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Best PCI graphics card?

N

Northern

Weaksauce
Joined
Aug 7, 2003
Messages
91
My older brother has a (bought in wal-mart system for 400 pretty decent but no upgrade pos) computer with only pci for graphics card upgrade. My question is (googled for reviews but just come up seperate ones was hoping to see best bar none type thing)
which PCI based graphics card is the best out there for regular gaming? Thanks in advance.
 
I really like my Monster3D...oh wait, that was awhile ago:p

I'm pretty sure you can get a Radeon 9600SE or a GFFX5200 in PCI versions.
 
Actually, based on retail store selection, there is no ATI card above a 9000 in PCI form. Every one of the DX9-generation ATI Radeon cards - the 9500, 9600, 9700 and 9800 (even the SE versions) come only in AGP.

The only DX9-generation card that comes in PCI is one of the GFFX 5200 and 5200U cards.
 
The Radeon 9100 PCI is probably the fastest/cheapest all-around card (~$50 on pricewatch), but the "Mad Dog 5200+ PCI" at Officemax and CompUSA (~$70-$90) is the same speed or a little faster at stock speed.

Both cards can be overclocked, but the 5200+ (default speed: 250/500) is still a little faster overall. I singled out the Mad Dog 5200+ because 1) it has an active cooler on the GPU, 2) is clocked 100MHz higher memory speed than regular 5200s and 3) it overclocks very well (I got around 325MHz core and over 600MHz memory on the 2 I had... that's close to 5200 Ultra speed).

Don't get a 9200 PCI. That uses the RV280 core, which only has 4 pipelines. And really don't get the 9200SE PCI, which also has a 4 pipeline GPU and a 64-bit memory interface. The 9100 PCI uses the full R200 core with 8 pipelines and runs at 250 core/250 DDR memory (500MHz effective), and for the price is the best bargain.
 
Originally posted by E4g1e
Actually, based on retail store selection, there is no ATI card above a 9000 in PCI form. Every one of the DX9-generation ATI Radeon cards - the 9500, 9600, 9700 and 9800 (even the SE versions) come only in AGP.

The only DX9-generation card that comes in PCI is one of the GFFX 5200 and 5200U cards.
Click to expand...

Yes, a slight error on my part, as the 9200SE also comes in PCI *link* , but not the 9600se. And you're right, the 5200 series is the DX9 card in PCI. Srry. :)
 
I second that , The 9100 really is the best card for PCI. I just upgraded from a machine without a AGP slot and the 9100 served me pretty well. I could play any game out there at pretty high resoloutions without a hitch ( Moderate tweaking involved :D ) The only game it chocked on was Halo but I still managed to get 20-35 FPS steady in 960X720 with most details maxed.

If you would like to compare all of the avaliable options out there in the PCI market I highly reccomend reading the following link ;)

http://www.sudhian.com/showdocs.cfm?aid=445

Zachary
 
im not fond of the 5200's at all my friend got a bfg 5200 pci 256mb and its slow as a mo my 9200 spanked it in bf1942 and helo,:D well know wit my 9800pro he aint even in the ballpark no more.
 
There's a 5600 PCI card out as well, but it's rather expensive for what it does. $140 or something like that last I looked a month or two ago.

edit: Then there's a few "crazy" PCI cards- you can get PCI Quadro boards, and Matrox has a 256MB Parhelia w/ a 64-bit/66MHz PCI interface.
 
Yeah, I was about to post that link to the Sudhian review.

Best round-up of PCI cards to date.

In short, the 9100 pounds pretty much everything else. The 5600 wins often enough (but not all the time!) to be worth considering if you need a 'money is no cost' PCI solution.

But...uhh...yeah, it's expensive for the performance you get (at least, if you could compare AGP cards - obviously not relevant, here).
 
I got the 9100 pci for my parents (and little brothers) computer.
 
Originally posted by pxc
The Radeon 9100 PCI is probably the fastest/cheapest all-around card (~$50 on pricewatch),

Don't get a 9200 PCI. That uses the RV280 core, which only has 4 pipelines. And really don't get the 9200SE PCI, which also has a 4 pipeline GPU and a 64-bit memory interface. The 9100 PCI uses the full R200 core with 8 pipelines and runs at 250 core/250 DDR memory (500MHz effective), and for the price is the best bargain.
Click to expand...

Exactly. I didn't have information about the number of pipelines, but I did see memory interface bus widths from benchmarks @ Digit-life and Tom's Hardware. I helped my friend upgrade her AGPless Dell and she ordered a 9100 (aka 8500) Pro pci for about 60 shipped. I don't think it's really a pro, but I'll run PowerStrip and see what the core and memory speeds are.

I saw one 5600 pci I think, but it's disappointing in most benchmarks, especially for the $135+ it's selling for.
 
Originally posted by pxc
Don't get a 9200 PCI. That uses the RV280 core, which only has 4 pipelines. And really don't get the 9200SE PCI, which also has a 4 pipeline GPU and a 64-bit memory interface. The 9100 PCI uses the full R200 core with 8 pipelines and runs at 250 core/250 DDR memory (500MHz effective), and for the price is the best bargain.
Click to expand...

Actually the 8500 & 9100 series cards are a 4 pipe architecture. They're 4x2 though, vs. 4x1 for the 9000 and 9200 cards. So it's not 8 pipes but it can do 8 textures/clock vs. only 4 for the 9000 & 9200.
 
Originally posted by zandor
Actually the 8500 & 9100 series cards are a 4 pipe architecture. They're 4x2 though, vs. 4x1 for the 9000 and 9200 cards. So it's not 8 pipes but it can do 8 textures/clock vs. only 4 for the 9000 & 9200.
Click to expand...
I didn't say 8 *pixel* pipelines. :p Most people understand that the R200 has 8 texture pipelines vs 4 in the RV2x0 chips.
 
My suggestion to you is get a agp motherboard and buy a agp card. Pci is a joke
 
sgi02-

What mods do you have on your 9100?
Do you have pics?

I have a 9100 64mb PCI serving yeoman duty, basically a backup, but the performance is less than desirable. What kind of cooling do you have, and what clock rates did you reach/

Thank you

-thecarguy
 
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