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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 | ||
| 268035 | 2004-09-01 12:59:00 | Good stuff, good flow, well done Metla. Just a few suggestions: As the others have suggested, a bit of expansion on the various iterations of the cards, you'd almost have to do a table that you/someone could update. When mentioning the various generations can you put the ATI or nVidia in front so the newbs ans thicko's like me can get a handle on all this new info without having to scroll back to see who made what. Will you put any more review sites in apart from OCNZ [link], I know it's abit shifty out there with sponsors skewing the field but for newbs a bit of advice for un-biased reviews would be great. And, yes, the bit thing could deserve a mention. I know this will make the FAQ a bit longer but I get the impression that when it comes to info on hardware, those seeking it will spend more time and effort researching it and don't mind a good meaty read, with entertainment value of course. Cheers Murray P |
Murray P (44) | ||
| 268036 | 2004-09-01 22:41:00 | Ok,so far we have, A descrption of the model names and numbers from both manufacters and how they fit into the scheme of things as far as performance is concerned. Mention of the 128bit rather then 256bit memory that has recently been used on some ATI cards Direct links to places of interest. such as OCNZ Anadtech madonion video card section of computermedic.co.nz anything else? |
metla (154) | ||
| 268037 | 2004-09-01 23:12:00 | Could always mention that PCIe may actually offer worse preformance than AGP due to the fact that both nVidia and ATi use bridge chips, increasing the latency. Also its perhaps worth mentioning that the X600 is mearly a rebadged 9600. And could you please perhaps make a small comment at the bottom saying that a 9600 is not a good upgrade for a Ti4200, the number of times people ask me why the cant notice any difference between their old Ti4200 and their new 9600pro is unbelievable. | Pete O'Neil (250) | ||
| 268038 | 2004-09-01 23:43:00 | Heres all the ATi and nVidia cards rated from worst to best, loosely based on the Toms Hardware VGA Chart, it would be a good idea to provide a link to the VGA chart. Yes its from Toms Hardware so it should be taken with a grain of salt, but its fairl accurate and uses bright colourful graphs that even noobs can understand 9000 9000PRO 9100 9100PRO 9200 9200PRO X300 9600SE 9550 64bit 9550 128bit 9600 9500 9600PRO 9800SE or 9800 128bit 9500PRO 9600XT X600XT 9700 9800 9700PRO 9800PRO 9800XT X800PRO X800XT x800XTPE 5200 64bit MX440 5200 128bit 5200U 5600 EP/XT/LE 5600 5700 EP/XT/LE 5600U 5700 5700U 5800 5900XT 5900 5800u 5900u 5950U 6600 6600GT 6800 6800GT 6800U 6800UE |
Pete O'Neil (250) | ||
| 268039 | 2004-09-01 23:53:00 | >Right,thats that then,rip it apart,re-write it,roll it into a ball and flush it . ok . . . . . . . . firstly any advice on prices for various models is just about meaningless . in a month (even a few weeks) the prices have changed . in 6 months time when a new series is released the prices get really changed about . >Ram-128mb vs 256mb who cares . work out what is required at the time of purchase . in 6 months time all new cards may all be 256 . >AGP VS PCIe again it dosn't matter to much . very few motherboards will be coming out with both (and the ones that have both the AGP is crippled) . if you have AGP you buy an agp card, if you have PCIe you buy a PCIe card . >Buying a PCI card . the only reason anyone buys a pci card is because the have to . there is not many optoins around . there are slow and cost more than the agp/PCIe version . your simply better off trying to advoid the NEED to buy one in the first place . >Underhanded Tactics it dosn't really matter to much if gf4mx is based on gf2 or not . what matters is price vers performance and advailability . the biggest dirty tactics is driver cheating, eg certain drivers make the card run really good but only in certain tests/programs . in real world sitution the card runs worse than the tests indicate :( Nvidia and ATI are only 2 video card manafactures, there are others . some have very good budget cards . don't forget some 90% of pc's either have onboard graghics or budget cards . >Final Word, Buyer beware thats says it all . when it comes time to buy your card look at all the specs and check with the sites that test the cards . they often will test everything and find all the little bits the manafacture never tells you . also they can test its performance, but just check the platform they test it on is fairly close to yours otherwise it may run worse in your pc . rember that chip makers only make the chips, the manafactures add what ram, ramdac ,other features and support parts on to suit what market they are aiming for . also watch the advertising . it quite commen to see a card labeled ULTRA when its not even useing the ultra ver of that chip . just because the packet says pro, ultra, xt, etc dosn't mean it is . |
tweak'e (174) | ||
| 268040 | 2004-09-02 00:14:00 | hmmm . >>firstly any advice on prices for various models is just about meaningless I disagree,its a buyers guide and some ballpark figure of prices have to be mentioned,The faq will have to be updated 3 or 6 monthly to stop it becoming irrilivent but that was always the plan anyhow . >Ram-128mb vs 256mb-who cares Hmm . . . Don't quite follow your attitude in relation to this,Its a topic that comes up often,Most have a misconception about it,it affects performance and budget . So do you suggest if someone asked about the difference between cards with different ram the best reply would be who cares? >AGP VS PCIe-again it dosn't matter to much I believe it does,especially to someone who may have been contemplating retiring a card like a g4ti and buying a new motherboard with PCIe and a card such as the pcie X600 . They would have wasted a boatload of money . Pitfalls can't be avoided unless someone points them out . >Buying a PCI card . -the only reason anyone buys a pci card is because the have to . there is not many optoins around They range in price from 25 to 200 dollars,plus the question of PCI cards is raised quite often so the issue had to be covered . >Underhanded Tactics-it dosn't really matter to much if gf4mx is based on gf2 or not . what matters is price vers performance and advailability . Aye? . . . . Its an example of the tactics used by the big companies,its perhaps the most relivent point in the entire article . Old tech rebadged and marketed as part of the current(at the time anyway) range . >Nvidia and ATI are only 2 video card manafactures, there are others . some have very good budget cards . don't forget some 90% of pc's either have onboard graghics or budget cards . Notice the first line? . . . it mentions video cards from a gamers view,I know of no other manufactuer that makes a product that comes within any distance of Nvidia or ATI,Similary onboard graphics and video chipsets not capable of playing games are ignored . |
metla (154) | ||
| 268041 | 2004-09-02 00:16:00 | >>rember that chip makers only make the chips, the manafactures add what ram, ramdac ,other features and support parts on to suit what market they are aiming for. Thats a falsehood,Both have been farming out production of the chipsets,Plus any card released to the market has to have its specs aproved by the company whose chipset design they use.Ultimatly ATI and Nvidia are responcible for whatever makes its way to the shelves. |
metla (154) | ||
| 268042 | 2004-09-02 00:26:00 | > Notice the first line?...it mentions video cards from > a gamers view,I know of no other manufactuer that > makes a product that comes within any distance of > Nvidia or ATI,Similary onboard graphics and video > chipsets not capable of playing games are ignored. It might be wrong to exclude all onboard graphics as there are some now that are quite capable of playing the latest games. Mike. |
Mike (15) | ||
| 268043 | 2004-09-02 00:38:00 | Metla, would it be worth mentioning the various mobo chipsets, cpu's and system ram that are available, if only a heads up that some cards will perform in some environments better than others and that it will need to be researched at time of purchase to avoid possible disappointment. I know it's all getting a bit complex but, complexity is inherent in the subject which is why this FAQ will be such a valuable resource. I suspect there's going to be a well trodden path to it as well. As you've taken some suggestions on board and no doubt will add some more along with your own refinements, may I also suggest that you split it up into more specifically defined sections (contents) for easy access to specific info and easier updating in the future. Cheers Murray P |
Murray P (44) | ||
| 268044 | 2004-09-02 00:41:00 | > It might be wrong to exclude all onboard > graphics as there are some now that are quite capable > of playing the latest games. > > Mike. Such as........ the fastest onboard graphics ive seen is the 9100 IGP, i'd like to see you play DOOM3 on that. Some of the latest laptop graphics are capable of DOOM3 etc, but there not widely used in desktop PC's. The grapics chips used in these laptops are mearly mobile versions of their desktop counterparts the only difference is that they arent removable(granted Dell do make some of theirs removable). |
Pete O'Neil (250) | ||
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