Is it worth it to upgrade now?

[Gilgamesh]

I'm running a Gainward GF2 MX400 64 mb of ram and i would like to know whether is worth it to upgrade to GF3 Ti200 or may be Ti500, i can't decide between NVDIA or ATI because both are very close, obviously i'm gonna use the card for gaming and for watching dvd's and ripping movies don't know which one is beter ATI 8500 or TI500 or better wait till the GF4 are mainstream or the new ATI 8XXX models.

 

[Lou Natic]

If you can wait, wait for awhile longer. The GF4 line is brand new and still a high-priced. The Ti4200 will be out in a month or 2, and will be a better performer than the GF3 for around $200 (probably less online). Besides that, the prices for the other cards will start to drop as the months go by, especially if they bring out a faster version higher than the Ti4600 for a fall-refresh.

If you want to go the other way, ATI will be releasing the 8700 and 8800 pretty soon, which is supposed to be ATi's answer to the GF4. It should be alittle more competitively priced than it's nVidia counterparts, but you take the risk of driver issues. If you're the kinda guy with the golden touch and can get every piece of hardware to work no matter the conflicts, then the ATi would be a darn good choice.

 

[funnyperson1]

the 8500 is as good or a little better than the Ti500 in all the things you want to do so if you want a card now id say thats the way to go but i think that an MX400 has plenty horsepower to play most games out there right now...i see no reason for you to upgrade...yet....

 

[RangerJoe]

if i were you, id just get a gf3 ti500 now, i mean, no games that will be coming out anytime soon NEED 128 mb of ram....the 64mb on the gf3 is plenty, i mean, i dont plan on even looking at buying a gf4 till the gf5 or whatever comes out (NV30), its not worth it, my ti200 runs just as fast as i need a video card to run....there really is not point of buying one, since the only good they do for games today, is give a high 3dmark score, and if people are going to think of me better, if i have a bigger score on a benchmarking program, then i need to find another place to hang out.....i mean, who really cares if you get a 6000 or a 14000 on a benchmarking program? (i would hope none of you say, "me") but really guys...if you want to waste your money on a product that has no point at this point in time for the vast majority of everything you will be doing on the computer......so, if you want to upgrade, then upgrade, because the jump from a gf2mx to a gf3 ti200/500 is a big enough diff to really matter....so thats what i recommend you do....look into abit, and gainward golden samples...both great cards

 

[Gilgamesh]

GF400 is down to its knees if i play at 1280x1024 i like higher resolutions because i have a 19" monitor. I'll go for ATI instead of NVIDIA this time.

 

[funnyperson1]

i suggest you look at the Retail Ati 8500 275/275 at newegg for 155$ amazing price/performance...

 

[CrystalMethod]

GF400 is down to its knees if i play at 1280x1024 i like higher resolutions because i have a 19" monitor. I'll go for ATI instead of NVIDIA this time.

I was just about to suggest the ATI 8500 if you want to do any sort of Video editing and whatnot, in addition to gaming. If it was just for gaming and watching DVD's I'd go with the GF3 ti-200, the ti-500 if you REALLY want to spend the cash.

 

[WeaponX]

Nooooo!! Wait till Doom 3 comes out. If you plan to play that then you'll need a new video card, I will too But when DirectX 9 is released and the new Geforces come out, I would get one then.

 

[Gilgamesh]

Nooooo!! Wait till Doom 3 comes out. If you plan to play that then you'll need a new video card, I will too But when DirectX 9 is released and the new Geforces come out, I would get one then.

This is getting so confusing, i'm more on video editing than gaming but like you say if Doom 3 will bring down to its knees any display card such as GF3 Ti500, then i don't know what to do, don' want to spend 400$ for a GF4 because is worthless they call it GF3.5 honestly i was expecting a lot from GF4 like 5k improvement on 3dmark not 1000.