[RESOLVED] Need Video Card Recommendations

[RobDog888]

My ATI Radeon 9500 Pro 128 card is starting to really irritate me as every once in a while it looses all video and I loose my work. I can not save it since I cant get the video back up either from mouse or keyboard actions. The only thing I can do is reboot. I figured its time for a new card.

Anyone recommend a good card less then ~$200? I dont need it for games but I dont want it to slow down my system either. AGP slot 8x are the needed specs.

Thanks.

[Harsh Gupta]

RobDog,

better go for nVidia this time. not sure about any specific (since you asked for within a budget) but nVidia is far more better than ATI.

[thegreatone]

RobDog,

better go for nVidia this time. not sure about any specific (since you asked for within a budget) but nVidia is far more better than ATI.
Opioniated response there from Harsh.

I would say just about ANY AGP 8x card wouldn't slow your system down, as it would still operate at the same speeds, you can pick up an ATI Radeon 9550 for £40 (about $70) which is perfectly fine for me, rock solid and stable, and no problems whatsoever. I have the 256Mb version working in AGP 4x mode and it doesn't slow my system down one bit, so in 8x mode it should be even better.

http://www.dabs.com/ProductView.aspx?Quicklinx=36JD&v=2

Simply fantastic.

[RobDog888]

I wanted to get something with at least 8 pipelies like my 9500 has and if I can get 256 Mbs RAM would be best but I just cant see myself buying something that is below what I already have. I have always used ATI and never had any problems with it but I found that I can get my card sent in to ATI for RMA but I cant be without one for even a minute. :D

So still I need a upgrade and I can use my 9500 on another system after I get it back.

[thegreatone]

I wanted to get something with at least 8 pipelies like my 9500 has and if I can get 256 Mbs RAM would be best but I just cant see myself buying something that is below what I already have. I have always used ATI and never had any problems with it but I found that I can get my card sent in to ATI for RMA but I cant be without one for even a minute. :D

So still I need a upgrade and I can use my 9500 on another system after I get it back.
If you don't play games what difference does half the pixel-pipelines make may i ask ?
Unless of course you are rendering large or complex images ?

EDIT: Looks like ATI's range of 8pixel pipelines may well be out of your reach in price, unless of course you go for the X700 which has many bad reviews, how about trying nVidia Corps. Geforce 6600 ?
It will set you back roughly $140 but it has 8 Pixel Pipelines like you are asking and many good reviews.
Worth mentioning i've never seen this card in action though.

[RobDog888]

I also do some graphic editing with PhotoShop and if there is anything that can improve system performance I want to have i if I can afford it. :D

[thegreatone]

http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=3T7R&CategorySelectedId=11137&v=2

This is actually a time when you could do with some ATI and nVidia fanboys to tell you all the good points about each card in your price range, shame they never appear when you ned them eh ?

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My ATI Radeon 9500 Pro 128 card is starting to really irritate me as every once in a while it looses all video and I loose my work. I can not save it since I cant get the video back up either from mouse or keyboard actions. The only thing I can do is reboot. I figured its time for a new card.

Anyone recommend a good card less then ~$200? I dont need it for games but I dont want it to slow down my system either. AGP slot 8x are the needed specs.

Thanks.
How does this problem manifest? Does the scren just freeze complwetely? Not that I know how to solve it, becuase I have this problem with one of my PC's.

[RobDog888]

It can happen when nothing is going on, like I am reading an article and all of a sudden the signal dies from the vcard to my LCD (no signal message). Or I could be typing (posting) and the same thing happens. I am searching and reading comparisons right now so if you have any suggestions I'll check the specs out.

[visualAd]

Oh, Its not the same then. My computer just freezes, but it only happens when I play a video.

[RobDog888]

You mean like a avi or mpeg? Or play a dvd?

[visualAd]

It appears to be just video files, although that PC doesn't have a DVD player. I really have tried everything - I even made thread about it here. I'll see if I can dig it up ;)

[RobDog888]

So far I think "ASUS Extreme N6600/TD GeForce 6600, (256 MB) Graphic Card" looks good but its the first I have looked into. I finally got the price conversion ($164.06) and not too bad. :) The only thing is that I am finding that the PN variaes from site to site but the Mfr. Part#: N6600/ TD/ 256MB is the same. Does this mean that some are clones or generics?

[Atheist]

Im using nVidia GeForce 6800, its ace :wave:

[RobDog888]

But the 6800 is PCI-e and not AGP or do they make an AGP version too?

[thegreatone]

Yes they do an AGP version, watch out for the price tag though $400+ (double your budget)

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=313398&pfp=BROWSE

[RobDog888]

Forget that! :D I'll stick with the 6600 unless anyone else can recommend anything else to look at? ATI?

[thegreatone]

How about the slightly outdated, yet still great ATI Radeon 9800 Pro ?

Actually i found a recent article about decent AGP graphics at under $200, ATI has a few entries, and so does nVidia.
http://hardware.gamespot.com/Story-ST-546-2295-9-9-x

[RobDog888]

Thanks for the link. I think I will seriously start searching for prices to purchase a 6600 GT if I can find one. I see mostly the TD. Not sure whats the difference?

[thegreatone]

It seems the TD is actually just the normal model of the 6600, wheras the GT is the improved model, not sure of exact differences though.

[RobDog888]

Well then I will have to find the GT model as it also is the same as a Mustang GT :D

[thegreatone]

Well then I will have to find the GT model as it also is the same as a Mustang GT :D
It seems the GT is sought after :)

[RobDog888]

Found it but not the lowest as I dont trust some of the versions with the greenboard. Seems the blueboard is more of an original and not a generic clone?

Asus GeForce 6600 GT 128MB AGP 8X DVI/TVO (Retail) N6600GT/TD/128
Man # -N6600GT/TD/128N6600GT/TD/128
$203.95 Shipping included

http://www.pricewatch.com/images/o/lisumnpaDE0R5g895-giT021eaQ=.jpg

[RobDog888]

What is the OC designate? GeForce 6600 GT OC 128MB

[RobDog888]

Or for the ATI equilivalent....

ATI Radeon X700 PRO Video Card 256MB,8X AGP DVI 2D/3D w/ TV-Out RETAIL BOX Model: 100-437406
Man # -100-437406100-437406
$193 Shipping included.

[thegreatone]

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=define%3A+OC&sourceid=mozilla-search&start=0&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official

Probably means Optical Carrier, i'm not too sure when it comes to GFX Cards though. Hoping it doesn't mean OverClocked as default here...

The 6600GT is actually more powerful even though i hate to admit it...

[thegreatone]

My worst fears are confirmed, the OC means it comes factory overclocked, well, at least this means higher performance, and since its by the factory it should be stable :)

Yes, it does come factory- overclocked as the name suggests, and we've been very interested to see how this card rates compared to the other two that we've tested
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2487

[RobDog888]

Yes, you would assume that if one of the factory distributors are OC'ing it that it should only be within stable limits.

OC = Open Cup. :D

So now I guess its just deciding between ATI and G-force.

I have an Asus P4 800C Deluxe motherboard so maybe the Asus GeForce card would match best?

[thegreatone]

Yes, you would assume that if one of the factory distributors are OC'ing it that it should only be within stable limits.

OC = Open Cup. :D

So now I guess its just deciding between ATI and G-force.

I have an Asus P4 800C Deluxe motherboard so maybe the Asus GeForce card would match best?
That would be rational thinking. Plus the 6600GT seems to be the better of the two cards as well, even if it is a few dollars more.

Plus if anything should go wrong, 1 number to ring, instead of 2 :)

[RobDog888]

The only reservation I have with ordering the Asus one is that the description shows TD in it. Does that mean you could end up getting either the GT or the TD?

N6600GT/TD/128

[thegreatone]

I doubt it, thinking about it i'm not sure what the TD in the middle of the thing you posted there would designate, i'm sure its a GT model though, otherwise its false advertising.

6600GT to me says its the GT model, no matter what.

[RobDog888]

Its the last entry on the first page...

http://www.pricewatch.com/prc.aspx?i=37&a=125788

[thegreatone]

Hmm, that really does look dodgy, have you found any that say "N6600GT/GT/128" or "N6600GT/GT/256" as these may hold to key as to whether the clue is in the name or the P/N.

You may have to contact the site itself, see what you can find out.

[RobDog888]

No, and all the different brands dont relate to the manufacture number.
I found the home site for Asus GeForce.

http://usa.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1=2&l2=7&l3=0&model=397&modelmenu=1

they show GT/TD. :confused:

[thegreatone]

Ok, so now i'm really confused.

Theres got to be something in that GT/TD though...

[RobDog888]

I think I will send an email to Asus tonight and call the retailer if its not cleared up by Asus. The retailer is ~<100 miles from me.

Thanks for all the help! :thumb: I'll post back with their response.

Have you looked in your Control Panel lately? :D

[thegreatone]

I think I will send an email to Asus tonight and call the retailer if its not cleared up by Asus. The retailer is ~<100 miles from me.

Thanks for all the help! :thumb: I'll post back with their response.

Have you looked in your Control Panel lately? :D
Glad i can help you.

Looking in CP now...
Thankyou very much, 10rep points :O Thanks.

[RobDog888]

I have been searching all over the Asus site and Forums and no solution. Seems like there are allot of issues with this card. Hopefully its not related to the card but users systems.

I am going to call Asus as they dont have any presales contact methods. :( Good thing I have free munutes on the weekend.

[RobDog888]

Looks like I have to call them tomorrow :(

Here is the retailers site and details.

http://www.allstarshop.com/shop/product.asp?pid=10500&sid=UJVCFNJKB9949PJE26KGQ5UWBTQ78XDC

Should be a GT as they do not show the TD anyware at all.

[thegreatone]

I have been searching all over the Asus site and Forums and no solution. Seems like there are allot of issues with this card. Hopefully its not related to the card but users systems.

I am going to call Asus as they dont have any presales contact methods. :( Good thing I have free munutes on the weekend.
What kind of issues ?
Last night my 9550 decided it wanted to die, so i've been up most the night trying my damned hardest to get it all working again, then it hit me... System Restore.
So much easier than i could have imagined :O

Good luck with the phone calls mate.

[RobDog888]

Ok, just got off the phone with Asus and there is a thid version of the card which is the 6600 GT TOP version which is an overclocked version. Seems the GT vs the TD is a designation of the accompaning bundled software but the hardware is the same. So GT it is then because I want all the utility software too. :D

[thegreatone]

Cool, i knew there was somehting in the GT version.

Also, you could do the overclocking yourself if you really wanted too, just have to be careful and test it all alot first before deeming it stable.

[RobDog888]

I really dont need to worry about overclocking and I dont want to crash my system so it should be plenty of performance for me for a long time.

I mostly want topurchase a card that I can use in my next system. hopefully my contact at Intel is going to be able to come through with a motherboard with dual processors ~3.2+ Gigs each. :D

[thegreatone]

Wow, your certainly going to be flying with that setup, good luck to ya if it comes through ok.
Hmmm, that should be 6.4Ghz+ and 1Gb Dual Channel RAM... A dream setup for many gamers if you throw the Graphics Card in, yet its going to be used for other things... hehe.
Wow

[RobDog888]

Hopefully it does come through. I think you can designate how the CPUs run, either asynschronous or synchronous. On Compaq servers they have software that allows you to partition your CPUs and associate certain programs to run on certain CPUs taking a certain percentage too. Quite cool.

[thegreatone]

Hopefully it does come through. I think you can designate how the CPUs run, either asynschronous or synchronous. On Compaq servers they have software that allows you to partition your CPUs and associate certain programs to run on certain CPUs taking a certain percentage too. Quite cool.
Very cool, 10% for windows core files, i.e explorer.exe and service hosts. etc. and 90% for number crunching etc. That would be the day.

Obviously this is a very powerful tool to have, lets hope its used properly.
If the deal does come through, would you mind kicking a benchmark or two in when you get your graphics card ?
I know you don't game but it would be nteresting.

[RobDog888]

But I cant afford to get a Compaq server so its just the default allocation for me.

[thegreatone]

True, that may well cost quite a bit of money...

[thegreatone]

Sooo, RobDog, how did the purchase go ? Have you got it up and running yet ? Got your dual processor board ?

I want an update :D

And if possible an AquaMark3 Bench ;) Want to see how much my setup is put to shame, lol!

EDIT: My TOP score with my graphics card at 495/448 and my CPU @ 3.21Ghz is 26,748 :(