gpu programming (which gpu)

[limewater02]

I am kind of thrilled at the prospect of trying out
the contents of the new book -"GPU gems".
Ed: Randima Fernando, Addison-Wesley, isbn-0321228324

The only thing left for me is to
buy a computer with a new GF-FX video card.
I have been a novice in these matters.

Which video card would you recommend,
bearing in mind the following issues.

1)Performace vs. capability.
I give more importance to capability, than performance.
I need not buy the most advanced and latest,
if I can get an earlier version that is cheaper.
Eg:
5900 series vs 5700 series.
On paper they have the same capabilities.
So evenif, 5900 has better performance,
if 5700 is substantially cheaper, I may go with that.
(I am not trying to get the maximum framerate,
I am trying to try out the effects)


2)Any advice on what to look in a computer,
bearing in mind the fact that, I need to
upgrade the video card everytime Nvidia or ati
brings in a new version.



-lw

 

[Killa|3yte]

Thought about the 9600XT or just waiting 2 days to see what the new cars are gonna be

And as for CPU, Athlon64 3000+ or something

 

[Zoner]

I'd get a Radeon 9700 or 9800 unless you can afford the $$$ and time waiting for an NV40 (for shader 3.0 features it brings). For D3D, shader 3.0 development requires the "DirectX 9.0c SDK Summer Update 2004" (currently in beta, but very easy to acquire from MS), otherwise any 3.0 hardware is limited to running at 2.0 features.