Your Video Card Upgrade Ladder

Oh boy.

SiS Integrated Video (2000)
ATI Radaeon 9700 PRO (2005)
Nvidia GeForce 7600GT (2006)
Nvidia GeForce 7900GT (2006)
 
Voodoo - first built PC
GeForce 2 GTS - 1st ever Dell XPS
GeForce 4 4400ti - Built PC
GeForce 4 4800ti - CS Competition Shuttle Comp
GeForce 5200 FX - Upgraded Built PC
GeForce 5950 GT - Counter-Strike Competition Shuttle Upgrade
2 x GeForce 7800GTX - Dell Employee Discounts New Built PC
2 x GeForce 7950 GX2 - Thanks to the Step Up Program by EVGA
 
Dan_D said:
Yes it did. That card has some of the longest staying power of any card/video chipset I have ever seen.
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You're damn right it did. I'd probably have had that up to my x800's if I didn't need the money at the time. I could push the memory on that thing up to 370mhz.
 
Lets see...

Nvidia Riva(?) TNT2 32mb
Geforce 2mx 32mb (Man this thing was good, my sis was still playing sims 2 800x600 everything set to high, but no aa until a few months ago)
Radeon 7500 64mb
Dual 7800gt's (which are still in my current rig)

And soon I'll hopefullybe getting a pair of shiny new r600's (or g80, whatever is better).
 
ati 1mb > ati 2 mb > voodoo2 sli > voodoo3 > geforce 2 > geforce 4 > geforce6 > g80 when its released.
 
macaw said:
Geforce 7300 LE <- this card is unbelievably slow but do I upgrade now or wait for DX10?
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People mention the Ti4600 lasting so long. I think it's because it was the pinnacle of dx8. It was 2 years before dx9 caught up and pushed it out. Any high end dx9 card you buy now has a few years of usefulness. By the time most games are fully utilizing DX10, the 1st generation cards will be on their knees. :p

If you have the patience to wait for dx10, you'll get the newest eyecandy in a couple games coming next year like Crysis.

But there are unbelievable graphics in games out today and this fall. (Oblivion, Gothic 3, Dark Messiah) that your 7300LE just won't do justice.

If I were you, I might go for that well known step-up plan.
 
PNY GeForce3 Ti200 (sexy black PCB ftw :D )
EVGA GeForce 6800GT (ran over 80C for a long while :rolleyes:)
EVGA GeForce 7800GT (cooled by Accelero X1...whisper quiet and OC = superb)


Nvidia f4nb0y here, in case you couldn't tell.
:p
 
Some 16 mb ATI card - 9200se - 5900XT - X800XL - X800GTO2 - 7800GT - SLI 7800 GTs - SLI Quadro 4500s
 
lol I feel like a newborn >.>

ATI Rage 128 -> 7600GT KO

Might get X1900XT or wait for.... 8800GT >=D
 
As far back as I can remember...

Integrated GFX off some Mobo for teh longest time
ATI Rage 128 Pro
GeForce MX440
GeForce 5200FX
GeForce 5500FX
GeForce 5200FX (burnt out the 5500 :( )
GeForce 7600GT


I feel liek such a lameass... Everyone has had a 6 Series GeForce and a "Ti" series GFX card but me... And for the record, the FX series was NOT a great series... I wish I had hit the Ti series when it came out but, I swear... If I woulda had the moeny I woulda gone Red.


My 7600GT, however, pwnz0rs :p
 
Voodoo2>Voodoo3>Voodoo5>DiamondViper770>Geforce2annihilatorpro>Geforce4Ti4200>Geforce6600gt>Geforce 7800gt.

wating for the G80 :)
 
ryan_975 said:
hmm, I"m reaching way back here.

PCjr built in CGA compatible display adapter.
new computer got me a Trident TVGA9000 with 512k VRAM
kept that for a couple years, then got a Trident TVGA8900 1mb VRAM in a computer upgraded/replacement.
New computer in 1999 got me a S3 Savage4 GT(?) with 32MB SDRAM which lasted me a few years.

Then bought a new computer which had integrated graphics on the i845GE chpset.
Upgrade got me a Xpress 200 video chip from ATI with 32mb hypermemory.

Now I've got a ATI X1900XT 512
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You might win the biggest upgrade award!!!
 
ahmadmz said:
lol I feel like a newborn >.>

ATI Rage 128 -> 7600GT KO

Might get X1900XT or wait for.... 8800GT >=D
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OK you tie for the winner of the Biggest Upgrade award!

By the way, I had 8Mb POS->FX5200 256Mb -> FX 5900 SE -> 7800 GS AGP

Notice how everyone (almost) had one of those piece of Shiznit FX 5200's. What a gaming nightmare. I tried to OC it so much I killed it. Guess it needed active cooling huh?!
 
whatever amiga 500 had -> s3 8MB something -> gf4 mx420 -> gf 6600 -> gf 7600GT -> x1900 crossfire
 
Phelptwan said:
I actually found the fx5200 in a dumpster diving experience.
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That's something I couldn't bring myself to do. I can't wait until my kids are older. :D


belmicah--if I win what's my prize?
 
Dan_D said:
Actually, in the early days I was for Intel 486's, I just couldn't afford them. So it was Cyrix and AMD for me.

Then the Pentium's came out and I couldn't afford those either. So it was the Cyrix 6x86 chips for me once those became available. Of course they sucked for gaming, but there was nothing I could do. I couldn't afford Intel just yet. Then after awhile I got to where I could, and the lack of performance in games was pissing me off. So I switched to the Pentium MMX 233. Then somewhere around there I built my mighty dual Pentium Pro 200MHz system. Then later I would go with the Pentium II 266MHz, and then the 300MHz, 350MHz, 400MHz, and then the Celeron 300A, dual Celery 366's on my BP6, and then later dual 533's and then I finally got a Coppermine Pentium III 800.

I kept with Intel because my experiences during the Pentium, Pentium II, and III days with AMD and Cyrix were so bad that I couldn't stand it anymore. Then around the time of the Pentium 4's lackluster release I gave AMD another try.

I thought I had been burned before, I had no idea what I was in for. The KT7A-RAID Thunderbird system I owned was the biggest pile of shit imaginable. I went through 3 motherboards and it wouldn't stay stable. Then I finally got an ASUS A7V-133A and my problems went away. Then I upgraded to the 1.2GHz T-Bird which was DOA, so I returned it, and then finaly I got a 1.33GHz T-Bird and kept that for awhile.

The Pentium 4's performance was so bad I went with AMD, but my AMD experiences were so bad that I didn't think I'd ever switch again. So I finally went Intel through the socket 478 days with a 2.0A Northwood and then had a 2.4C, 3.06GHz, 3.0C and finally a 3.0E on up through my LGA775 Pentium 4 550 [email protected].

Problem was the performance of the AMD Athlon 64 was so far ahead of the Intel's that I made the switch again. Even at 3.95GHz my machine couldn't match medium end AMD 64 rigs in games. So I snatched up the AMD Athlon 64 3800+ (Not X2) and never looked back. Right now I am running a dual Opteron 254 rig, and it kicks ass and has been very stable, but now the gaming performance and overclockability of the Core 2 Duo has me enticed to go Intel again.

The main reason why I have usually stuck with Intel is because their processors and chipsets are some of the best quality in the world. I've had the most stable, problem free machines based on Intel processors and chipsets. I've had the least amount of driver and application compatibility issues out of the Intel platform and basically I have stuck with it for the most part.

When AMD had the severe performance edge, I went with them and these last couple of machines have been fantastic. I've had a couple minor issues here and there, but nothing major and nothing involving stability problems.

So now I am in the process of building my Core 2 Duo machine.
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I had about 3 or 4 Intel systems and had no problems at all. Never had any problems with them. My own beef with intel has to do with their pricing. When Athlon64 3700+ were at the $220 price range, my old 3.0E GHZ Prescott was still going for $189! They didn't have power or pricing going for them.
 
SPARTAN VI said:
I had about 3 or 4 Intel systems and had no problems at all. Never had any problems with them. My own beef with intel has to do with their pricing. When Athlon64 3700+ were at the $220 price range, my old 3.0E GHZ Prescott was still going for $189! They didn't have power or pricing going for them.
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Yes, but I think Core 2 Duo pricing is actually really good. The Core 2 Duo E6300 is supposed to beat almost any Netburst processor at stock speeds. Therefore, its a damned bargain. Even if you didn't overclock it.
 
Nvidia TNT -> Nvidia Geforce2 GTS -> ATI X1800XT (big jump lol)

I went from a Dell XPS B1000 (1ghz) to a Conroe rig
 
psychot|K said:
I say the 9700 Pro had the most staying power.
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Very true. The 9700 I bought new from Dell, those that recall that shamble, is still a primary video card for one of my brother in laws. Still playing most of the newer games with moderate resolution and detail.
 
lgestle said:
Very true. The 9700 I bought new from Dell, those that recall that shamble, is still a primary video card for one of my brother in laws. Still playing most of the newer games with moderate resolution and detail.
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Actually looking at a 9700Pro for my buddy's PC to compliment the AthlonXP 3200+ I gave him. Quite a step up from his 9600SE, that I also gave him.. :)
 
lgestle said:
Very true. The 9700 I bought new from Dell, those that recall that shamble, is still a primary video card for one of my brother in laws. Still playing most of the newer games with moderate resolution and detail.
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That is true. The Ti4600 has to be close though.
 
ti4200 radeon 9000 x300mobility 6800go x800xl x850xt x1800xl aiw x1400 mobility now back to a 27 dollar x700 pro. mostly ATI.
 
Diamond Monster 3D II 3DFX Voodoo2 12MB PCI x2 (my first SLI, Rainbox Six at 1024X768 !!!!! i thought that was the bomb when everyone else was running 800X600) > Nvidia Ti200 > Nvidia Ti500 > Nvidia Ti4200> Nvidia Ti4600 > then a long lull of not caring about gaming in general or else i would have probably be getting a 9800pro or something > Nvidia 6800Ultra > Nvidia 7800GTX > Nvidia 7900gt SLI.

Seems like i had a lot of nvidia cards but im actually interested in getting an ATI card for my secondary rig. Waiting for a deal on a x1800 or x1900.
 
SPARTAN VI said:
Actually looking at a 9700Pro for my buddy's PC to compliment the AthlonXP 3200+ I gave him. Quite a step up from his 9600SE, that I also gave him.. :)
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Nice friend. See, I wish all people could just give their old shit away, instead of saying, "well it went for $$$$ on ebay, so that's what I'm asking" or something rather. In a world where everyone is money hungry, it's nice to have friends that want to share their gaming experiences.
 
ryan_975 said:
belmicah--if I win what's my prize?
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Your prize is you can actually play games instead of watching a damned slideshow!! BTW, did you just develop a new sense of interest in gaming, or were you just broke for a really long time?
 
Amiga 500 512K Agnus onboard(computer stolen)
Amiga 1200 2Meg Agnus onboard (still have)
Amiga 4000T 2meg Agnus onboard> added Picasso IV 4MB card (Cirrus Logic chip, not 3D but man did it boost the resolution/color depth options and speed, still own both the tower and the card)
S3 VirgeDX in first PC, a Umax laptop with an AMD K6-266 (still have)
ATi Xpert98 4MB (first desktop, built myself)
Asus TNT 16MB
GeForce 2MX 64MB (sold with first system)
ATi 9500Pro (for second home-built system--card was borked in 3D mode from day 1, and I didn't realize that was the problem, spent 2 months trying to fix the issues, gave up and gave the card away)
FX5600 256MB (All my trouble magically went away! Until I wanted to play modern games...)
6800 (unlocked beautifully)
6800GT (cross-graded for price difference at Best Buy when a resistor exploded on the 6800--maybe it didn't unlock so beautifully?)
 
on board craptacular
Trident 32mb < HUGE UPGRADE
Geforce 2 64mb
Geforce 4 MX440
ATI AIW 9700 Pro < Largest upgrade ever!
ATI 9700 Mobile (Laptop)
ATI AIW X800XT AGP < Great card
Geforce 6150 Onboard < Upgraded to PCIe and i cant afford a PCIe Card :(



Ive also owned countless secondary cards for other machines.
 
4MB Trident
3dfx Voodoo Banshee
3dfx Voodoo 2 SLi
Riva TNT
Geforce 256 DDR
Geforce 2 GTS
Geforce 3 Ti500
Radeon 9800 Pro
Geforce 6800 GT
Geforce 6800 Ultra SLi
7800GTX SLi
7950GX2 Quad SLi
 
sounds like a challenge...

onboard intel> Ati Rage 3d PCI> Creative Banshee PCI> Geforce 2 MX200 PCI> Geforce 1 GTS AGP> Geforce 1 Ti AGP> Geforce 3 Ti200 AGP> ATI Radeon 9500Pro AGP> ATI 9600Pro AGP> PNY 6800GT AGP> ATI Radeon 9700 Pro> ATI X600 Pro PCI-E>XFX Geforce 6600GT> SLI XFX 6600GTs> now back to one 6600GT lol

i swear this PCI-E upgrade has been the hardest thing ever for me....check the line where my Nforce3 just had to go for AGP... it was a very painful upgrade ( had to sell the 6800GT to go PCI-E)... but i managed
 
Cirrus Logic 1 MB
STB Riva TNT 16 MB
eVGA Riva TNT2 M64 32 MB
ATI Radeon LE 32 MB
Gainward GeForce 3 Ti200 128 MB
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128 MB

That's every video card I've had since 1993. Some of you people are upgrade fiends. Seek help. ;)
 
Dan_D said:
That is true. The Ti4600 has to be close though.
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Agreed.
I still remember, and have the bitter taste, on the Voodoo 5 5500. Don't get me wrong, it was a great card, but 30 days after I bought it Nvidia bought 3dfx. Man that was harsh. No driver support and it was to late to return it. Because of that burn I tried to stick with ATI however the shortage and price of X800's during that season were enough for me to switch to Nvidia. I recently returned to ATI due to price (picked up the X1800XL for 199$).

Monster 3D Voodoo 1 > Diamond Voodoo II 12MB> 2*Canopus Pure 3D II 12MB> Voodoo 5 5500 > Radeon 8500 > Radeon 9700 Pro > Leadtek 6800GT AGP > Leadtek 6800GT PCI-E > Evga 7800GT ( owned for 3 months) > MSI 512MB X1800XL@XT
 
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