Have @ $150 for a vid card - recommendations?

D

DyerWolf

Weaksauce
Joined
Jan 29, 2004
Messages
78
Hi,

With X-mas around the corner, I am thinking of upgrading. Any suggestions on what will give the best bang for the buck?

Video usage: Mostly high end FPS games (online), some video editing + Map modding, etc. Generally like to have the graphics maxed whenever I can...

I have seen 256 mb GeForce 5700 and 6600's for sale in that range and 256 Mb Radeon 9800's for about $175 (a little too pricey for me right now...)

Price really is a factor - otherwise I would get something new.

Also, if there is someone who is wizardly enough to know whether I am really going to see $150 worth of performance increase by upgrading to the above class of card, feel free to weigh in. I'd hate to dump my card and not get any real performance increase.


Current sys:

AMD 64 3000 +
MSI K8N Neo Platinum
1 Gb PC 3200 Ram

--> 128 mb GeForce4 ti 4800 SE <--
 
Im also buying a $150 range card for a relative of mine and would like recommendations....to answer your question... YES even $150 upgraded card would boost performance big time especially on a high end system like yours...and especially so that you are upgrading from a very old card like a geforce4 sooo yes you will see huge gains...try this website www.pricewatch.com click on videocards and find the best deal
 
If you absolutely cannot come up with a penny more, go for a cheap 9800 pro online if you can find one. Otherwise, I'd say save up a little more and go for a BFG 6800 OC.
 
The $150 6600s are PCIe cards, not AGP.

The $175 256MB Radeon 9800 is probably a 128-bit card - beware

The best bet at this price point is probably the 9600Pro/XT, unless you find a really good deal on something else. Not sure if it'd be $150 worth of improvement, especially when you consider that 6600GT/6800NU is about a $200 card & will put out 3-4x the performance.
 
ameoba said:
The $150 6600s are PCIe cards, not AGP.

The $175 256MB Radeon 9800 is probably a 128-bit card - beware

The best bet at this price point is probably the 9600Pro/XT, unless you find a really good deal on something else. Not sure if it'd be $150 worth of improvement, especially when you consider that 6600GT/6800NU is about a $200 card & will put out 3-4x the performance.
Click to expand...

link to the 6800nu for $200 PLEASE!
 
For no more than 150, your best bet is to find a used 9800pro. 128mb 256 bit architecture.

I bought one in June. Coming from a ti4200 it was a very noticable improvement.

There is nothing better for the money.
 
Stereophile said:
For no more than 150, your best bet is to find a used 9800pro. 128mb 256 bit architecture.

I bought one in June. Coming from a ti4200 it was a very noticable improvement.

There is nothing better for the money.
Click to expand...

When you say "buy a used" do you mean EBAY?
 
Save more $60 more and get a 6600GT AGP.

Too bad you werent smart like me.... you coulda got a 6800 for $199 at CompUSA on black friday, like I did :)

Now its just sitting in its box waiting for the rest of the stuff to come in.
 
I can't find any 6600 series cards that are AGP and under $200 can someone please link me up?
 
I'm noobie So I dont really know much about it. But, are the x600s any better than the 9800???
 
Of course there is better than a 9800pro but he said 150 and he really needs to stick to that price.
 
the X600 is just a PCI express 9600, and it is not nearly as good as a 9800pro. Try and find a used 9800pro or get a 6600GT.
 
Like most others stated, save/wait for a higher end card. When I was shopping months ago for a vid card when my GF3 ti200 died, I decided on the 9600XT 128 megs. If I didn't think much of it at the time but I probably should've went with a higher end card rather than saving ~ $100-150. The 9600XT isn't bad but for optimal gaming performance, I could've bought better.
 
I went from a GF3Ti200 to a 9800Pro for $200 about 5 months ago and DAMN I love it. I saw it advertised at Fry's Electronics for $149 or $169 the other day.
 
chrisf6969 said:
Save more $60 more and get a 6600GT AGP.

Too bad you werent smart like me.... you coulda got a 6800 for $199 at CompUSA on black friday, like I did :)

Now its just sitting in its box waiting for the rest of the stuff to come in.
Click to expand...

6600gt AGP under $200? Link....
:rolleyes:
 
i don't know if this will still be available in your area, but the offer is valid until sat dec 6. my friend's bro went to best buy yesterday (nov 30) and they still had 3 left (this is the best buy in state college pa). apparently if you have them ring it up in a certain order, you can get the bfg 6800oc bundled with farcry and hl2 for $220 after $105 in rebates. here's a link to the post on anandtech:

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=40&threadid=1451892&highlight_key=y&keyword1=6800

hope that helps.
 
Thanks for the advice so far!

What is killing me is that the lower priced cards are all PCI-E, and my mobo has an AGP slot =(

(BTW, thanks to the posters for reminding me of that little factor! - also BestBuy shows that 128 mb 6800 bundle as sold out and the price is actually $250 after rebate...)

The PowerColor AGP 9800 pro is a 256 mb card @ $200 and the Albatron 6600 AGP is a 128 mb card for @ $ 232 (Pricewatch). - Which tells me that if I am going to spend that kind of money to just go for the 6800 - right? Also, am I too hung up on the 128 / 256 mb video memory thing?

- My thought is that since my 4800 is a 128mb, when I upgrade cards I should get more vid memory at the same time I upgrade classes of card. Thoughts?

- The main problem is that my primary app is Wife 1.0 which may conflict with any card over $200. I already know for sure that a $ 150 card is compatable - and at $200+ I have to spend a lot of time configuring...
 
you wont find a 6600Gt AGP or 6800nu for UNDER 200$. Lot of ppl got the PNY on black firday for 229 plus tax and a 30$mail in rebate. The 6600GT is right in line with the 6800nu on prices if you look around. I got my 6800nu for 239.00 locally. IF you get a 9800 pro make sure its NOT the 128 bit and go for the 256 bit.. .
 
Mikey20 said:
6600gt AGP under $200? Link....
:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I never said under $200, I said save up another $60 (+ $150) = $210.

I thought they were $220, but by the time he saves the extra $60 or $70, they may only be $210.

The cheapest on Pricewatch currently is $229. :(

The 6800 vanilla is a better/faster card.
And I gots mine for $199!!! :) (black friday Compusa - actually it was a 2 day sale item I think too)
 
If you can't pop $200, about the only thing you can do that'll be a worthwhile improvement from the 4800 is to do a bit of hunting & get a 256-bit 9800. They're out there if you look around a bit (but I'm not going to do it).
 
Neither PCI-Express or AGP 8x has any real advantage over the other. If you are asking which is more futureproof then I would say PCI-Express. Also PCI-Express has the advantage of SLI in the future.
 
"phldbr wrote:
Which one is better? Agp 8X or PCI-Express 16X"

At this point the PCI-E vs AGP thing is academic - usefull only to be sure you buy a card that fits your mobo. If you are thinking of upgrading to a new processor and mobo, go with a PCI-E for both the futureproof / upgrade path and for the fact that many PCI-E vid cards are cheaper than their AGP counterparts.

When I upgraded to my AMD-64 and mobo I decided against waiting for the PCI-E so I could keep my current vid-card. (I did not have enough $$ to upgrade all three, and it wasn't even offered at the time I wanted to buy). While I am still happy with the Ti 4800, it is getting pretty long in the tooth.

I am starting to lean toward the 6600 GT over the 9800 Pro because I am reading that the nForce 250 gb on my mobo works better with Nvidia cards (go figure...). Heck, I'd like a 6800 GT, but price is still a big factor.

Guess I will have to wait until after the holidays to see if there are sales / price adjustments.

Anyone know of any brands to avoid, or are they all basically the same?
 
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