Help for a gamer on a BUDGET!!!

[mdameron]

So yeah, this ATI 7000 VE makes me cry when I play doom 3 :argue:

I'm on a super budget here, I'm talking < $100, and I want to enjoy doom 3, HL2 and DoD: source when it comes out.

I mean, right now, doom 3 is really choppy, and this thing doesn't shade... faces are half black and half white. LOL

I've been looking at the 5700 LE cards, and they seem to be a viable option. Are these decent cards? It seems like the next step up from that (in price) is a radeon 9600xt, but that's too pricy ($130).

Basically I want at least 128-bit, 128 mb, directx 9, and some shading capabilities.

Thanks in advance.

[9mmCensor]

Look for a 9500np or Pro on Ebay. You should be able to find one for that price, and they play Doom3 fine.

[stang8118]

Check out this post, has alot of good cards in that price range...

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=365300

I think the 9600pro is a great card for around that price.

[mdameron]

Thanks for the quick replies, it appears that ATI has a small edge in the budget card range, eh? :-/

[enduro]

I use a 9600 Pro in my laptop and it runs Half Life 2 and Doom III just fine so that would be a good choice. The 9500 Pro would also be a good one.

[C_MAC]

I'd suggest a 9700 pro. Around $100-120, or you could get a non-pro for a bit cheaper, BUT i'd also suggest upgrading your processor too if you want to play any new games, or else it will be the bottleneck. I'd ebay you're processor/motherboard and put that towards a mobile xp setup (since you're on a budget). It'd cost a little more, but it would be worth it. If you're really on a budget though, just trying overclocking the celeron.

[mdameron]

C MAC, there lies a big problem, this board has an unlocked PCI clock... as soon as I up the FSB at all, the ratios all change, and the thing is unbootable. I've looked into it, and there is no way to lock it.

In the next 3 months, I'll be getting my dad's Barton 3000+, which will be a huge improvement.

[doublejack]

The only nVidia card I can recommend in your price range is a Ti4600. I got a new one off ebay for $75 shipped and it plays all the games you mentioned very, very well. Of course I don't get any of the DX9 eye candy, but they still look great.

New ones are getting hard to find, but you can get a used one for about the same or a little less money. The 4Ti's are still very good cards.

[Slimmy]

How about the new 6200's? They are suppose to be some killer budget card.

[Memphis69]

to me any thing that is in the 66XX fam. will rock and would make a good upgrade for a budget but thats just me...

[mdameron]

aren't the 6200's PCI-E?

[mofei1]

if ur looking for a budget card, i would go with ati. the fx 5700le isnt that much faster than the fx5600 that i had and with that card i could hardly play far cry or doom 3. also that card had 256mb memory (i kno i was a n00b at that time and realise that the 256 cards are slower than their 128mb versions). the ati 9600xt seems to be good for the budget ur on, but with a celeron D i wouldnt expect too much. i had the amd xp 3000+ barton coupled along with a 9800pro, and doom 3 and far cry were still unplayable (well playable but slow frames) so then came along my amd 64 :D and u know wot, the xp3000 barton cost more than my amd 64 lol. anywayz go the ati way, sure u will be happy with ur purchase.

[blurry]

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=14-122-216&DEPA=1. Gets about ~4100 in 3dmark03 with a mild OC.

[Memphis69]

i really dont know why everyone bags on the 5700le card i have one bfg 256 verson that would o/c 475/500 stock was 275/400 and hell it played doom3 and everyother game better than i hoped for... on d3 i would pull 45 fps and in BHD ( black hawk down ) i will pull over 125 fps all the time.. i really think that it was a good card and it did everything i asked for.. but yes it is not the best card to get you can get the 6200 for less that i payed for mine.. but ya know its all in what ya want..

[mofei1]

suppose so, up to u what card u wanna get, would recommend u read some reviews to get a rough idea

[theMonster]

You can get a 9600xt for around $100, or you can get a 6200 for about $125. I have an AGP one. You may even get lucky and be able to mod it to a 6600. Either way the 6200 outperforms the 9600xt handily and is a good value. I'd skip the e-bay crap.

[theMonster]

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=14-122-216&DEPA=1. Gets about ~4100 in 3dmark03 with a mild OC.

Actually mine gets about 6000. I just haven't updated my thread since I monkeyed with the drivers and settings.

[doublejack]

i had the amd xp 3000+ barton coupled along with a 9800pro, and doom 3 and far cry were still unplayable (well playable but slow frames)....

Are you being serious, or kidding around? If you're being serious then your system was tuned incorrectly, you tried playing with excessive detail levels, or you had a problem. That's a similar processor to what I'm running (my chip is OC'd to 3200+ speeds) and a faster vid card than I have and yet both Doom 3 and Far Cry absolutely fly on my rig. I have no playability issues whatsoever. Granted I'm not at the absolute highest settings, but both games still look stunning.

Back to the topic, yeah a 6200 for $120 is probably the way to go as others have suggested. It's a better value than anything ATI has to offer in that price range, and unlike my original suggestion you'll also have DX9 support. That's probably the best choice.

[enduro]

Yeah, I had a AXP 2600 and 9800 Pro and when I had a 2*512 set I could run Doom III on Ultra settings and Half Life 2 on High 1280*1024 and it would run just fine.............you did something weird to it man :D

[sean478]

get a 9550 (90$) and mod it into a 9600 pro/xt

ps u can only use certan 9550s though


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[theMonster]

get a 9550 (90$) and mod it into a 9600 pro/xt

ps u can only use certan 9550s though


You can get a 9600xt for around $100, or you can get a 6200 for about $125. I have an AGP one. You may even get lucky and be able to mod it to a 6600. Either way the 6200 outperforms the 9600xt handily and is a good value. I'd skip the e-bay crap.