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Thread ID: 48805	2004-09-01 11:12:00	faq #666 The truth about Video Cards **Beta**	metla (154)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
268025	2004-09-01 11:12:00	The truth about Video cards Captains log Star date 00110010 00110100 00101110 00110000 00111000 00101110 00110010 00110000 00110000 00110100 If your looking at purchasing a video card with the purpose of playing games then this is for you . We will start off with an extremely brief recommendation and then cover the whys and how’s further down . The recommended cards are based on ability to run games and value for money . Buyers guide in a nutshell . 2nd Hand- Nvidia Gforce 4 TI series, Expect to pay between $80 and $160,The 9500pro and 9700pro cards are also worth picking up if they can be found cheap Budget-ATI 9600 pro, Expect to pay between $200 and $350 Midrange-ATI 9800pro,expect to pay between $400 to $600 High end-I would suggest looking at the Nvidia 6800 series but it would be wise to do a boatload of research before paying over the cash for an expensive item . Expect to pay around $800 to $1200 . Right-The Guts of the matter . Ram-128mb vs 256mb Many people for reasons that escape me are of the belief that the video card is defined by the amount of ram, This is a falsehood, the ram only dictates the size of the textures the video card can handle, and while a card with 256mb of ram can theoretically handle larger textures its always limited by the speed of the video chipset, Purchase your card based on the chipset, not on the amount of ram, although the speed of the ram is a consideration as manufactures have many cunning and evil tricks up their sleeves… . . but we shall cover underhanded tactics later in the piece . AGP VS PCIe Basically a scam, an excuse to charge more for an existing card without any extra performance . I’ll say this once again, the speed of any video card is defined by its chipset, not in this case by the slot its plugged into, its like putting a set of Formula1 tires rated at 400mph on the old Holden and expecting her to go faster . The current generation of cards do not and cannot make use of the bandwidth supplied by 16xPCI,this will change in the future but if I were to hazard a guess I would say not next generation but the generation after that before we see cards running faster in PCIe then AGP, and even then it will (well, maybe) only be apparent in the high end cards . Only worth taking into consideration if you’re already looking at buying a new Motherboard Buying a PCI card . This is in relation to purchasing a card that runs on the old-fashioned pci slot (what’s the rate of these babies…33mhz?) Anyhow, technology has far outpaced the capabilities of the Original pci slot, these will restrict any card to the speed of the of the pci slot, So buy the cheapest one you can, spending more money will give you zero as in a big fat nothing, ziltch, performance over a cheap model I would suggest an Nvidia Gforce4mx, or ATI 7000 . Expensive for what they are, expect to pay 80 to 140 dollars, and don’t expect it to run games at an acceptable level . Underhanded Tactics Both ATI and Nvidia are guilty of some heinous marketing scams, as are the manufacturers that produce the cards . 1 . Taking old model cards and re-branding them the current range, Case in point a Gforce4mx is a re-branded Gforce2, Great card……5 years ago . They have nothing in common with the gforce4ti cards they were marketed along with . ATI have done the same thing with a few different models . 2 . Budget models . The manufacturer uses the name and basic specs of a card worth buying and by using cheaper components bring out a crippled a version . Usually you have to pay close attention to the spec sheet to identify them . Steer clear of any ATI cards branded as SE or Encore, and any nVidia cars branded as XT or MX, heck, while your taking note of what to avoid you might as well steer clear of any Nvidia card in the FX range, Terrible value for money… . especially the FX5600 . Overclocking Many cards on the market are capable of being overclocked (this means to increase the speed they run at, giving better performance) . Some can only handle a marginal increase and others can be ramped up to give considerably better performance on par with a more expensive card . If your looking to purchase a card that OC’s to hell and back twice then Overclockers NZ publish often updated report on what cards on the NZ market are worth tracking down . Laptop Chipsets If you want a laptop that is capable of playing games, then grab one with the 9600pro, 9700pro or 9800pro chipset . These are stripped down versions of the desktop equivalent but will enable you to play Doom3 at the kitchen table while eating tea . Laptop chipsets will be covered in more depth in the soon to be unrestrained “guide to buying a laptop” Final Word Buyer beware, if you see a card for sale that is cheaper then expected then there will be a trade off in performance even if you can’t initially pick it up in the specs, The manufacturers are getting more cunning in regard to this . Right,thats that then,rip it apart,re-write it,roll it into a ball and flush it . . . . _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ . . . . ( . . . . \ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . / . . . . ) . . \ . . . . \ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . / . . . . . / . . . . . \ . . . . \ . . . . . . . . . . . . . / . . . . . / . . . . . . . . \ . . . . /´¯ . | . ¯`\ . . . . . / . . . . . . . . . . / . . . . | . . . . | . . . . (¯`\ . | . . . . . . . . . | . . . . . | . . . . | . . . . . \ . . . . \| . . . . . . . . . | . . . . . |´¯ . |´¯ . |\ . . . . \ . . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . `¯ . . ¯´ . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . . . . \ . . . . . . . . . . \ . . . . . . . . . . / . . . . . . . . . . . . . \ . __ . . / . . . . __ . . / . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	metla (154)
268026	2004-09-01 11:17:00	What about the difference between the Pro and XT etc versions of cards... Performance variations although both may be, say, a Raedon 9700?!	Chilling_Silence (9)
268027	2004-09-01 11:20:00	I based it on value for money to keep it as basic as possible,the xt version is the same as the pro with a slight tweak of the clockspeed,And the price difference can be as much as 200 dollars....so in regards to the difference,The Pro is much better value for money.	metla (154)
268028	2004-09-01 11:25:00	So in reality (This is what Im trying to get at) the "Pro" is only second-best to the "XT" version, correct?! And what about nVidia's naming of "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly"... ;-)	Chilling_Silence (9)
268029	2004-09-01 11:28:00	Well done "Broom" , nice and clear with that twisted humour of yours :D Might I add to Chill's suggestion and expand on the differences of the SE, XT ,Pro etc.. so people can get an idea of those little letter add ons, in the performance stakes, ie Lowest = SE , middle = XT , Best = Pro (and where the hell does the card performance come in if it doesn't have one of those letters after it's name.)	Pheonix (280)
268030	2004-09-01 11:30:00	what is wrong with my 4Mb onboard graphics?? what the deal with DVI connectors? do i need one? how can i connect my system to the TV?	robsonde (120)
268031	2004-09-01 11:30:00	Let's not forget this common mistake: ATI Radeons: "Pro" cards are better than normal. "XT" cards are even better still. (Getting better -->) |Normal| ----------------- |Pro| ----------------- |XT| nVidia Geforces: "XT" cards are trash. "Pro" cards are much better. (Getting better -->) |XT| ----------------- |Normal| ----------------- |Pro| (Not counting the new ones) Rock on.	Growly (6)
268032	2004-09-01 12:10:00	Thanks metla, I can now make an informed buying decision without wading through all those previous graphics cards threads nor rely on overzealous sales reps or bogus (i.e. sponsored) reviews. DDR3 - is it worth a mention? Is it all it is cracked up to be? Good effort, keep it up, thanks again and cheers. :D	andrew93 (249)
268033	2004-09-01 12:29:00	ATI Radeons: "Pro" cards are better than normal. "XT" cards are even better still. (Getting better --> |Normal| ----------------- |Pro| ----------------- |XT| ----------------- |XT PE| (XT Platinum Edition) nVidia Geforces: "XT" cards are trash. "Ultra" cards are much better. (Getting better --> |MX|------------|XT| ----------------- |Normal| ----------------- |GT|---------|Ultra|----------- |Ultra Extreme| Lmao at that logo thing. Do you want to mention something about steering clear of 128bit versions of the 9800 pro? Bad performance and extremely bad value etc. And I'd like to see it stickied at the front page, rather than a slow loading FAQ.	KingWave (5517)
268034	2004-09-01 12:34:00	Just for the sake of post padding: You might want to mention some cooling options if you're overclocking or refer them onto the OCNZ forums. Something like this: www.ascent.co.nz Which comes with RAM sinks as well. Optional cooler required for the faster cards etc. Do you want to mention anything about dodgy manufacturers, or the best ones for making cards?	KingWave (5517)
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