Video Confusion - Fury-Tech Forums

Yayhon · #1 (**permalink**) 05-31-2003, 05:47 PM

Okay heres a silly question. I'm drooling over new computers, and I'm confused about video cards. The BFG Nvidia Geforce FX 5600 has 256MB on it yet is $200 less than the radeon 9800 pro with 128. Now I've always assumed that despite whatever various crazy features a company advertises, vram is really what counts most. If I got the FX card would I be screwing myself? What am I missing here? I totally dont get whats going on with these new cards.

**Tekime** · #2 (**permalink**) 05-31-2003, 06:32 PM

Well, the amount of RAM on a card only means so much. Video cards have advanced a SHITLOAD since the old Voodoos and Rage cards. Now we have to take into account memory bandwidth, clock cycles, pixel shaders, etc...

Even worse, when dealing with NVidia cards we come across anomolies like the geForce4 and now FX series. When GF4 came out they moved the entire line of cards to GF4, meaning everything from their $80 budget card to their $350 screamer were labelled GeForce4. The GF4 MX cards have about the same power as a floundering GeForce2 for example, while the GF4 Ti-4600 in its day was the shit.

Depending on your budget right now, ATI is probably the way to go. Unless you have $500 for their newest card, of course. The ATI Radeon 9500 Pro is a good buy. It's at or under $200, it can handle high details/high res fairly well and it will play any game you have now, as well as many to come. The OEM is a little cheaper but has a lower memory clock speed, the retail version is a little bit more but has a higher memory clock speed.

How much are you looking at spending? Are you planning on sinking some hardcore cash into a video card to prepare for the next wave of DX9 games, or just looking for something to kick some butt and play D3 and HL2 when their out?

Yayhon · #3 (**permalink**) 05-31-2003, 09:20 PM

Hl2 is my primary concern at this point. I want to buy something that will last me the next few years, and whomp ass for a few months or so. I'm looking at approx $1500-$2000 total for the box, and I'm willing to use my current monitor for the time being until I can afford a new one. I'd like to get the best video card I can, though 500 is steep. I know theres usually a "budget cutting edge" card they put out that does essentially the same thing but maybe not clocked as high. I guess I need to research the market a little, but thats why I'm asking here cuz you're the dude who would know.

Yayhon · #4 (**permalink**) 05-31-2003, 10:01 PM

okay so I've been looking around a bit and it looks like the two major contenders are the radeon 9800 pro and the fx 5900. If both are similarly priced I think I'm leaning towards the FX. By the time I'm all saved up it should be out. Are there any performance comparisons using in-game tests?

**Tekime** · #5 (**permalink**) 06-02-2003, 08:36 PM

It's hard to tell which card is the clear winner (FX 5900 or Radeon 9800 Pro). From what I've read the 5900 actually whoops the 9800 in a number of benchmarks, but the 9800 still holds its own.

On the other hand, both of these cards are (at least partially) designed with DirectX 9 support, which games aren't using yet for the most part. Doom 3 is based on OpenGL, the DirectX counterpart, although I think it's somehow implemented through DX9. (For the record, NVidia handles OpenGL a little better, atleast in the past). At any rate, with heavy use of DX9 a little far away, it's hard to say.

HL2 is compatible with DirectX 6, with DirectX 9 features enabled with the proper card, IIRC. The 5900 is faster in D3, but either card starts to choke in really high detail/res situations.

Here's a few links:

http://www.vr-zone.com/reviews/NVIDIA/FX5900U/
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/...1075362,00.asp
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1078540,00.asp
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,110692,00.asp

Yayhon · #6 (**permalink**) 06-02-2003, 09:51 PM

Awesome thanks for the articles. It looks like the 5900 has a slight edge, and theyre all saying it will probably broaden a bit in the D3/HL2 generation. Since thats what I'm buying for, I'll probably go with NVidia. (If I ever save up enough)

**Tekime** · #7 (**permalink**) 06-02-2003, 10:12 PM

Np, I think you'll be pretty happy with the purhcase. Either one of those cards is going to rock the hell out of anything else around

One reason I like NVidia a bit better is the driver support... I guess ATI has improved some recently, but if you want Linux support I think you're SOL with ATI. And the NVidia driver package is pretty easy to deal with.

$1500-$2000 will get you a very nice box, 19" monitor included. If you are spending this much on the video card, get a nice monitor too it will be well worth it!

Yayhon · #8 (**permalink**) 06-02-2003, 10:24 PM

I know damn little about monitors. What are good attributes to look for? How about brands?

**Tekime** · #9 (**permalink**) 06-02-2003, 10:51 PM

To be totally honest I'm not much of a monitor guru, I'm only using a 19" AOC (<$200). But I do know tha Sony makes a very nice CRT. Look for a monitor that can do high resolution (1600x200+) at at least 85Hz. Refresh rate is important (that's the Hz or hertz rating). Low refresh rate like 60-70Hz give that flickering, damn my eyes are getting sore, not very impressive look while 85Hz it very nice, anything above is for serious videophiles or crazy people.

Also some monitors can do 85Hz but not an inch more. This means 85Hz at high res is pushing the monitor to its max, which reduces it's brightness and tube life over time.

For about $300 you can get a very nice looking Sony 19" that can handle high res at very comfortable refresh rates with awesome colors and crispiness. For <$200 you can get a 19" that'll handle okay refresh rate at not bad res but will degrade marginally over a few years and have less-than optimal color depth and crispiness.

I would suggest you go to like Best Buy, Circuit City, etc. and check them out yourself. See what they look like and how they handle different res at different refresh (but dont set them too high on purpose or it can damage the monitor, best buy probably wouldn't like that

Just try their rated maxes). Your eye might have different taste than the next guys, and picking a sweet monitor will make your experience that much nicer.

-Mantra- · #10 (**permalink**) 06-28-2003, 10:40 AM

i got into this one a little late, but....

yahon, i would recommend staying away from the 5600. before i made my final purchase, i went to best buy and bought a few video cards just to do some testing. i was super super dissapointed with that 256meg 5600. it did okay, but for a few bucks more online you could get one of the cards tekime mentioned and be further ahead. it looks like you are leaning towards the other cards anyway, but i just wanted to let you know my experiance.