Need help on getting a new vid card

[ebns72 0]

I want to stick with nvidia on this one.I have $200 to spend, so the $299.99 geforce 6800 is out of the question. I was wondering if nvidia had an equal to the ati x700, which is one step below x800? In other words, what is one step below the 6800?

Obviously, I want something with all the almost all the bells and whistles and is ALMOST top of the line. As said above, looking for something only 1-2 steps down from the best.

Did a quick look, I noticed that they have a geforce 6600 which looks pretty good and is only $149.99? Or is the 5000s series any good? Saw some pretty cheap 5800s and 5700s.

Okay, so I know nothing about vid card stats. All these pipeline and shaders and stuff I don't understand, and thats where I need help-choosing which is best.

So I got the fx5800, 5700, and 6600-or OTHER (please make other recommendations if there are other cards in the $200 range!)

Which should I go with?

[Mr_Tea 0]

I´m user of a GeForce FX5900XT with 128MB it support AGP 8x.I have tested Far Cry Demo, and it runs without lag with high settings. Flashpoint is running equal as with my old GeForce4 TI4200. This vid card is cheap by now. But you should try to get an GeForce FX 6 Series card. Sorry for my english.

[korax 4]

Are you suuuure you want to stick with Nvidia? the ATI Radeon 9800 pro is definately a good buy at around that price range

[HellToupee 0]

agp 6600gts should be out soon they are a better value for money price performace wise than the 5900xt which i have and the ati 9800s.

[Badgerboy 0]

Regarding the latest Gen of cards, both ATi and nVidia are pretty good.

As for the 9800/5900 series, the nVidia card were utter crap. In the end, they got the frame rates up by dropping IQ in the drivers. (It was due to a massive screwup with the Direct X architecture in the nVida cards)

If you want power at a low price, go with the 9800Pro. I used to buy nVidia all the time, and the 9800Pro was the first ATi cardI ever bought, and its superb.

[ebns72 0]

radeon 9800 is $250 :P

I am somewhat leaning toward the FX6600, because isn't the FX660 a lot newer than the FX5900 (updated technology?)

Also, doing a search on newegg.com the 6600 has double the memory and is $30 cheaper.

Does anyone know which has better stats compared side to side:

FX 5900 (NOT ultra, too expensive) or the 6600?

Basically what I am asking now is which will give me prettier graphics at a framerate above 30: the 6600 or 5900 (non-ultra version)

[Llauma 0]

The FX5900 is as expensive as the 9800 PRO but the 9800 PRO is alot better. It propably beats the FX5900 Ultra too.

[ebns72 0]

...so I guess its 6600 if the 5900 isn't that good?

Also, radeon only has 128 vid memory...the 6600 has double that. 6600 a good choice?

The reason I don't want the ati card is that it only has 128 memory and I heard it had some problems with several games.

[Billabong81 0]

Also, radeon only has 128 vid memory...the 6600 has double that. 6600 a good choice?

Radeon 9800pro 256mb

I have a FX5500 256mb card from BFG (overclocked) and I love it. I play FarCry and Joint Ops at relatively high settings with no lag. And for $150 at Best Buy (meaning I am sure you can find it on net for $120 ) you can't beat the price .

[HellToupee 0]

Regarding the latest Gen of cards, both ATi and nVidia are pretty good.

As for the 9800/5900 series, the nVidia card were utter crap. In the end, they got the frame rates up by dropping IQ in the drivers. (It was due to a massive screwup with the Direct X architecture in the nVida cards)

If you want power at a low price, go with the 9800Pro. I used to buy nVidia all the time, and the 9800Pro was the first ATi cardI ever bought, and its superb.

they wernt utter crap, they had poorer pixel shader performace yes, and made optimisations in their drivers so does ati. But they still performed well, i have a 5900xt its a very good card for its price and cant really notice any difs to my mates 9800. But i am a bit nvidia biased with there good linux support.

[ebns72 0]

Also, radeon only has 128 vid memory...the 6600 has double that. 6600 a good choice?

Radeon 9800pro 256mb

I have a FX5500 256mb card from BFG (overclocked) and I love it. I play FarCry and Joint Ops at relatively high settings with no lag. And for $150 at Best Buy (meaning I am sure you can find it on net for $120 ) you can't beat the price .

$279.99

Okay, I need this question answered from someone who knows what all the card stats mean

comparing the 6600 to the 5900xt, which has better graphics at a performance above 30 fps?

[Konyak! 0]

I was recently faced with your situation, just about 2 weeks ago, so the place I felt I got my answer is still fresh in mind:

Comparison of high end cards

I myself was strictly NVidia, but given that ATI have long since cleaned up their support reputation, and have good performance for price, I was tempted by the 9800 Pro.  Question was, should I go for the 128mb or 256mb?  Take a look at the comparisons, and for every benchmark, you'll see the 128 and 256mb cards right next to each other, with hardly any difference.  

Click through the tests and notice how sometimes the 9800 is above the top end Gforce 5 cards and sometimes below.  Most of the time, the difference in framerate is not going to be noticable, but either way, I feel these tests will show you most clearly how your desired card holds up against a card that you might be a little prejudiced against?  Not saying you are, but I know I was, but I just did the reasonable thing and got a used 9800 pro 128 mb.  Best bang for the buck in my situation.  

Didn't regret it either.

Hope that helps.

Konyak

[benu 1]

The best card for the value atm is the 6600 gt. But the agp version is just now hitting the market, so it may be hard to find one yet. Second up would be the 9800 pro, although it is not that much cheaper than the 6600 gt and has less power. If you can't wait any longer i'd recommend the 9800 pro, else i would wait one or two weeks and get the 6600 gt. Read more.

Edit: you might check out the x700 xt too. Its the ati card which is roughly equal to the 6600gt in pricing and performance.