Video Card Question?

I purchased a ATI Radeon 9200 card about a month ago...and well it is a descent card but yes....outdated. It runs my RCT3 ok but I still notice a lag in the game when I am just building a single coaster in sandbox mode. I guess what I wanted to ask was this...I am thinking of purchasing a ATI Radeon 9800 pro...I know it is a whole lot better..but is it the best right now and is it worth me purchasing and I know it will run my games a whole lot better...just wanted some feedback on what you guys think!!!!!!!

A: No, it is not the best right now. That title would belong to either the NVidia 6800 Ultra or the Ati X800 XT but seeing as both of those are in the 450-500 dollar range, they darn well better be.

B: Sure, the 9800pro is a worthy purchase iff (math term for if and only if) you are an avid PC gamer. Personally, if you can run RCT3 well enough that you dont get frustrated with the lag/lack of detailed features, I dont think you need to upgrade at all. Conversely, if you have intentions on playing other "high-end" PC games like World of Warcraft, Doom3, and Half-Life 2 then you *definitely* would want to upgrade the vid card. But before you touch the vid card, make sure you have *at least* 512 MB of RAM, otherwise, your lack of RAM will be a bottleneck.

lata, jeremy

--not a comp expert, but I play one on cbuzz ;)

Yes I do have the 512mb ram and a new 128mb harddrive. I can run Half Life 2 ok but I just purchased Call of Duty (Pacific Assualt) and well it lags some of course when there are alot of enemies on the screen. I have the cash as of now to get the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro. So with my 512MB ram should run the 9800 Pro OK...thanks for the input..!!!!

I just wanted to update to a more modern card. When I start Half-Life 2 it tells me that I am running a outdated card...so basicaly....Yes....I do want to upgrade and I am a true PC Gamer...I have both HalfiLife 2 of course and Doom 3 and RCT3 out of those three RCT3 lags the worst!!

And yes those are both great cards but I am not just ready yet to spend up in the $400.00 range just yet. I can get a 9800Pro of the Circuit City site and also the Best But site for about $249.00...so that as of now is what is in my budget....if they make better games (which they will) and it calls for a better card than the 9800Pro I will save up for it but for now the 9800 Pro Is the way I am going...and again thanks!!! *** Edited 1/4/2005 1:13:57 AM UTC by Evolution*** *** Edited 1/4/2005 1:14:38 AM UTC by Evolution***

You should NOT be getting lag after only building one coaster. Something else in your computer is holding you back, and it's not the graphics card. I am wondering what your processor speed is? Lag with one coaster is not right and a new video card isn't going to help that.

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Evolution said:
Yes I do have the 512mb ram and a new 128mb harddrive.

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You're sure that's a new hard drive? ;)

No,Coasterbuf it is not the processer, I have a Sony Vaio 2.66ghz Pentuim 4 Processer with a 512MB Ram...and yes a brand new Harddrive(128MB). So I really can't say it is the processer...it all comes down to bat that I am upgrading my Video Card. What I meant by the lag was if you put alot of water or trees on the screen there is a slow lag but it is not bad....I play other Video Games as well as I have stated.

Basically, I wanted to know if the Radeon 9800Pro was a good card to invest in, I appreciate all the help and advice..But really,what it boils down to is that I want to upgrade the 9800Pro is in my budget...but I was just wondering if there was another card out there in that same $250.00 or $300.00 range. Right now $499. or $425. is just a little much for my pockets at this point..but again thanks for the feedback so far..but I am still just comparing prices..havn't got the card yet but I will purchase it this weekend...Thanks!!!

Dont bother with Best Buy, save some $$$ and get your card from newegg. They have a 9800pro for about $30 cheaper or (if you act fast) you can get the All-in-Wonder version for about 10 bucks less which comes with a TV tuner and TIVO-like digital recording (see here for more features). By all I have talked to, and personal experience, newegg is one of the better (cheap, fast) online merchants out there. Order today, and I'd be willing to bet it'd be to your house by Friday at the latest.

**IMPORTANT**: Wherever you decide to by the card make sure you get a card with a 256-bit memory interface. There are several (misnamed) 9800pro varieties on the market right now. Whether you get one with 128MB of onboard RAM or 256MB of onboard RAM really doesnt make much difference. BUT if you opt for a card with a 128-bit memory interface you will be buying a crippled card. Simply put dont do it (you'll be sorry).

Anyway, after saying all that, unless you really want the features of the All-in-Wonder version, I would NOT recommend buying a 9800pro. Instead, I would suggest getting an NVidia 6600GT. In the price range you are willing to spend, the 6600GT is the best bang for the buck. Head to Head against the 9800pro, the 6600GT shines bright. Plus, since the archetecture of the 6600GT is about a year and a half younger than the 9800pro, it is more "futureproof" and will keep you gaming longer without needing to upgrade.

But these are just suggestions. Feel free to make your own decision. :)

good luck, jeremy

EDIT: BTW, MD was just kidding about your hard drive. You wrote 128MB but hard drives havent been measured in megabytes in years. We all know it was just a typo and you meant gigabytes (GB). Just joshin' ya. *** Edited 1/4/2005 2:00:27 PM UTC by 2Hostyl***

So 2Hostyl, you would say the Nvidia 6600gt is a better card than the 9800 Pro. Well OK, but what about the X800, I found one of those on a discount software sight for $387.95. Most of you guys on here have played with the best and know what is good. At 387.00 I might consider the X800 in ATI or a Nvidia I guess I will just have to sit on it this week before I puchase one next week or this weekend.

Either way I want the best results I can get without going crazy on the money. My ATI 9200 runs my games ok...Half-Life two runs good I downloaded the Catalyst 4.12 driver a few days ago so it does run a little bit better...but again I just want to upgrade to a more common Video Card....and I meant 128GB Hard Drive...thanks for pointing out that....MB? I knew better!!

I went w/a GeForce 4000 mx 128mb and have no problems w/any game since...
Maybe i'm just lucky.
Evolution: do you mean Medal of Honor Pacific Assault? or is there a version of that for COD?

Ev: Hate to sound like an Nvidia whore (really I *am* an ATI fan) but no, I wouldnt recommend the X800pro either. Rather, if you are looking at the $350-$400 pricepoint I'd go with the NVidia 6800GT. Going back to the "back for your buck" theory, the Nvidia is a more elegant product and will give you more performance now and in the future compared to the X800pro.

That being said, I dont think either is the best solution for you. Yes it's true, both the X800pro and the 6800GT are better/faster than the 6600GT but that "extra" comes at a $150+ premium. And to be truthfull, unless you have a high-end big-display (20'+) monitor that you will use to game in 1600x1200 resolution of higher, you'll never even see the extra performance. If the $150 is really just burning a hole in your pocket upgrade your monitor or sound system. Those upgrades will have a much more significant impact on your gaming than going from the 6600GT to an X800pro or 6800GT.

Or, you can always just give the extra dough to me as a "consulting fee". :)

lata, jeremy

I can vouch for the 6800GT. I can play Doom 3 at 1280x1024, 4xAA, all features on/up, and still get a fairly consistent 50+ fps. It's really quite stunning. (CPU is a mobile Athlon XP o/c to a virtual "3400" or so.)

OK I have came to a decision on the Video Card. I think after hearing all the discussion on the Video Cards and all the info everyone has gave me I will most likely probably go with the Nvidia 6800gt...now all I have to do is find one at a pretty descent cost...and again thanks for the help and consulting 2Hostyl,FLYSCOOTER,and Jeff....

Also next question....with the system specs I gave you will the Nvidida 6800GT work fine on my system....I would hate to spend that much money and I can't install on my computer or if I do install and then it does not work properly.Just Wondering!!!!!(Also the best site to get this at the cheapest price )...Evo:) *** Edited 1/4/2005 8:16:27 PM UTC by Evolution***

You CPU is *plenty* strong enough to play the games you listed at high quality settings. Of course, you can always use more RAM, but that shouldnt be too big of a problem. The only *possible* snag I can think of would be that your power supply wont be able to keep up with the current hungry Nvida cards. But unless you have like 3 hard drives and two optical drives in your comp, I wouldnt lose any sleep over that :).

And the link to the 6800GT I gave above was the lowest price I saw. I've never ordered from that site though. If you want the lowest prices try searching on pricewatch.com or pricegrabber.com, but some of those vendors I've never heard of/dealt with. I have had good dealings with newegg, buy.com, and ebuyer.com.

Ok I just got the new hard drive about 3-months ago at about 140.00. Now just a question..if I wanted to upgrade my ram what would the ballpark price on that be....(sorry Jeff for having a NON-TOPIC coversation that does not pretain to coasters). Anyway..just wondering on the Ram...Well Jeff said he ran a 6800GT and his ran fine so I guess the 6800GT is the way I will go. Another question...Has anyone played Half-Life 2 on the Nvidia 6800GT if so how does it look compared to a say......the ATI 9800 Pro or a X800? *** Edited 1/4/2005 9:58:40 PM UTC by Evolution***

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Evolution said:
and yes a brand new Harddrive(128MB).

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You got ripped off.

Like I said it is a Sony Vaio. I took it to best buy and let those Geeks On Call or something like that install the card so the cost included installation and the harddrive...if i got ripped off.....oh well it won't be the first time...:(!!!!! *** Edited 1/4/2005 10:37:47 PM UTC by Evolution***

Evolution, the reason he's saying you got ripped off is because you insist the hard drive is 128MB, as in 128 MegaBytes..

my 4-year-old desktop that I got for $500 4 years ago has a 40GB, as in GigaBytes.

To give you a comparison, if your hard drive is indeed 128MB, my hard drive is 320 times larger. (Remember, 1GB = 1024MB, *NOT* 1000)

Yea I know I mentioned it as a 128MB harddrive but I meant the whole time in saying 128GB.....I got a new 128GB hard drive...I went back and checked so sorry for the misunderstanding....so to clear the air...it is a 128GB Hard Drive not 128MB....sorry!!!!

For some stupid reason MB just kept sticking in my head...:( *** Edited 1/4/2005 11:28:33 PM UTC by Evolution***

it's ok. No worries here. I wasn't focusing on the typo, I was just trying to be helpful in explaining why others were saying you got ripped off.

*Actually* for $140 you can get a 200gig HD. It doesnt take much skill to install one. I actually think the "Geek Squad" at my local Best Buy are idiots. I watched the guy as he tried to install a new floppy in my fiancees comp. What a waste of time. If the darn thing wasnt still under warranty, I'd have done it myself. Alas, there was an hour wasted on what should have been a 5min project.

BTW: an extra 512MB of DDR 400 (PC3200) RAM (to bring you up to a gig) should only run about $70 from a reputable company (Muskin, Corsair, OCZ, Kingston to name a few). "Generic" RAM may do just fine, but often, you get what you pay for (i.e. spend the extra five bucks and save yourself the headache). jeremy