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Video Purchase Comparison: Middle of the Road vs Latest and Greatest
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Kalekkan
Chocobo


Member 697

Level 11.22

Mar 2006


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Old Jul 6, 2006, 11:12 AM #1 of 8
Video Purchase Comparison: Middle of the Road vs Latest and Greatest

So it's that dreadful day coming up. Your PC is feeling a bit aged and tired. It's slow, and bothersome to run many things that you want to anymore. Your gaming performance is not what it used to be and you want to build a new machine.

So now you come to the point of selecting a new video card. Do you buy the latest and greatest spending anywhere from $400 to $1000 as it has been in the past, or do you decide to go with middle-of-the-road and spend around $150 to $200? Which do you feel has given your best worth? What does your video card purchase history look like?

Personally, I've had a little heuristic in the past. I've always tried to not spend over $200 for a video card. As prices of them have been increasing I've allowed some more breathing room for that heurisitc for as high as $250. I've found this works out quite well usually and have really spread out my purchases pretty good. When I notice my performance isn't what I want it to be, then I look for my next card.

My video card purchase history is the following:

Monster 3D 2
ATi All-In-Wonder 128 32MB AGP
Kyro 2
nVidia Geforce 4 Ti4400
nVidia Geforce 6600GT AGP - my current card.

Jam it back in, in the dark.
Stealth
Indigo 1


Member 207

Level 22.37

Mar 2006


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Old Jul 6, 2006, 11:31 AM Local time: Jul 6, 2006, 10:31 AM #2 of 8
Well, AGP really limits your choices now anyway. You may as well buy the top of the line AGP card, because chances are, it won't get replaced by a better one now. Everyone is moving towards a PCI-E interface.

Anyways, try the 7800 GS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130269

How ya doing, buddy?



Kalekkan
Chocobo


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Level 11.22

Mar 2006


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Old Jul 6, 2006, 11:35 AM #3 of 8
I'm not really looking for a specific answer on a particular card for my setup. I'm just curious of how people handle their video purchases in general. Do they buy the best everytime or do they see that as a waste? Maybe buying the best could be a good investment, maybe it might not be.

In my particular case, when I'm ready to upgrade (which won't be for a while still), I'll get a new motherboard, cpu, memory, hard drive, and video card... simply because my forms are starting to see the end of their life (regular ATA, AGP, DDR1, etc).

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TheReverend
Rising Above The Rest


Member 4709

Level 26.30

Apr 2006


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Old Jul 6, 2006, 01:16 PM Local time: Jul 6, 2006, 12:16 PM #4 of 8
I tend to buy the best when it is on its way out.

For instance, I purchased a x800xt-pe for $200US from Ati.com's refrubished section. This was at the time that x850XT's, and 6800GT's were available and all the rage. The card is nearly as good as it gets on the AGP platform, for $200 it was a steal.

Before that, I bought a Radeon 96000XT All-in-wonder used that awhile and upgraded to a 9800XT on another great deal about when the x800's were introduced.

I find that the best of the generation before the current one, is better then the mid-range of the current gen. For instance, my x800XT runs HL2 better then the x1600 on my MacBookPro. I know RAM and other things come into play, but they are both 256MB cards, and with similar settings, the x1600 gets <20fps and the x800XT gets 30-40fps. And I got my card for the same price as a x1600 is now, about 1_1/2 years ago.

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Domino
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Old Jul 6, 2006, 06:14 PM Local time: Jul 7, 2006, 12:14 AM #5 of 8
Radeon 9200 256MB £40 - This was my first graphics card. It was all I could afford at the time. I stuck with it for 18 months, until I decided that, with the rest of my PC, it was time for an upgrade.

GeForce 6600LE 256MB £75 - This was the next card I bought. Again it was all I could afford and it seemed to be a better card than my 9200. I enjoyed the improved graphics, and better gameplay for all of 6 weeks.
After these 6 weeks, I decided to throw caution to the wind and go all out for a newer, better graphics card after realising that this one wasn't all that good.

GeForce 7800GT 256MB (PCI-e) £230 - I bought the best I could. And my god, was it worth it. Much better than both previous cards put together. Had this card for a few months now, and can't see myself upgrading it anytime soon. Very happy with it.

For the first two cards I bought all that I could afford. But with the 7800GT I bought the best I could, mainly because I had more money coming in than I did when I bought the first two cards.

When it comes to my computer, I generally buy the best I can because I want my system to be good, and to be up-to-date and able to handle the latest games without struggling with them.

I was speaking idiomatically.
Stealth
Indigo 1


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Old Jul 6, 2006, 06:41 PM Local time: Jul 6, 2006, 05:41 PM #6 of 8
Originally Posted by Dayvon
I tend to buy the best when it is on its way out.

For instance, I purchased a x800xt-pe for $200US from Ati.com's refrubished section. This was at the time that x850XT's, and 6800GT's were available and all the rage. The card is nearly as good as it gets on the AGP platform, for $200 it was a steal.

Before that, I bought a Radeon 96000XT All-in-wonder used that awhile and upgraded to a 9800XT on another great deal about when the x800's were introduced.

I find that the best of the generation before the current one, is better then the mid-range of the current gen. For instance, my x800XT runs HL2 better then the x1600 on my MacBookPro. I know RAM and other things come into play, but they are both 256MB cards, and with similar settings, the x1600 gets <20fps and the x800XT gets 30-40fps. And I got my card for the same price as a x1600 is now, about 1_1/2 years ago.
You really can't compare desktop video cards, to laptop ones. They just aren't the same. A desktop X1600 will definately out perform a laptop one.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?



PUG1911
I expected someone like you. What did you expect?


Member 2001

Level 17.98

Mar 2006


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Old Jul 6, 2006, 09:44 PM #7 of 8
I determine what I 'need' out of a card. As in, will it have the features I want (DVI, etc.), does it have the support I want (nVidia vs. ATI vs. some crap that won't work), does it have the performance I want for games X, Y, and Z? Then I look at the best bangs for one's buck at the time.

Due to support (OSS drivers) issues, I'd prefer an nVidia card, so that's half the decision. Features aren't a concern for me at the moment, so that's one less thing to factor this round, so:

Right now, 7600GS is a good buy, so are entry level cards, so is the 7900GT and the 7600GT. When I look at the cards that'll be good enough for me it eliminates the 7600GS and other lesser cards, so I'm left with the 7600GT or 7900GT, I get the cheaper (if I'm in the market).

So basically, I get a 'best bang for the buck' part as long as it meets my criteria. I don't need the 'best', and I don't want to regret a purchase, so it eliminates the top end and the bottom end right away. This is the same approach I take for most of my computer/tech purchases.

FELIPE NO
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TheReverend
Rising Above The Rest


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Old Jul 6, 2006, 09:57 PM Local time: Jul 6, 2006, 08:57 PM #8 of 8
Originally Posted by Stealth
You really can't compare desktop video cards, to laptop ones. They just aren't the same. A desktop X1600 will definately out perform a laptop one.
You are totally right. I wasn't trying to make that comparison, only the comparison that my card still runs comparitively with the "average gamer" current gen card. I've seen reviews of x1600's and haven't ever seen one that beats my 2gen old card.

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:Currently Playing: League Of Legends(PC), Skyrim(PC), Golden Sun: Lost Age(GBA), Twilight Princess(Wii), Portal2(PC), Dragon Warrior II(NES), Metroid Prime 2: Echoes(GC)
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