tenuvil** » October 28, 2004, 4:02 pm

Winnow wrote:
Tenuvil wrote:I'd have speced nVidia 6600 cards, but every single one I have seen is PCI Express 16 bus rather than AGP. This card requires a new motherboard with this new interface slot that virtually no computers more than a few months old have at this point.

ps: die ati fanbois

The AGP versions are being released in November. : )

Thanks! I'll hold out till then to get a new card in that case

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » October 28, 2004, 4:23 pm

Here's a message board discussion of the 6600 AGP:

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=815635

pricing looks like 199.00 for 6600GT and 149.00 for 6600 standard. Out in late November if you can wait that long!

Sylvos · Post by **Sylvos** » October 28, 2004, 4:25 pm

i got pissed off and bought a 9800se it was 130 bucks
if it sucks oh well i'll eat the 130 and get a better card later. =)

Llaffer · Post by **Llaffer** » October 28, 2004, 9:54 pm

Sylvos wrote:i got pissed off and bought a 9800se it was 130 bucks
if it sucks oh well i'll eat the 130 and get a better card later. =)

Hate to say it, but the SE is their "El Cheapo" line.

You may be disapointed in it.

I use the 9800Pro (about $200), and love it.

Kluden · Post by **Kluden** » October 29, 2004, 1:48 pm

Sylvos, have you tried to soft mod that card into a 9800pro?

If it works, you obviously have a much better card than what you paid for.

My 9800se did not mod right, I got artifacts. The deal is, they have the same core as the 9800pro, but *usually* some of the pipelines are damaged. So, ati disables them, and sells the card as an "SE". The demand was high, so they started shipping them with vpu's that were fine, just crippled by the driver.

Do a google search on "9800SE Softmod" and you will find the software needed. Hell, one of them has a setup option specifically for that mod.