Some small questions: Mainly, whats the best graphics card for me

DJ LongCat · 12-02-2007, 05:42 PM

I am looking to spend between $200-$250 and I play mostly Source games with every once in a while getting something new. Is the difference on ATI Radeon really worth it? Or should I just get the 8800 lowest range?

Also, will a card said PCI Express 2.0 work in my PCI Express x16? Sorry for such rudimentary questions but I can't find an answer anywhere else.

kimcicle · 12-03-2007, 03:34 PM

PCI-e 2.0 is completely backwards compatible with any motherboard or video card combination, so you don't have to worry about which revision of PCI-e your motherboard or video card is.

If you have $250, I would shop around for a nVidia GeForce 8800GT. Those things have been blasting more expensive cards out of the water (8800GTS cards that came out the year before for $100 more), and is pretty much the best bang for your buck on the market.

A Dramatic Leap Forward--GeForce 8800 GT: It's A Whole New Ballgame Now

VGA Charts 2007 | Tom's Hardware

Seriously, it would be almost stupid right not to not get a 8800GT.

*ranatalus* · 12-03-2007, 05:13 PM

except for uh

NVIDIA launching GeForce 9 series next February? - Engadget

kimcicle · 12-03-2007, 06:23 PM

Well it's more of what's out now rather looking down the road to the future. There will always be better technology coming down the pipeline.

I personally think that the rumors of the GeForce 9 in Feb are off by a few months, mostly due to the fact that the G92s were pretty much just released, starting with the GT and will eventually trickle down to the GTS. *shrugs*

eureka1 · 12-04-2007, 10:29 AM

ATI Radeon HD 3850 Pro for bang per buck.

WiLLiSTER · 12-12-2007, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eureka1

ATI Radeon HD 3850 Pro for bang per buck.

Except they really aren't that great.

Mills McDougle · 12-12-2007, 10:08 PM

You can land an 8600GT for about 150(which is what I have). It's not great, but it PLAUS through Source games. It runs UT3 full detail at 1440x900 at an incredibly playable rate(which makes the fact that Gears stutters on it so hard....optimize the piece of shit already).

Crysis also has trouble with it(but everything has trouble with Crysis). It's playable with things set between medium and high(on DX9 anyway).

Max detail on COD4 is super playable; just not silky smooth like its console counterpart.

FEAR's playable with everything max with soft shadows on(just no AA).

I'd say go for $300 and get a really good 8800GT card; there's nothing beating that deal ATM. The 9 series will be out soon, that's true, but it's gonna cost as much as you should expect it to.

I'm waiting to upgrade to a 9 card myself, but I'd love to have something like an 8800GT.

DeusExMachina · 12-13-2007, 02:31 PM

ewwww ATI?

Im nvidia all the way and I cast my vote on 8800GT

sreeja · 12-13-2007, 10:39 PM

This is the best nVidia "8800 Ultra".

eureka1 · 12-14-2007, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anti_gilbert

Except they really aren't that great.

They're fine. Nobody plays with AA or AF in the real world.

DeusExMachina · 12-14-2007, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eureka1

They're fine. Nobody plays with AA or AF in the real world.

Really? I like AA, I find a great improvement in jagged edge reduction if you use 2x or 4x compared to none. You only need 4x though, 8x or 16x is unecessary. AF I don't really use though.

eureka1 · 12-14-2007, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeusExMachina

Really? I like AA, I find a great improvement in jagged edge reduction if you use 2x or 4x compared to none. You only need 4x though, 8x or 16x is unecessary. AF I don't really use though.

I guess it depends on what kind of game you play. For FPS i really don't care about jaggies as i'm playing the game.

Racing games however, like any game you can name on 360 has horrid jaggies.