3DGurus Help picking a budget Vid Card

[diesel604]

Ok what it boils down to is value...

I have an aged GF3 Ti200 64Mb which I'm really happy with. I'm starting to put together another box for the wifey. I wanted to get a vid card with about the same performance as my GF3. Which of these newer cards do ya think I should get?

1. ATI Radeon 9200 128Mb
2. ATI Radeon 9000 Pro 128Mb
3. ATI Radeon 8500/9100 (if I can find any left)

I'm looking to buy at my local retailer (too impatient for online) They're all in the CAD$90-$120 range

or should I stick with buying another GF3 Ti200?

ANy suggestions would be very helpful! :D

(What I really want is a 9500Pro but that's almost 2wice the price! :eek: )

[D]iesel

[BipolarBill]

Radeon 8500 for sure.

[BipolarBill]

I just did some more reading and the 9100 is basically an 8500 brought up to date. It actually outperforms the 9200.

The 8500 is the best deal.

[AllGamer]

all of them sounds good
just try to get one with 128 Mb of video RAM

:t

[Bigjakkstaffa]

128mb 8500 would be a good choice, if you can get a Built by Ati, put that in you rmachine and give the missus the geforce 3

--Jakk:t

[cwin]

Yup, get a Radeon 8500 128mb if you can get one:D

[diesel604]

Thanks for the input folks it cemented what I was leaning to in my mind.

128mb 8500 would be a good choice, if you can get a Built by Ati, put that in you rmachine and give the missus the geforce 3 :p I like the way you think Jakk!

Actually wait a sec, the ATI card might not work with my OC'd rig. I read a thread here that ATI cards have problems with OC'd AGP buses? I have no AGP/PCI lock on my KT3Ultra2 board which is currently at 173Mhz FSB. Or is that not high enough to have problems? :confused:

Oh well it makes a good excuse to get her *cough* (me) that nForce2 Ultra 400 board doesn't it! :D

[D]iesel

[Bigjakkstaffa]

I would still take the 8500, even if you have to lax back you o/c (which ive never heard of before) it is still prollies gonna be much faster than a ti200

--Jakk:t

[$1500-P4 gamer]

It'll be tons faster than the Ti200. I have the bba 64mb 8500LE (250/275mhz) and it beats my G3 ORIGINAL. Which is clocked higher than ti200.:eek: :t

[Izdaari]

ti200's do overclock well though, which would diminish any edge the 8500 might have.

[cheapster]

I am unfamiliar with Canadian prices on components, but would a Geforce 4 Ti 4200 fit into your budget? I believe they would leave the ATI cards behind. I was recently able to pick up a "new" factory pull Asus 128 mb Geforce 4 Ti4200 from compgeeks for just $90 plus shipping using a coupon code. It is working great and scores around 10,800 in 3D mark 2001 on my XP1700@2.0 Ghz system. From most of what I have read, the Ti4200 beats the 8500/9000/9100/9200 class of cards. The 9500/9600 are out of its' reach, but the old Ti4200 holds up very well against the cards of its' day. I sure like both of mine, upgraded from the GF3 Ti200 on each system.

[Bigjakkstaffa]

would a Geforce 4 Ti 4200 fit into your budget? I believe they would leave the ATI cards behind.

They certainly would, probelm is theyre still priced a wee bit above what i reckon theyre actually worth in todays terms

--Jakk:t

[NDD]

Gotta second cheapster for Ti4200. Dirt cheap these days, leaving GF3/R8500 far behind. 128MB won't heart, but 64MB will still do :)
128MB R8500 for a second option if you can't get the Ti4200. R9100 is actually a R8500LE, clocked 250/250 as opposed to original R8500 clocked at 275/275. Still beats the R9200 (one TMU per pipeline AGP 8x, usually clocked at higher speeds).
OR another GF3 (Ti500 maybe ?) for stability. Won't fall far from Radeon 8500. Gotta love nVIDIA :cool: :t

Happy 128MB GF3Ti200 user :cool:

[diesel604]

Wow, more good stuff!

The Gf4 Ti4200 was on the radar but hard to find it cheapo around here (same goes for a GF3Ti500 - rare). Even the 9100's are rare...but did manage to find one at www.atic.ca CAD $110 oem! :p

All they have (here locally) in terms of the 8500's are the AIW's which co$t just as much as a 9500Pro BBA :( . Oh well who said picking budget hardware was easy!

Oh BTW are the Sapphire cards THAT bad!? If you were to just using it stock? I'm no videophile (or 3Dphile) but to the average joe (like moi) would it perform just the same as its BBA counterpart? Or was the whole PBA Vs. BBA preference geared more towards the Overclocking capability?. :confused:

Ok 'nuff questions I'll keep quiet now