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best bang for buck vid card?

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skidooosl

Member
Joined
Sep 9, 2003
Location
MI
i am thinking of getting a new card.... just a hard choice as to which one... i am thinking a 9800 pro, found a few for around $200. would this be my best choice at the time? how much faster is it than the 9600 pro or 9600XT? would something from Nvida be a better choice? say 5900XT? i found a few for around the $200 mark.... any others i should be looking at? i want to stay under about $200 and i do not do THAT much gameing... just now and then so bang for the buck is more important than performance. Would a 9800 pro play doom 3 ok? im guessing my ti4200 would not be so smooth and i think it is the reason i cant play a game at all on my computer right now, GTA Vice city and DF black hawk down both error as soon as you click on it Motocross maddness 2 and monster truck maddness still work fine though :D .

Should I be looking for 256MB? would i be better off to spend a little extra for it? or would a 128MB card be fine? I know Doom 3 ( which i hope to own some day ) seems to need quite a bit of memory, but i have been told the 256mb cards are slower than 128?
 
i think the 128mb 9800 pro is still the best bang for buck video card.

if you wanna get a 256mb card, i would check out the 6800 non-ultra or the gt
 
all the 6800's i saw are around $400 to $600..... im sure they rock but im only a PC Tech for a cheap school system and with what they pay me that is over a weeks pay :confused: i really need to keep it pretty cheap.... i think i can swing around the $150 - $200 mark ( if huge gains maybe a little more... i found this card http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-368&depa=1 ) but the cheaper the better for a decent card. how is the 9600 256MB? $128 sounds nice! LOL!!! or $155 for a XT
 
that 9800pro has a 128bit memory controller which makes it slower then the 256bit one whichi you can find cheaper then $235 if seen some for $205.

Teegro,7/26/2004 7:39:43 PM
Only has a 128-bit memory controller, and not a 256-bit memory controller. Additionally, the core and memory are not timed the same. you will NOT see the same performance as that of a Pro card, due ... See complete review>
Only has a 128-bit memory controller, and not a 256-bit memory controller. Additionally, the core and memory are not timed the same. you will NOT see the same performance as that of a Pro card, due to the 128-bit memory controller. Should be called a 9800SE or 9600
this is a customer review from the link you gave.
 
wow..... thats a great price! what kind of warranty is there on Refurbs? are they just cards people have returned? also what are the chances of this card overclocking to 9800XT specs?
 
The 5900XT is supposed to do great for doom 3, if your looking to play mostly DX9 stuff the 9800 will slaughter it. I had a 9700pro that pretty much played everything I threw at it and then some. They can be had for the$100-$150 range. The 5900XT is usually around $175 if you find a good deal new.
 
skidooosl said:
wow..... thats a great price! what kind of warranty is there on Refurbs? are they just cards people have returned? also what are the chances of this card overclocking to 9800XT specs?


"Newegg.com does not test any product, including refurbished items. Refurbished components are therefore only tested by the original manufacturer. Due to the varying quality of manufacturer testing, YOU ARE TAKING A RISK BUYING REFURBISHED PRODUCTS. Refurbished items are OPEN BOX products that contain components that have previously been owned by other clients and returned to Newegg.com. These products are sold considerably under cost."

I have got quite a few newegg refurbs and have only had one faulty item. For the most part I believe people send parts back because they think it is not working properly when in fact it is a mistake on there part when putting together the PC (like not clearing CMOS ect.)

Sometimes people may decide they just didn't need it or found a better deal somewhere else. Ether way newegg can no longer sell these items as "new".

Not all newegg refurbs have the same warenty (CPU's would be diferent the video cards) But I believe you have like 15 days (don't quote me on that) Anyways it's long enough to test it and see if it's defective.
 
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