I'm running a Sony Vaio Digital Studio, PCV-RX560, w/ a 1.7 GHz Pentium 4 Processor and a NVIDIA TNT2 M64 card...and Windows XP Home Edition.
I've never "upgraded" video cards before, but I know with games on the horizon such as Call of Duty I will need to upgrade to be able to run them.
So my question is, what card or cards would you all recommend I look into? Also, is this the only upgrade I need to make or am I overlooking something?
Many thanks for your help and recommendations. If you know the prices of the cards, that'd help, too.
FiveO
10-18-03, 09:43 PM
I'm in the market for an upgrade also. Currently running an nVidia GeForce 440, 64mb.
Theres basically 2 brands right now that are popular.
nVidia and ATI Radeon.
They can get spendy. I'll be stepping up in the next few months to a 256 mb nVidia 5600 (at least thats what I'm thinking now). Right around the $150 range. Maybe a bit more. May try one of their Ultra series cards. Not sure yet.
Peruse eBay to get an idea of the general prices...then check out other sites. I haven't gotten into heavy research yet as I'm still a couple months out from picking one up.
One thing you will need alot of is RAM. I'm going to be going up to 1 gb of RAM as soon as possible. I'm at 512 currently and my framerates and lag playing Battlefield 1942, Desert Combat are starting to show. This game is a RAM hog.
Oh..BTW: Looking forward to Call of Duty also :)
Dah-Dee
10-18-03, 10:08 PM
Start by reading some threads in the video card forum over at Anandtech:
I think you'll change your mind about that 256MB 5600, FiveO. It's too slow for the extra RAM to do you much good in the games you mentioned and certainly won't help you in the new games around the corner like Half Life 2 and Doom 3. I'm guessing both of you will want to consider something at least (!) as fast as the 9600 Pro from ATI (plus, the 9600XT is coming out this month) or the 5600 Ultra "flip chip" (not the original 5600 Ultra) card from nVidia. Both can be found in the $150 range these days, and the 9600XT will apparently be priced at approx. $200 BUT will also come with a voucher for a free copy of Half Life 2. Happy hunting.
Seems like most people are recommending at least 512MB of pretty fast system memory these days, and a lot of people are recommending 1GB.
Edit: See similar thread here for additional info: http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=324435
Jackskeleton
10-18-03, 10:27 PM
Get an ati 9600 and your set. :)
Something from the [H]ardforum that I always find useful.
After reading the millions of shall i upgrade, which one shall i get, shall i buy a damn video card, i need a video card help, i cant make a decision, i am sorry i dont want to use the search button, heck why not make a new thread; threads i have compiled this thread to help out our very own Average "Newbie Cheeze" Joe
For The Masses This is the current ranking of Video cards from least effective to the best on the market
This list is compiled after much research and not based on increased FPS only but also other factors such as DirectX 9 support, pixel shaders, vertex shaders, image quality etc. There are bound to be discrepencies
All prices are subject to change (DUH!)
Threads primary focus is for nVidia and ATi offerings as those are mostly recognized for gamers.
Recommended Cards at Various Price Points: Best Bang For The Buck
Price $40: N/A Save up a little over 40 and buy @ the next price point
Price $80: Ti 4200 64 megs
From Whom: MSI, Albatron, ASUS, BFG
Why: Its the best you can get simple as that (for this much dough ofcourse). Also MSI cards come with an awesome bundle, ASUS cards tend to have a larger life, Albatron is the new kid in town and has some nice cooling, BFG cards have had no problems atleast to my knowledge. Gainward, PNY and others have shown various problems for various people
Price $100: Ti 4200 128 megs
From Whom: MSI, Albatron, ASUS, BFG
Why:Its faster than everything that ATi has to offer at this price point but there is a catch, you can get the 9600 (pro) for around 140ish bucks if u are willing to spend a little more that card is more future proof, DX9 goodness!
Price $150: Radeon 9500 pro/ 9600 pro
From Whom: OEM Sapphire, Tyan
Why: If you can grab it do so now because the ti cards (at these prices) will not provide gaming like this one can w/ AA and AF turned on.
Price $200: Radeon 9700 non pro
From Whom: OEM Sapphire, Retail Sapphire, Crucial
Why: These are not available easily but if you are lucky to grab one w/ samsung ram a simple retail bios flash of 9700 pro will run it like a pro. Awesome isnt it, even if you get the one with infineon or hynix ram it will rock. Difference from a 9500 pro is the 128 bit mem bus in 9500 pro vs 256 bit bus of 9700
Price $240: Radeon 9700 pro/9800 non pro
From Whom: Hercules, Sapphire, Built By Ati
Why: Need I Say more.. this card was the King till March 2003
Avoid the Following: Gigabyte 5 ppl i know said their fans died out and ramsinks fell off due to GRAVITY.. WTF?
Powercolor: *******s have varied clockspeeds on various cards, 9700 pros w/ 325/297 clock speeds.. again WTF?
Price $280: Radeon 9700 pro/9800 w/ Zalman or ThermalTake Giant II Heatsink
From Whom: Same
Why: Zalman is fanless and quiet. Thermal take is with fan and cooler!
Why Not the Ultimate Edition: Coz this is cheaper atleast 30 bucks
Price $300: Radeon 9800 pro
From Whom: Sapphire, Built By Ati
Why: Mr. Joe its the fastest puppy around at this price point and since i seriously doubt you will go till 500 bucks get this one and fast
Price $300: All In Wonder 9700 pro but I will just add my 2 cents on the subject; once you have TV on your comp you just cant let go of it. Since video cards last usually around a year i suggest against buying this card just because everytime you will have to change to a video card with all in wonder capabilities. I suggest getting a tv tuner by leadtek or hauppage instead or if you do a lot of video editing then i guess you should go for this card otherwise get two different cards. Heck i am using a 4 year old tv tuner even now
Price $425: 9800 PRO 256
Why NOT: that 256 mb of ram wont be helpful in 97% of the games that are coming out this year apart from i guess DOOM 3 because of its advanced use of pixel shader, vertex shaders and what not. Even DX 2 and HL2 wont require unholy 256 mb of memory. I recommend upgrading your system than buying this card. Really it isnt worth it but thats only me! Also the radeon 9800 pro 128 can handle games pretty well unless u only play at 1600 rez.. my preference is a 9800 pro 256 over a geforce fx 5900 U due to the links posted below.. make ur choice!
Price $499: 9800XT 256
I dunno.. if you are coming for a Geforce 3 or 4 or Radeon 9200 or lower card then maybe. Anyone upgrading from an R3X00 core card must have a lot of dough to spare.
King of the Ti 4200 Series: MSI because of their awesome bundle and Live Update Utilities
King of the Radeon 9500 Pro: Tyan Tachyon because of their nice cooling kit and temprature sensors and burn proof protection w/ Tyans overclocking utility
King of the Radeon 9600 Pro: Built By ATi Radeon 9600 Pro because they are equipped with 2.8ns samsung ram and overclock like mad.
King of the FX 5600 Ultra Rev 2: MSI because of their nice cooling solutions and awesome nBox game bundle.
King of the Radeon 9700 Non Pro: OEM Sapphire (ONLY RED PCB) because of their potential of being converted into 9700 Pros (avoid black pcb ones though.. too many complaints i have seen with those boards)
King of the 9700 Pros: Hercules because of its nice copper cooler and memsinks
King of the GFFX 5900 128 MB: MSI because of their awesome bundle and nice cooling solution. They even have a fan on the backside of the card!
King of the 9800 Pros: ATi or Hercules because of its nice copper cooler and memsinks
King of the GFFX 5900 Ultra 256 MB: MSI due to awesome game bundle and Quality Cooling Solution!
Much love for KickAssCop
young
10-19-03, 12:10 AM
i'm waiting for the ati 9600xt which comes out soon.
Dah-Dee
10-19-03, 12:15 AM
Well, I hear now that the nVidia 5700 series is also about to hit the streets and not only is faster at stock speeds than the 9600XT but also overclocks much better. Good grief.
FiveO
10-19-03, 02:00 PM
Originally posted by Dah-Dee
Start by reading some threads in the video card forum over at Anandtech:
I think you'll change your mind about that 256MB 5600, FiveO. It's too slow for the extra RAM to do you much good in the games you mentioned and certainly won't help you in the new games around the corner like Half Life 2 and Doom 3. I'm guessing both of you will want to consider something at least (!) as fast as the 9600 Pro from ATI (plus, the 9600XT is coming out this month) or the 5600 Ultra "flip chip" (not the original 5600 Ultra) card from nVidia. Both can be found in the $150 range these days, and the 9600XT will apparently be priced at approx. $200 BUT will also come with a voucher for a free copy of Half Life 2. Happy hunting.
Seems like most people are recommending at least 512MB of pretty fast system memory these days, and a lot of people are recommending 1GB.
Edit: See similar thread here for additional info: http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=324435
Thanks for the recommendations :)
Appreciate it.
edstein
10-19-03, 02:13 PM
I'm very happy with the EVGA 5600 ultra 129mb card I bought from newegg about a month ago. It was $200 with a $20 mail in rebate that I am still waiting on.
Trigger
10-19-03, 02:19 PM
That's a pretty good guide except that I've purchased a few gainward cards for client PCs and I've found them to be really well made and reliable - plus the bundle is nice. Other than that I pretty much agree. Oh - and I would say no to Tyan.
indianajdp
10-19-03, 10:14 PM
Yes, many thanks for all your help.
Looks like I'll be dropping $150-$200 in the next month or so ...
funkyryno
10-19-03, 11:35 PM
I think I'm going to wait until Half-life 2 finally comes out. That's when I'll really need DX 9 support.
Dah-Dee
10-20-03, 03:03 PM
Posted this over in that video card thread in the Hot Deals forum, thought those posting in this thread might be interested and not see it otherwise. This is definitely a YMWV (Your Mileage Will Vary) deal, but a good example of what can happen if you keep your eyes open at Best Buy (and elsewhere, like CC) after a run of good clearance/rebate deals like we've had recently .... Went over to Best Buy to price match the Toys R Us deal on Gamecube games (they agreed to pm), and saw a BFG Asylum 5600 Ultra (flip chip) box sitting on the shelf as a I cruised by that aisle on the way to CS. It was not shrink-wrapped, had no price tag, and the shelf tag was long gone (this store sold out of these a couple of weeks ago while the second ($20) rebate was still valid (on top of the current $50 rebate). Long story shortened: the clerk agreed to mark it as an open box -- for $124.99. In addition, the $50 rebate form printed out and I'll send that in. So, if the rebate goes through (the clerk said it should be fine, as the form, unlike some rebates they run, does not specifically exclude open box items), I'll have gotten this card for $75. I was planning to wait for the new wave of cards, but couldn't pass this up. Other than waiting for the new cards, I had hoped to find an open box on this card or a 9800 Non-Pro w/Samsung mem (Ha, right, like that would happen!), so I'm pretty pleased with my discounted purchase, as long as it runs okay.
Buy: