Looking for a Vid Card under $150

A

aznstyl

Weaksauce
Joined
Dec 7, 2004
Messages
116
Hi all, I'm new here and has been reading a lot of post and find this forum is very helpful so I've decide to register and be one of the member.

On with the question. I'm planning to upgrade my video card. Usually are for watching movies and playing a little games when I have time. I know there's a lot of card out there from all kind of range of $$$. So I was wondering what card is good for the buck? About $150 or less. Budget wise. With the Mobo specs below, what kind of card can it handle?

Any feedback or comment is greatly appreciated. Thank you.


[Computer specs]

Motherboard Name ECS P4S5A (5 PCI, 1 AGP, 1 AMR, 2 SDR DIMM, 2 DDR DIMM, Audio)
Motherboard Chipset SiS 645
System Memory 1024 MB (DDR SDRAM)
BIOS Type AMI (11/14/01)


Monitor SyncMaster 177N/710N,SyncMaster Magic CX711N/CX701N [NoDB] (HMEX903770)
 
Nice specs, but what's your CPU? I'd recommend an ATI 9600XT or 9700 if you can find one..
as long as you don't have a P4 1.3Ghz stuck onto that motherboard.
 
I"m running on a p4 1.7Ghz 9600xt and 9700 (pro or non) and what brand? I know a lot of company made it, was wondering which one is trustful and reliable? Thanks for the fast reply


CPU Properties
CPU Type Intel Pentium 4, 1700 MHz (17 x 100)
CPU Alias P68, Willamette, A80528
CPU Stepping D0
Instruction Set x86, MMX, SSE, SSE2
Original Clock 1700 MHz
Engineering Sample No
L1 Trace Cache 12K Instructions
L1 Data Cache 8 KB
L2 Cache 256 KB (On-Die, ATC, Full-Speed)

CPU Physical Info
Package Type 423 Pin PGA
Package Size 5.34 cm x 5.34 cm
Transistors 42 million
Process Technology 6M, 0.18 um, CMOS
Die Size 217 mm2
Core Voltage 1.70 - 1.75 V
I/O Voltage 1.70 - 1.75 V
Typical Power 48.9 - 71.8 W (depending on clock speed)
Maximum Power 66 - 96 W (depending on clock speed)
 
Ah.. a Willamette 1.7.. go for any brand 9600XT or 9700/Pro.. Powercolor and ATI itself are good brands to go for.
 
how come there are all kind of range of $$$ just for the 9600xt? Is there a difference?

I'm looking at this click here . Is this a good card? I can't find any powercolor or ATI itself. Thanks
 
Sapphire is good too. That's a nice deal, but the 256MB RAM may be overkill. See if you can get a 128MB RAM card and save a bit of money.
 
ok.. I'm looking between this two ATI and this Sapphire

Price range are different. But which one is worth more? The ATI is $10 buck over my budget but if it worth the buy I can squeeze the 10 bucks in. Thanks for your help Techhead. Appreciated.
 
From a ATI Radeon 7000 series with 32 meg

[Video Adapter Properties]

Device Description RADEON 7000 SERIES
Adapter String RADEON 7000 SERIES
BIOS String 113-78506-101 RV100 785 HYUNDAI DDR with DL
Chip Type RADEON 7000 AGP (0x5159)
DAC Type Internal DAC(350MHz)
Installed Drivers ati2dvag (6.14.10.6490)
Memory Size 32 MB

Video Adapter Manufacturer
Company Name ATI Technologies Inc.
 
I would suggest a 9800 non pro 128bit mem 128 meg. Its faster then a 9600XT but a little slower then a 9700. The 9600XT is a 4 pipe line and the 9800 is a 8 pipe line so even if the 9800 has a slower core speed, it will be faster.
 
So over all performance wise and speed 9800 non pro is better than a 9600xt? I'm newbie to all this vid card. Please explain the advantage of each. Thanks
 
Don't get the card I posted from newegg! Its a 4 pipeline card and not a 8 pipeline one.
This one should be a 8 pipeline card made by Power Color for $152
http://www.gameve.com/gve/Store/ProductDetails.aspx?sku=VC-POWERC-132

Think of the pixel pipelines as PVC pipes and data as water. If your draining water out of a large tank, will 4 one inch pipe or 8 4/5 inch pipe drain the water faster. The core speed being the size of the pipe and the pixel pipelines being the number of PVC pipes.
 
SnipingWaste ... what's the ez behind that card stand for?

Also, I've read some of the reviews and it said this card can over clock? By so, how would I'm gonna over clock this and what do I need to do so? I'm about to buy this card.
 
thanks for clearing that out for me ryuji. How about some info on how to overclock this babi? :D
 
The 9800pro power color is a 256bit mem so the EZ one are 128bit mem. You can use rivatunner, powerstrip, or rage3d twiker from rage3d.com to overclock it. The EZ will be slower then the 9800pro power color 256bit mem card with high AA and AF on but it should only be by around 15% slower because of the 128bit memory.
 
At that price range, the 9600 XT is really the best choice, you can find very good deals on them. The FX 5700 Ultra would be comparable or a little better, but is usually more expensive and harder to find.
 
Castle Bravo.. can you tell me pros and cons of each? 9800pro power color vs 9600xt. As SnipingWaste has stated that the 9800pro power color has 8 pipes and run faster. But I don't know anything about the 9600xt yet. I need more input. The more the merrier. Thanks guy.
 
9600XT is a 4 pipeline card with 128bit mem bus. The memory speed it 300 for the 9600XT and the core is 500. The core for the power color 9800 pro EZ is 8 pipelines 380mhz with 340 memory speed. The power color will be faster at stock and when overclocked then the 9600XT.
 
if u can, save up a bit more and get a 6800 NU. it will last u much longer. if u can't save up. i guess get the 9800 pro 128 ram 128 bit. if u can snag a used 9800 pro for 128 ram 256 bit, then do so. i've seen a few go for 150 but rarely.
 
I can add another $50 max to a card. I don't want to spend too much on the card because all I need it for is some gaming and mostly movies. So with that in mind come to $200 for a card .. now I know I have more option then before.. As mention by techhead that I can't go over 128 megs of ram on the mobo card. So I need to stay @128 megs of ram. What card would it be? Thanks for all of your inputs guyz. Much appreciated. Thank you.
 
if u can, save up a bit more and get a 6800 NU. it will last u much longer. if u can't save up. i guess get the 9800 pro 128 ram 128 bit. if u can snag a used 9800 pro for 128 ram 256 bit, then do so. i've seen a few go for 150 but rarely.
Click to expand...
WTF? Why buy a 6800 for this rig? It's a P4-1.7 - the video card would probably cost more than the rest of the system is worth. And, when it comes time to upgrade, it'll probably involve a PCIe motherboard, making an AGP 6800 a complete waste.

Honestly, anything much better than a 9600Pro is going to be overkill for this rig.
 
so the 9800pro EZ from power color isn't compatible with the mobo I'm carrying rite now?
 
The 9800 Pro EZ should be compatible --but it's not the card I'd get, because of its 128-bit memory interface.

I'd hunt around on Ebay for a good deal on a Radeon 9700 or 9700 Pro used, with 128MB of memory. Both versions of the Radeon 9700 have 8 graphics pipelines, and a 256-bit memory interface, and are DirectX 9 compatible. They'll also perform quite well in today's games, without being overkill in your 1.7GHz system. Either card is faster than the Radeon 9600 class of cards, and will be cheaper. You should find the standard 9700 going betwen $90-120, and the 9700 Pro between $100-140, depending on configuration.
 
After reading all the threads and do extensive research I came up with ATI AIW Radeon 9600xt. I hope that's a good card. Please give me input on that card plse. Thank you. :p
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top