GridStream Productions

I have been thinking about building a new 'puter since my 2½ year old laptop just can't keep up with the games any more.

What I wanted to ask about, is what video card would y'all recomend? I was thinking about the Radeon 9600 Pro (~$135) since I have read it is (was) a pretty good mid-level card. Since I am using a GeForce 2 right now, just about anything will be an improvement.

The rest of the stuff should be something like an Intel P4 2.4-2.6 GHz 800MHz FSB, ½-1 GB PC3200 RAM, SATA HD.

The vid card should be ok. it's DX9 etc so...
As to SATA HD hmm arent they still priced a bit higher than normal IDE (PATA) drives? Theres also a um Radeon 9800SE but can't recall it's price vs the 9600

Yeah, SATA drives are a little more expensive but the skinnier cable allows for easier routing and better cooling, but I may end up with going for UltraATA.

You're right about the 9800 SE. It's about $10 more, uses a lower clock frequency (runs cooler I guess) and still has a better pixel fillrate and geometry rate. Gotta look into that.

SATA hard drives arent tremendously more expensive than PATA ones, the choice really is down to whether you want the thinner cables or not.

As for the graphics.. both the 9600Pro and the 9800SE are good cards, again it comes down to how much you want to spend..

At the end of the day, if you want to save a few dollars here, a few dollars there, get the slightly cheaper.

Given prices of DDR memory, I would recommend getting the Gig of PC3200, although it wont make the hugest difference to your system when you build it.. it does let windows breath more easilly.

If you want to be cost effective, I would also consider ditching intel for AMD.

I could say something about finding really good looking cases for your computer too.. but they dont make the nice one I have anymore (with the black mirror finish paint job)

I got an excellent deal on a ASUS GeForce FX 9560 card from Newegg.com. Cost me $160, and it's DDR 256mb with a core of 325mhz and ram at 500mhz. They're also selling refurbished ones for $110 last I checked. The card's also got some really neat autocooling features and it will dynamically adjust both fan speed and core and RAM speeds as you use it.. but that's just the ASUS version. The 'normal' card doesn't do that.

I have a GeForce5 right now, and I wouldnt suggest it. Its a good vid card, but it is the second Nvidia card that has nuked its fan in the past 12 months. Its under warranty, but a comp without a vid card is pretty pointless if you are a gamer. My next video card will definitely be an ATI, for sure.

I have a Radeon 9800 128 and it kicks ass. I always crank my video to the top, and I still get good FPS

I've heard nothing but great things about the Radeon 9800. Just yesterday I upgraded from a GeForce 2 to the Radeon 8500, and there's only a bit of improvement on most MMOs (quite a bit of improvement on FPS's tho). I'm still debating if it was worth the 75 dollars...but it IS the whole media set w/remote...

...anyhow, if you can get the Radeon 9800, do it. All the great game-system manufacturers almost always use that card in their systems right now.

most MMO's still use the DirectX7 API, as they have no need to change them to use anything more, Althoughsome are starting to..

in general, upgrading a video card, will not show massive increases in image quality, though you may notice some in certain types of games.. what you would notice, is that frame rates increase, and that in general, your computer feels a little more responsive, given that the graphics card is able to render each frame quicker, and can take much of that overhead away from the cpu..

as for the 9600/9800 debate.. look at the prices, you need to ask yourself if the extra cost of the 9800 is worth the few percent extra performance..

I myself have a 9500Pro currently, had it for almost a year, and I have yet to find anything that really taxes it (for example the very pretty Prince of Persia : Sands of Time, that I used to play in a screen resolution of 1600*1200 )

Don't pay out for top of the line if you dont have to, it's always overpriced for it's performance