What Graphics Card HELP!

[Daston]

Hi all this is my first time posting here.
I have decided with Doom III on the horizon that it is time to upgrade my Fx5600 I have a budget of £150 and was thinking of either a FX5900XT or some ATI equivalent what do you guys suggest (I have only had Nvidia so don’t know diddily on ATI) I’m looking for something that should handle Doom III wellish

Thanks


Specs

AMD 2400XP
1024Mb RAM
PNY FX5600 (256mb)

[Gizmo]

Hi there! Welcome to AOA!

If I were buying a card today and my choice was the NVIDIA FX5xxx family or the ATI 9xxx series, I think I'd go with ATI. My own card right now is a GeForce4 MX440, but I think that ATI offers better bang for the buck in the mid-range stuff that you are looking at right now. That being said, the difference between the nVidia and ATI cards is not that great, and either should do quite well. I'm sure there will be others drop by who have a different (and more informed) opinion, so stay tuned.

[dod]

Hi there, 5900 XT or 9800 Pro would both be fine and are roughly the same price.

Personally I would hold off until Doom3 or HL2 actually gets released. By that time, whenever it may be, you might well get a 5950, or if you've put some more cash aside possibly an X800 or 6800. The speed these things drop in price you might not have to spend that much more

[Staz]

with the tecknological advances of the new cards I would be hard pressed to buy a 9800Pro or a 5900. There is a huge leap in graphics performance there. And the unoptimized leaked version of Doom 3 brought anything with less than 1 GB or RAM and a 9700Pro to it's knees. But then again I am still on a 9600np.

Do They have a Black Friday (huge day after thanksgiving sale) across the pond? That is when I plan to upgrade my card to an X800Pro or 6800GT or better if they are on sale. Until then I will save my pennies.

[Áedán]

Due to the historical nature of Thanksgiving and it's geographical location, it's rather a US only celebration!

[XeroHouR]

ROFL yea, that ranks up there with having a 4th of july in britan, sure they do...its just not independance day for them! (what does start the christmas buying season over dere?)

[Gizmo]

Advent?

[Staz]

Originally Posted by Áedán

Due to the historical nature of Thanksgiving and it's geographical location, it's rather a US only celebration!

I understand that. But do they have a huge 1 day sale that kicks off the X-Mas buying season. You know one that has incredible deals that are only good til noon and to get them befor they are sold out you have to get up at 3 AM and go stand in line?

[sasrob]

i'v got the creative fx5950 ultra it's fast i got this for 260 pounds i feel must say that i like nvidia over ATI bez i did have a ATI card and when i was playing games it would slow down but that was back in 2000 and it was a pci card. so the card now should be fine but. i still like nivdia myself. just not the creative i should of got a pny card really:>(

[Staz]

I tend to lean to ATi for video quality but have installed nVidia cards in systems. Basically I go for best bang for the buck and best image quality. Right now the 6800 GT is the best bang for the buck on the high end. But at $400 US these are probibly out of your budget. I would sugest saving up and waiting for them to go onsale. If you are going to go high end then why not get a card with 16 pipelines instead of getting one with 8 and then upgrading later.

[Daston]

Thanks for the advice so far people.
After looking on Dabs for FX5900 cards I have totally confused myself so far these are the ones I thinking about

Gainward FX5900 XT (£150)
Gainward FX5900 Ultra (£135) 128bit
Gainward FX5900 Ultra 256mb (£200) 128bit
PNY FX5900XT (£145) 256bit

I can just about stretch to £200

Any ideas or ATI alternatives?

Cheers

[Áedán]

Originally Posted by Staz

I understand that. But do they have a huge 1 day sale that kicks off the X-Mas buying season. You know one that has incredible deals that are only good til noon and to get them befor they are sold out you have to get up at 3 AM and go stand in line?

Nope - Like most of the world, the UK does not have a Black Friday sale, for the same reasons that the UK doesn't have Thanksgiving. There is no direct replacement for it either. The Christmas buying season starts at different times for different stores. The closest to Black Friday is probably the January sales, where people will start camping outside some stores the day before.

[dod]

Originally Posted by Daston

Thanks for the advice so far people.
After looking on Dabs for FX5900 cards I have totally confused myself so far these are the ones I thinking about

Gainward FX5900 XT (£150)
Gainward FX5900 Ultra (£135) 128bit
Gainward FX5900 Ultra 256mb (£200) 128bit
PNY FX5900XT (£145) 256bit

I can just about stretch to £200

Any ideas or ATI alternatives?

Cheers

You're still looking at the 5900 range or for ATI the 9800 XT. Most of the 9800 pro's clock to XT speeds anyway though so I'm not really sure they're worth the extra money.

[XeroHouR]

campers!??! I HATE CAMPERS!!!?!?