[jlo mein]

Currently i have a geforce 2 mx400 64mb. Of course, i want my pc in tip top condition before jedi outcast comes out (march 28 ya!).

I'm looking for the best performance for my price line. For $250 canadian i can get either a geforce 3 Ti200 or a geforce 4 MX440.

As i think i recall, the ti200 is the second best gf3 ever released, and was the second top of the line when it was released. The mx440 is newer with the gf4 chipset, but its the mx series, which is low grade consumer model.

Does anyone know which i should get? I heard the gf4 had better anti aliasing but the gf3 mite be able to hold its own against an mx gf4 so i dont kno.

THANX!

 

[Nick Dangerous]

I dunno, but these guys will:

www.tomshardware.com

www.anandtech.com

 

[Driftwood]

I tell you, the MX cards are a good value, but since I do a lot with graphics and data visualization, I can tell you that they can't hold a candle to the higher end cards. The GeForce4 is about twice as fast as the GeForce4 MX. But of course, you pay a lot for that added performace.

I still don't get the Quadro(2/Pro) line of cards... they are VERY expensive, and for the kind of stuff I do, GeForce3 seems to give them a run for their money, and has more features too...

Oh well.

Anyway, I don't play any games really, but I would definately recommend a non MX over a newer generation MX.

Driftwood

 

[Hamsterball_Z]

Get the GeForce 3. The GeForce4 MX is just a cranked up GF2, it doesn't have the programmable pixel and vertex shaders that make the GF3/4s worth buying. It's part number is NV17 which also indicates it's below the GF3 (NV20). Prices on the GF3s will probably be dropping soon so you might want to wait just a little longer. I actually saw GF3 TI200 selling for $99 (after a $30 rebate though). You know, ATI is a Canadian company. Can you get a better price on a Radeon 8500? Ok, probably not. It was worth a shot.

One more thing to consider, what kind of system do you have? A GF3/4 isn't going to give you much boost if you're trying to run it on a 500MHz system.

(HBZ)

 

[dhwilkin]

Agreed w/ Hamsterball_Z. No gamer worth his salt should use a MX card. Assuming your CPU won't be the bottleneck, go w/ the GeForce 3.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Agree with both Hamsterball_Z and dhwilkin. If you have even a 700MHz Pentium III with a 100MHz FSB, the 100MHz FSB speed itself will be a bottleneck. With a system based on that particular CPU, I wouldn't get any video card beyond a GF2 MX400 or a GF4 MX420 (the latter supporting only SDR memory). But on an Athlon XP 1600+-based system with a DDR266 FSB, then go for the fastest card you can afford. In my case with the latter system, I bought the original Radeon 8500 64MB card for $190 minus a $50 rebate.* (I can't believe I paid more for an original Radeon 64MB DDR VIVO - based on the old Radeon 7200 chipset - than I did for the waaaaaay faster Radeon 8500!)

*Sorry, that rebate only applied to retail Radeon 8500 64MB cards purchased at Best Buy between 3 March and 9 March - but you can still mail in your rebate request within 30 days after you purchased that card.

NOTE: Don't confuse the Radeon 8500 64MB with the newer and more expensive but slower Radeon 8500LE 128MB card; the latter isn't worth the money IMHO - it uses the slightly slower-clocked version of the R8500 chipset, it lacks true dual-monitor support due to the lack of a DVI output (it supports a second monitor only through the S-Video output), and the much higher price is due to the extra 64MB of video RAM. Also, the Radeon All-In-Wonder Radeon 8500DV uses the slower-clocked flavour of the R8500 chipset.

 

[jlo mein]

I got my new pc bout christmas time. I got it with teh gf2 mx400 knowing that it was pretty bad, but cheap enuff to upgrade later. Its a AMD XP 1600, 256mb ram, and the motherboard uses 200/266mhz fsb.

It also says a lot of crazy crap on my motherboard box that i dont understand like supports Live Driver, Live BIOS, and Fuzzy Logic.

Anyway, i was trying to keep the price on the new vid card low, since i should prolly get more ram, and a better monitor. I think im gettin a Samsung SyncMaster 755 DF 17" monitor, and another 256mb ram.

After what ppl said i think i will get a gf3 ti200. I might wait though for a while, see what happens to prices, and see how my current pc handles jedi outcast.

Plus, that monitor and ram is going to run me bout $350 canadian.

btw: i dont think i will get an ATI radeon 8500 since they sell at $500 canadian.

 

[CaptBubba]

I would actualy recomend that you get an ATI Radeon 8500. They are just as fast, if not faster than the GF3 Ti line. Look at the "hall of fame" at http://gamershq.madonion.com and the Radeon 8500 is on top. Even if that is a bit screwed up, they are still much cheaper than the GF3 Ti, at around $165 compared to $230+ for a GF3 Ti 500.

 

[jlo mein]

where i live, the gf3 ti200 is $250CAN and the radeon 8500 is $500can.

 

[Hamsterball_Z]

ATI has great hardware but lousy drivers. My friends and I have had pretty bad experiences with ATI products for that very reason. I wouldn't recommend them to anyone unless they are willing to apply lots of patches. Not as bad as the Kyro cards, but you better be ready to deal with problems.

Nice setup Jlo, you've actually got a pretty capable system there. Wait on the video card and don't worry about the memory unless you know that you're running low in your apps or games. Memory prices are a bit high right now but I've seen signs that it might be coming down again. Have you checked on 19" monitor prices? I don't think that a 19" is a lot more than a 17" these days. With a larger monitor you won't get that upgrade bug, well not unless you see the Sony 24" widescreen.

(HBZ)

 

[CaptBubba]

sorry bout that, I left the reply window open for too long before sending and missed your last post.

The GF3 Ti seems to be the way to go I guess, seeing how much cheaper it is. Stay away from the MX.

So you have an MSI motherboard? Good choice. What model is it? I have practicaly the same computer as you do, except with a bit more RAM and a GF2 GTS. Don't bother w/ fuzzy logic, but the live BIOS and driver things let you flash your BIOS from windows, which is very sweet, and keeps you from having to hunt down chipset drivers and such.

I highly doubt jedi outcast won't run smoothly on your system with a GF3.


Quote:

I still don't get the Quadro(2/Pro) line of cards... they are VERY expensive, and for the kind of stuff I do, GeForce3 seems to give them a run for their money, and has more features too...

The qudro line is the equivelent Geforce with more open GL extensions avalible. They are a good deal faster at rendering CAD stuff and some OGL games run faster on a Quadro. It is posible to turn your Geforce into a Quadro using a driver trick, and also by moving a resistor or two on the card itself. The Quadro DCC is the GF3 based Quadro.

I personaly thing nvidia needs to stop naming their chips Geforces and come up with a better name.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally posted by jlo mein where i live, the gf3 ti200 is $250CAN and the radeon 8500 is $500can.

Well, that's because the newest Radeon 8500's come with 128MB of memory (my "first-revision" R8500 came with 64MB), so that may explain that huge price difference (the GF3 Ti200 that you're considering is a 64MB model).

 

[RMSzero]

Get the Geforce 3 that you mentioned. That's an excellent value which will last you for a long time. Any MX card will show it's age much quicker.

 

[Driftwood]

Holy Moly?! The motherboard supports "Fuzzy Logic!?" That must be some kind of manufacturer buzzword, because I don't think that your motherboard will really allow for quantum computing...

I wonder what they intend for that to mean?

Driftwood

Get the GeForce3. With the release of the GeForce4 cards, you can probably get one for pretty cheap.

Driftwood

 

[jlo mein]

the $500 radeon 8500 is actually the 64mb version....wierd isnt it...

My motherboard is a Microstar K7T266 Pro2 ATX. I dont think i'll install the Live Driver and Live Bios software unless i have problems, since i dont want to screw with that stuff and ruin my system (im not too much of a technical guy). I also found out that Fuzzy Logic 3 is an overclocking program that comes with the motherboard. I'm not going to use it because i've never overclocked before, and i've heard that athlon xp's have terrible heat problems when overclocking.

I was worried about ram since jedi outcast requires minimum 128 for windows xp systems, and i have 256. Of course we all know how bad xp eats up ram. I can pick up 256mb ddr ram for $100 canadian.

I wasnt looking at 19" monitors since in canada they're still really high. 17" are starting to sell for $200-300, so thats why i was considering them.

Thanx for all your help, i'm gonna go for the gf3 ti200. For $250 its not a bad deal, unless the gf4 4200 will come out for less than $300, but i'll probably stick with the gf3.