[harrybearmagnet]

I am in the market for a video card for a new computer that I am building with Custom Modded case, AMD 1800XP, Crucial 3200, SLK-947U ( I am obviously OCing) and an Abit/Asus board...waiting on Newegg to get a referb in.....

But I can't decide on a video card. I will do play games but mostly games that are more (Morrowwind/Generals/Boulders Gate/Dungeon Siege) type of games. I want to get a card that will play new games of this type in the future. I do play FPS games but they bore me after 1-2 hour even online....

Both cards I am looking at are 128MB and I will be OCing it as well. The Ti4200 has been out for a long... long time but I hear it is still good. But is it too old to be worth getting? The 9600pro is a newer card but is it worth the +$77 (btw I will only buy built by ATi for ATI chips.... bad exp with other companies and their crazy naming bs). You can do so much with $77....

I plan to keep this card for 2 years. Hopefully by then I'll be out in the rat race with a good career building job assuming the economy rebuilds itself a good deal more.

Thanks for your help

[Kenshiro]

I manage to find a deal for FX5900 non ultra for $176.99 after rebate. Ti4200 is already a very old card. $95 does sound a little expensive even though it is still a pretty good card. Personally, I won't pay more than $80 for it. Try finding a used one for that model.

I'n not an nvidia freak, but if you can find a FX5900 non ultra for less than $200 after shipping and tax, jump on it.

Or if you can find a 9700 pro or 9800 non pro for around $200, that is also a great deal. However, I will recommend against the powercolor version. I heard a lot of people are complaining about stability issue with that particular manufacturer.

I was lucky that I can across my card when it was on sale. I think it is faster than both FX5700 ultra and 9600pro/xt.

[snyper1982]

well if you plan on keeping it for 2 years, then the 9600 is basicaly a no brainer. the 4200 is awesome for yesterdays games, but lags far behind in dx 9 games. its your choice, but IMHO the 4200 is already far outdated. and before you drop 170 on a 9600 pro, take a look at the 9600xt, you get half life to for free with it. and by the way, look at the sapphire brand, sapphire nd built by ati are the same cards. im not 100% sure, but i believe sapphire builds ati's cards for them.

[ajrettke]

yeah snyper is right about if your gonna be keeping the card for a while. Ti4200 IS a good card, no doubt about it. But when dx9 games start coming out it will start taking a hit. Also 175 is WAY WAY WAY too much for a9600p, you can find em over at anandtech for 135-145, most of em NIB (that little half life coupon wit 9600se's which had 9600p's in the box).

[Overclocker550]

omg $95 for an albatron turbro? thats a crazy deal, many of those overclock to ti4600 speeds. The 9600 pro is not worth close to $175, you can get a 9700 pro for like $200 dude

[harrybearmagnet]

I think $95 for that Albatron Ti4200 turbo is a great deal for now also... but I don't want to shell out another hundred in another year. But I guess that would still be $200 in that 2 year span.

Man it is just so hard to figure out what to get at this midrange.... no really outstanding cards.

Guess I will squat on it till after blackfriday.

Thanks for the help guys

[CamH]

You say you play Morrowind? Well, that's my favorite game, and I used to use a Ti4200 in my system. You cannot use ANY AA with a Ti4200 and Morrowind. With either my 9500 or my 9800, though, I can kick up the AA, and I get a much better playing experience. I say try to get a 9600XT, or try to find the 9600 Pro from somewhere else for a bit cheaper.

[Overclocker550]

forget aa/af it didnt do much for me

[CamH]

Originally posted by Overclocker550
forget aa/af it didnt do much for me

But it does something for everyone except you. Heh...

[harryinny3]

near you? They have the 9600pro for 169 with a 20 dollar MIR so its 149 dollars. Also you now get halflife2 with the 9600pro BBAti cards. So I would say you are getting an awesome deal if you get the 9600pro.

The 4200 is a great card, But I have already seen a couple games yesterday(dont remember name) That were just being put on the shelf that the System Req said and i quote. 100%DX9 compatible Graphics accelerator. So Your out of luck pretty soon for playing the new games if you get the 4200.

Harry

[snyper1982]

Originally posted by Overclocker550
forget aa/af it didnt do much for me

thats like telling you to forget 3dmark, it doesnt do much for me. honestly man, get over it, we all know your stance on aa/af. you dont have to repeat yourself in every single thread.

[harryinny3]

But in another thread he did say he wants that 75 dollar card on black friday even if its an 9600se so he can see what AA and AF is all about. So he is willing to change to the dark side.


Harry

[Silver]

Originally posted by Overclocker550
omg $95 for an albatron turbro? thats a crazy deal, many of those overclock to ti4600 speeds. The 9600 pro is not worth close to $175, you can get a 9700 pro for like $200 dude

Kind of how I feel. I am in fact running a ti4200 as of this time. The 9800 pro (much less the 9600) did not give me the kind of performance that I was looking for in 2003 and what with pci express (and hopefully a fx chip) I thought it would be a good time to actually make some use of the computer and hang out on the performance end for a while. Maybe look at some case modding.

I presently have no problems running any games/software. With an obvious upgrade in the fairly near future involving a different card format it just seems wise to hang out.

[Supertrucker]

i wouldnt try aa/af on a 9600se, prolly slower than his beloved ti4200.

right this moment (7:41pm pst 11-21) there is a refurb sapphire 9600pro at newegg for 117$. if you dont mind the refurb section you can find 9600 pros for around 120-130 often enough, that would be a much better option than a ti4200 imho.

and right this minute there is also a 9700 nonpro for 159also sapphire, that is a smokin deal and would last a solid year longer than a 9600pro. i would buy it myself if i didnt just pick up a 9800np

[dustybyrd]

The 4200 is a great card, But I have already seen a couple games yesterday(dont remember name) That were just being put on the shelf that the System Req said and i quote. 100%DX9 compatible Graphics accelerator. So Your out of luck pretty soon for playing the new games if you get the 4200.

Harry [/B]

i think that many of these "so called" DX9 games will run on the ti4200...

i get maximumpc magazine and it always has free demo CD's....and many of the games claim you must use a DX9 card...WRONG...i ran all the demos fine with DX8.1 and my ti4200...

on what to get....well if you want to save some $ and don't have to have AA/AF on (even though on many games the ti4200 can still do this decently)....then i would get the ti4200 now for less than $100....

then in 1 year pay $100 for a 9700pro instead of a 9600pro/xt which is actually a slower card than the 4200 without AA/AF on...

in 1 year there may well be some games that require more gpu power and dx9, and at that time you can invest in a 9700pro for A LOT LESS $ than now (200-250now...probably 100-150 then)...and the 9700pro is TWICE as fast as the 9600pro/xt...

then you end up spending $200 total for the same speed now...then in one year TWICE the speed of either card...

[Overclocker550]

Originally posted by harryinny3
But in another thread he did say he wants that 75 dollar card on black friday even if its an 9600se so he can see what AA and AF is all about. So he is willing to change to the dark side.


Harry

dont forget, the HL2 games worth like $50 if its the full verson which I believe it is. so basically I am paying $25 for a 9600 which isnt a bad deal at all. sure beats paying $70 for a ti4200


"100%DX9 compatible Graphics accelerator. So Your out of luck pretty soon for playing the new games if you get the 4200."


I will still try to run it on a ti4200. If the game refuses to run, giving me an error, ill just whip out that fx5200 then which is like 2/3 the speed of a ti4200. ok so ill just lower the res a little.



"i wouldnt try aa/af on a 9600se, prolly slower than his beloved ti4200."


I would and just stand still and look at the walls then compare it against a ti4200. not for the fps, mind you but the IQ. I want to see how bad or good aa/af is on any dx9 radeon. Then id like to see what I am missing on a dx8 ti4200. as slow as a 9600(se) is, at least I can see the IQ differences. also in low res, not much memory bandwith is needed and compounded with my super cpu, games should be playable in 800x600 on a 9600. ti4200s will do like 1280x960 though. dont get me wrong, I wont be selling the ti4200 ever.


"then in 1 year pay $100 for a 9700pro instead of a 9600pro/xt which is actually a slower card than the 4200 without AA/AF on..."


actually I believe the 9600xt matches a ti4200 but costs over double though. I highly doubt a 9700 pro is gonna be $100 anytime soon unless its not working right such as flickering, artifacts, ghosting, overheating, etc. Ive seen those types of 9700 pros on ebay for like $100+ im not kidding people would buy a 9700 pro that artifacts at stock for over $100

[dustybyrd]

actually I believe the 9600xt matches a ti4200 but costs over double though. I highly doubt a 9700 pro is gonna be $100 anytime soon unless its not working right such as flickering, artifacts, ghosting, overheating, etc. Ive seen those types of 9700 pros on ebay for like $100+ im not kidding people would buy a 9700 pro that artifacts at stock for over $100 [/B]

how long do you think it will take for the 9700 pro to drop to $100?

in a year i bet they can be had for $125-150...then on the newegg refurbished for $100...

[snyper1982]

oc550, if you system is so uber, why is barely faster than mine at stock? could it be the video card you have? i think so.

[Overclocker550]

whats your 3dmarks?????

[harryinny3]

Had to shrink the screen shot down to 52kb to upload. Also the game is Dx8.1 With Dx9.0 enhancements.

http://www.villagephotos.com/pubbrow...elected=561816

Also i didnt turn on the solor effects, Forgot to LOL.

Harry

PS dont mind the fish LOL i cought those last month(salmon) And the rods in the cig pic are what they took out of my back 3 weeks ago.