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Very Cheap Graphics Card

I

Intel_Hydralisk

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Feb 6, 2005
Messages
4,743
My friend is on a reaaally tight budget. He has about 110 dollars to spend on a videocard... maybe push a few dollars. I noticed that the 9600 pro is solid choice... but also that the 6600 (non gt) is within a few dollars of his budget. I know the 6600 GT kicks major ass.. but what about the non gt? How will it compare to the 9600 pro?
 
The 6600 is faster.

9600 Pro: 400MHz core (4 pipelines), 600MHz 128-bit memory (watch out for lower spec 9600 Pros)
6600: 300MHz core (8 pipelines), 550MHz 128-bit memory (watch out for lower spec 6600s)

Most 6600s are very overclockable (450-500MHz).

edit: I don't know where you find an AGP 6600 for "within a few dollars of his budget".
 
the 9600 pros run for around 100 on newegg and the 6600 AGP... cheapest one was about 122. Looks like I'm gonna have to lend him a few bucks, hey what's a friend for?
 
That's cool. Then I agree that the 6600 is probably worth the extra $12 over what he wants to spend. 8 pipes at that price is nice, especially since he can OC a little (even a non-tech savvy person can do that with most manufacturer's included software).
 
WARNING! WARNING WILL ROBINSON! (old enough to get that one?)

the 9600 pros run for around 100 on newegg and the 6600 AGP... cheapest one was about 122. Looks like I'm gonna have to lend him a few bucks, hey what's a friend for?
Click to expand...
The $122 Chaintech GeForce 6600 on newegg is a 64 bit model. It uses the same circuit board as their 256MB model. They make it 128MB by removing half the RAM chips which also cuts the memory bandwidth in half. Avoid 64 bit models at all costs. They run like crap! The first "real" 6600's is the ASUS at $138. The real 9600 Pros start at $94.
 
D'oh... thanks for pointing that out. 138 is a little much for my friend... 9600 pro it is then. With that said though... how does the 9600 pro compare to the 6200 (non TC)?
 
Intel_Hydralisk said:
D'oh... thanks for pointing that out. 138 is a little much for my friend... 9600 pro it is then. With that said though... how does the 9600 pro compare to the 6200 (non TC)?
Click to expand...
:p

9600 Pro: 400MHz core (4 pipelines), 600MHz 128-bit memory (watch out for lower spec 9600 Pros)
6200: 300MHz core (4 pipelines), 550MHz 128-bit memory (watch out for lower spec 6200s)

The 6200s have a good success rate for unlocking and are also very overclockable whether or not you unlock the other 4 pipelines.
 
9600 Pro versus 128MB 6200 is more of a tough call. If you leave the 6200 alone (no overclocking or pipe unlocking) then a 6200 is faster than a plain 9600 and slower than a 9600 Pro on almost everything except DOOM3. On DOOM3 a 6200 clubs a 9600 Pro. Plus a 6200 has problems with FSAA compared to a 9600 Pro because it doesn't have Z or color compression. But if you can unlock the pipes on the 6200 (don't know the success rate on that) or if you overclock the GPU (high success rate I think), then a 6200 starts looking pretty good compared to a 9600 Pro. Out of the box, a 9600 Pro is cheaper and faster unless you only play DOOM3. But once you start twiddling with a 6200, it starts looking pretty good.
 
I'll say that my 9600xt ran HL2 near close to my 6800. The frames weren't as good, but I still miss my 9600xt. If he can afford a 9800 get that. The 6600gt is nice but I dont see where it is really much better then a 9600xt or a 9800pro.
 
Intel_Hydralisk said:
D'oh... thanks for pointing that out. 138 is a little much for my friend... 9600 pro it is then. With that said though... how does the 9600 pro compare to the 6200 (non TC)?
Click to expand...

I'm guessing the 9600pro would pwn. Or at least when you sofmod to 9600xt. use riva tuner. Like I said the 9600xt is my favorite card I've owned. I oced from 500*300(600ddr) to 587*314(628ddr) on stock cooling. However I did put as5 on the heatsink to get an extra 14mhz out of it. It did start to artifact so i took it back down to 570mhz. Still a good overclocker.
 
save up some bucks,wait a month or two. get a BFG 6600GT. IMO it will kick some good butt. PCI-e so as to SLI in the future?? I have one and it is VERY good, dont settle for less.
 
magoo said:
save up some bucks,wait a month or two. get a BFG 6600GT. IMO it will kick some good butt. PCI-e so as to SLI in the future?? I have one and it is VERY good, dont settle for less.
Click to expand...

My friend doesn't have a PCI-E mobo.. and he's doing this out of the little he can save. His parents don't know and I"m going to upgrade for him behind their back. He's not a huge huge gamer... but he does game... and it pains me to look at his integrated stuff. I'm getting him a new mobo with AGP (should be cheap) and also this graphics card. He pays me the money... I order... and boom he should run his games smoother. I decided to go with the 9600 pro since I can lend him 15 more dollars and he can upgrade his RAM as well, should help.

By the way... we're both highschool students with no jobs. Go to a boarding school and they don't let us hold jobs.
 
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