video card

[Yianni]

hey guys,

I'm building a computer for myself and i wanted to know what is the best video card for the cheapest price? i was wondering should i get an ATI 9600 or an Nvidia GForce 4 fx card?

[JIMINATOR]

ati 9500, or 9700 if it is cheap enough

[Crism]

well even the Ti4200 beats the 9600Pro by a tad. I would get one of the GeForce4 Ti series cards if you are going cheap however, I would get the FX5600 *VERSION 2* which is around a Ti4400 or 4600 from what i read in a review...other than that, get a 9700 or 9800

[ME BIGGD01]

hi yianni, i would reccomend a card with directx9 support. although the ti family is a good card, it clearly will not benefit the future. as jim as posted, the 9500 and 9700 are pretty well priced and i would reccomend the 9700 pro built by ati since the price and performance will give you the best benifit. the 9600 does not impress me but if you are trying to save money or just plain broke like the most of us, go with 9500 for best bang for the buck and will run all the latest games.

[Rivers]

Indeed, I've never actually SEEN a Radeon 9700 Pro in action but I've seen my 9500 and I couldn't be happier with the performance for the money I paid for it. I kinda feel I got the better end of the deal and not ATI. If you're trying to save cash 9500 Pro is great and I highly recomend it unless you can squeeze out the cash for a 9700 then by all means do so. Although I noticed I haven't been seeing a lot of 9500's and 9700 Pro's much anymore so if you find one, snag it you won't be sorry. :thumbs:

[Death-Dude]

After a quick look at Pricewatch (http://www.pricewatch.com), just to get an idea of what they are running atm, the 9700 Pro is at $278, and the FX 5900 128 is at $248....if I was spending on one of those, I'd take the 5900 without hesitation. If you're more in the $150 or less range, look at the performance of some of the other cards suggested here.

[SASQUATCH]

Originally posted by Death-Dude@Sep 4 2003, 01:11 PM
After a quick look at Pricewatch (http://www.pricewatch.com), just to get an idea of what they are running atm, the 9700 Pro is at $278, and the FX 5900 128 is at $248....if I was spending on one of those, I'd take the 5900 without hesitation. If you're more in the $150 or less range, look at the performance of some of the other cards suggested here.
BUT !


If I was to be doing 3D apps, then I would go for 9700 pro because it runs and performace better with 3D apps and rendering.

[Death-Dude]

Originally posted by SASQUATCH+Sep 4 2003, 12:25 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (SASQUATCH @ Sep 4 2003, 12:25 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin--Death-Dude@Sep 4 2003, 01:11 PM
After a quick look at Pricewatch (http://www.pricewatch.com), just to get an idea of what they are running atm, the 9700 Pro is at &#036;278, and the FX 5900 128 is at &#036;248....if I was spending on one of those, I&#39;d take the 5900 without hesitation. If you&#39;re more in the &#036;150 or less range, look at the performance of some of the other cards suggested here.
BUT &#33;


If I was to be doing 3D apps, then I would go for 9700 pro because it runs and performace better with 3D apps and rendering. [/b][/quote]
Sure, it comes back to personal preference, and what you want to do with it. I haven&#39;t looked at the benchmarks lately, but it looks like the 5900 will best the 9800 in Doom, Q3 engine games, and in UT, but not by much. If it renders 3DStudio Max better, and that&#39;s what you do more, by all means. For me, I&#39;d pay a little more for the 5900, so with it being actually cheaper, than a 9700 Pro, mind you, I&#39;ll take the 5900. But, it&#39;s easy for me to pick, because I&#39;m not in the market for one. I can&#39;t see upgrading a 128-meg card for a 128-meg card, so it&#39;s next spring for me. I&#39;ve been telling the boss, er, little missus, that I&#39;m building an all-new rig next spring, to get her head used to the idea.


Edit: After looking around, I can&#39;t find any test showing the 9700 PRo 128 beating the FX 5900 128 in much of anything, got a link to those benches, Sas?