ATI vs. NVIDIA

[E^vol]

I know you want the extra options (Same reason I bought an AIW9700Pro), but your budget isn't helping you (I REALLY do understand the whole budget thing!).

If you really want the TV tuner, you can get a TV Wonder($69us-$95us) (when you have cash) that way you can get any video card you choose.
NOTE: These tuners DO NOT decode digital channels, I know (AIW).

If games are important to you, IMHO, I'd get a 9600Pro($173us) or 9600XT($189us). Though more than your budget, the price/performance is about as good as it gets, and it will last you for a good while (think long term investment) ! Although, you might be able to find a 9700Pro for cheap.
:2cents:

Prices found @ NewEgg

[ct_]

$160 for 9600XT vs $130 for 9600Pro

and i don't see a diference other than price

and to add a tv card later, that's another pci slot i don't have and an extra $50 i don't wanna spend



not too many nominees for geforce cards i see...

and some info for 9600XT i have seen says 256mb is "due soon" - any truth to that?

[E^vol]

Originally posted by [B]ct_
not too many nominees for geforce cards i see...

As it is right now, ATI has the taken the lead in the graphics "war".

Originally posted by [B]ct_
and some info for 9600XT i have seen says 256mb is "due soon" - any truth to that?

256Mb of RAM on the video card will not help you at all right now, it might even slow you down a bit.
But soon enough, we'll have games that will use the extra memory. It's like that with everything.
:2cents:

[AsianBatman]

thanks, but that doesn't appear to let me watch tv on the mnitor too, thoughit does have DX9 support and i COULD put a 2nd LCD with an adapter

:2cents:

I hope you are not talkin about the ti4200...because it has no direct x 9 support what so ever...

[Mista K6]

Yah, you really are gonna want DX9 support now, otherwise you're going to be out on the new games. I played the Halo demo on my Ti4200. Worked like a charm, except I couldnt use FSAA :( . So I bumped the resolution up to 1280x960 and had to deal with a little stair stepping... Ah well. I think the 9600 Pro All-In-Wonder is the way to go for you. I found one for $205 here . Good luck with it, : peace2: Mista K6

[E^vol]

Originally posted by [b]Mista K6
So I bumped the resolution up to 1280x960 and had to deal with a little stair stepping...

Up to 1280x960 ? What res do you usually play in ? I never use AA/AF, I just play in 1600x1200.

[ct_]

$205, best deal i could see ty

but what's so great about the 9700PAIW that makes it cost another $70 more? is it worth it?

and yeah, thinking long-term investment - but what about DX9.1 support? ( DX9.1 not too far away, or DX10 i know, long way off) is this card going to be able to handle it?

so ATI it is and a :shoot3: @ geforce, eh?

was kinda hoping for a geforce recc. since i have an nvidia chipset (all that stuff about "products from the same mfr" working together better etc)


:shrug:

[Mista K6]

The manufacturer of the mobo and the card have absolutely nada to do with each other performance wise. Ati is spanking nVidia right now, so get an ATi card. Although the 9700 AIW is an older card, it's also faster than the 9600 AIW. The 9700 was the precursor to the 9800. I think the 9700 has more bandwith because it has 8 rendering pipelines (as opposed to the 9600's 4) so its faster. Anyways, someone who really knows alot on this can help ya more.

E^vol: Depends what the game is. I play UT2003 in 1280x960 w/ Quincunx FSAA and 2x anisotrophic. Bf1942 I play in 1600x1200 and 2x Anisotrophic (FSAA blurs all the text, so screwed up :yuc: ). However, my Ti4200 is a DX8 card, and Halo is a DX9 game. FSAA wouldn't work, and with all the eye candy the game sports (I always leave it on :D), I had to keep it a 1280x960 in order to keep the FPS between 40 and 50.

[E^vol]

Mista K6 : Gotcha ;)
:cheers:

[ct_]

well, i went overboard

bought a 9800Pro128 after all was said n done

nearly 3x what i wanted to spend, and no tv in - BUT DAMN THIS CARD IS WORTH IT!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! :thumb:

just gotta pick up a tv pci card now, since i bid and won another 21" monitor :P (actually, that one will go for use in my shop)

:thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :kay:

[Mista K6]

Very very nice :thumb: :D :woot:

[E^vol]

I was thinking the same thing when I bought my AIW9700Pro. I was regretting the high cost until I plugged it in ! Then all my doubts were put out with the trash, IT ROCKED !!!

[AsianBatman]

9800 pro...Nice!!

[ct_]

...as an off-topic question:
just WHEN the hell are vid card mfrs gonna switch the design layout?
all the heat is on the BOTTOM of the card where the chips are
it'd make a hella lot more sense to put it all on top
yes, there are some mobo that if the hsf was on top, it *might* interfere with the hsf of the chipset or cpu, but boards aren't desgined like that anymore

ideas anyone?

:shrug:

[minibubba]

with the current designs of most mobos, if you put it on top, you would be feeding some very hot air straight to the cpu. At least with it on the bottom the hot air will disapate into the cooler case air before it ever reaches the cpu, if at all. there could be other reasons, but that's what makes sense to me.

However, with the redesign of btx that may change in the future.