Choosing a new GFX card...help!

[Andy Turner]

Help! Is there a good article I can read on mid-range GFX cards so as
I can get some advice on what I need? Or can anyone help me?

Currently I've got
Intel 2.4ghz P4 (not HT)
1GB 2700 RAM
Asus V8200 T2 (which is a GeForce3 Ti200, with 64mb)

Now then, it would appear that my GFX card is the bottleneck. HL2 ran
like a pig (lots of texture swapping pauses and it barely supported
DX8.1, so things looked dodgy at times), and now GTA:SA is running bad
too. I have to run it in 800x600 with the detail and distance turned
down and it still looks bad.

The main requirements I have for a the replacement is that it be AGP,
have VGA and DVI outputs (not arsed about TV or any other bells &
whistles), be around the £100 mark or lower and preferably be
available from www.scan.co.uk (cos it's easy for me to get there!).

Now then, I just don't get the model numbers by either ATI or nVidia
and how to compare them. For example am I better off with a 256mb 6600
or a 128mb 6800?

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=151960
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=170228


And similar questions arise with the ATI range. How come here, the
256mb model is cheaper than the 128mb model? Is there some other
difference I'm missing?

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=115962
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=115942



So how the hell can I compare them? Y'know I'd have bought one ages
ago but the market confusion has put me off a number of times!


Thanks for any help!


andyt

 

[Jill haoulder]

Nvidia 6600 Gt the ONLY Choice

On your system it will be great mines only and AMD 2.4ghz. And mine
runs great HL2 at 1024by768 or higher with AA4 AF8.

Though that was a while ago played it one and finished with it. Played
battlefirld 2 at 1600 by 1200 with AA4 and runs sweet thats with all
high detail Holly crap

Hope this helps.

 

[Rick]

A nifty performance comparison chart can be found here:
http://techreport.com/etc/comparo/graphics/

 

[DaveW]

For that CPU and RAM that you are currently using I would recommend getting
an Nvidia FX 6600GT card. It would be a good match.

 

[Conor]

Nvidia 6600 Gt the ONLY Choice

On your system it will be great mines only and AMD 2.4ghz. And mine
runs great HL2 at 1024by768 or higher with AA4 AF8.

Seconded.

 

[Conor]

Help! Is there a good article I can read on mid-range GFX cards so as
I can get some advice on what I need? Or can anyone help me?

Currently I've got
Intel 2.4ghz P4 (not HT)
1GB 2700 RAM
Asus V8200 T2 (which is a GeForce3 Ti200, with 64mb)

Geforce 6600GT.

Running Athlon XP3200+, 1GB RAM. Running at 1280x1024 I get 53FPS in
Doom3 Timedemo and in Counterstrike Source/HL2 Video Stress Test, 98
FPS dropping to 58FPS with 4xAA/16xAnisotropic enabled.

 

[Andy Turner]

Geforce 6600GT.

Running Athlon XP3200+, 1GB RAM. Running at 1280x1024 I get 53FPS in
Doom3 Timedemo and in Counterstrike Source/HL2 Video Stress Test, 98
FPS dropping to 58FPS with 4xAA/16xAnisotropic enabled.

How does this compare to the 6800LE though? Anyone know? That seems to
be the decision I'm faced with. From what I'm reading (and *boy* have
I done a lot of reading this morning!), the 6800LE is often a similar
price to the same manufacturer's 6600GT. The 6800LE seems to be a
slightly cut-down version of newer technology, whereas the 6600GT is
an overclocked version of older technology - resulting in similar
prices, but what about the performance? If the performance is similar
I think I'd rather the 6800LE since I think it'll run a lot cooler,
being 300mhz core speed rather than 500mhz on the 6600GT - or is that
a bad assumption too?

Thanks again!


andyt

 

[ofn01]

Help! Is there a good article I can read on mid-range GFX cards so as
I can get some advice on what I need? Or can anyone help me?

Currently I've got
Intel 2.4ghz P4 (not HT)
1GB 2700 RAM
Asus V8200 T2 (which is a GeForce3 Ti200, with 64mb)

Now then, it would appear that my GFX card is the bottleneck. HL2 ran
like a pig (lots of texture swapping pauses and it barely supported
DX8.1, so things looked dodgy at times), and now GTA:SA is running bad
too. I have to run it in 800x600 with the detail and distance turned
down and it still looks bad.

The main requirements I have for a the replacement is that it be AGP,
have VGA and DVI outputs (not arsed about TV or any other bells &
whistles), be around the £100 mark or lower and preferably be
available from www.scan.co.uk (cos it's easy for me to get there!).

Now then, I just don't get the model numbers by either ATI or nVidia
and how to compare them. For example am I better off with a 256mb 6600
or a 128mb 6800?

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=151960
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=170228


And similar questions arise with the ATI range. How come here, the
256mb model is cheaper than the 128mb model? Is there some other
difference I'm missing?

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=115962
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=115942



So how the hell can I compare them? Y'know I'd have bought one ages
ago but the market confusion has put me off a number of times!


Thanks for any help!


andyt

Whatever card you get - make sure your PSU can handle it. For a 9800 Pro
or a 6600GT you need to have at least a 300W PSU (and a good one at
that) with at the bare minimum 15A on the 12V rail for a 9800 Pro and
preferably 18 or 20 for a 6600GT.

A 6600GT is better than a 9800 Pro but I think it still costs over £100
You can get 9800 Pros for under or around £100 now

 

[Andy Turner]

How does this compare to the 6800LE though? Anyone know? That seems to
be the decision I'm faced with. From what I'm reading (and *boy* have
I done a lot of reading this morning!), the 6800LE is often a similar
price to the same manufacturer's 6600GT. The 6800LE seems to be a
slightly cut-down version of newer technology, whereas the 6600GT is
an overclocked version of older technology - resulting in similar
prices, but what about the performance? If the performance is similar
I think I'd rather the 6800LE since I think it'll run a lot cooler,
being 300mhz core speed rather than 500mhz on the 6600GT - or is that
a bad assumption too?

And does that also mean that the 6800LE is much more ripe for
overclocking? Is the 6600GT already overclocked to the max?!


andyt

 

[Andrew MacPherson]

How does this compare to the 6800LE though?

Not sure about this design in particular, but the bottom end of
any particular number range is usually there for marketing
purposes only. For instance the GF3 was miles better than the
GF440MX, despite the GF4 tag, as many gullible punters found to
their cost.

Usually you're better off buying at the top end of the lower
range rather than the lower end of the top range.

Or something like that. You get the idea.

Andrew McP

 

[Arthur Hagen]

Whatever card you get - make sure your PSU can handle it. For a 9800
Pro or a 6600GT you need to have at least a 300W PSU (and a good one
at that) with at the bare minimum 15A on the 12V rail for a 9800 Pro
and preferably 18 or 20 for a 6600GT.

Except that a Molex connector has a maximum of 10A for 12V.

+12V is usually only used by HD/CD/DVD drive motors, which usually don't
run all at once. If you use a 4+ drive RAID, you obviously should have
taken precautions and gotten a better (or extra) power supply already.

Anyhow, you're more likely to encounter a problem with +5V, which often
shares throughput with the 3.3V rail.

Regards,

 

[ofn01]

Except that a Molex connector has a maximum of 10A for 12V.

But more than just the graphics card (via a molex connector) are going
to be drawing on the 12V rail. If your CPU, HD and DVD drives are all
using up most of your 15A and the graphics card wants another 2A then
you could have stability problems.

A PSU may deliver more than a single molex connector could possibly
supply - but PSU's have lots of connectors yet still only supply the
same current for that voltage.

+12V is usually only used by HD/CD/DVD drive motors, which usually don't
run all at once. If you use a 4+ drive RAID, you obviously should have
taken precautions and gotten a better (or extra) power supply already.

Anyhow, you're more likely to encounter a problem with +5V, which often
shares throughput with the 3.3V rail.

Regards,

This is not the case. With a 9800 Pro the heavy drain is on the 5 and
3.3V but all X series Radeons and most of the 5*00 and 6*00 series of
Nvidia cards do draw at least 2 amps on the 12V rail. Given that the 12V
rail in modern computers is under load (with modern AMD and Pentium
chips drawing exclusively on this rail and HD/optical drives also using
it) you need to have a PSU capable of delivering a decent amount in
order to make sure everything is stable.

Check out these articles - the tables for each one show how the 12V rail
for the higher end cards is loaded up
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/ati-powercons.html
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/ati-vs-nv-power.html

 

[Conor]

And does that also mean that the 6800LE is much more ripe for
overclocking? Is the 6600GT already overclocked to the max?!

6600GT has a fair bit to go as the BFG OC versions show.

 

[John Lewis]

Except that a Molex connector has a maximum of 10A for 12V.

+12V is usually only used by HD/CD/DVD drive motors, which usually don't
run all at once.

WRONG.....................

Where have you been in the last 3-4 years? . Take a look at a modern
motherboard, video-card and ATX power-supply. See the ATX12V1
connector - that square 4-pin jobbie....

Please read the following article:-

http://www.firingsquad.com/guides/power_supply/default.asp

( Notice the date.... )

A 3GHz P4 takes about 9amps peak from +12V via the motherboard
regulators.

A 6800Ultra takes about 7 amps peak from +12V via the Molex at the
rear of the card.

Then add the Hard Drives, DVD-roms, DVD burners etc...

In a modern PC, the lack of enough juice on the +12V is a frequent
cause of flaky operation, especially when after-market
high-performance video cards are added.

BTW, for the really beefy systems ( such as SLI ) the power supplies
has dual +12V rails. The Enermax 701AX, specifically recommended
for SLI has dual +12V, 18amp..........IIRC...

John Lewis

 

[Bobby]

You should be able to pick-up an ATI 9800 Pro for under £100.