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Graphics too much choice!!!

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by HumZilla, 15 Apr 2003.

  1. HumZilla

    HumZilla What's a Dremel?

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    Can someone provide info/comparisons between
    ATI's 9000, 9100, 9000 Pro, 9500, 9500 Pro, 9700, 9700 Pro and the
    Nvidia GF3 ti200/500, 4200, 4600?

    Which radeon card is closest to the Nvidia model ?

    There are so many cards, so many price points.
    64 mb / 128 mb ?

    Its totally bewildering.

    Which ones support dx 8/9 and how if they dont support 9 how does it affect the games u play?

    Which are the best value / futureproof cards to go for at the moment?

    :confused:
     
  2. Gretzky

    Gretzky What's a Dremel?

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    You should really only be thinking about ATI cards now. And the main ones are:

    ATI Radeon 9500pro/9700/9700pro/9800

    Depending on your budget.

    Best value for the money = 9500pro
     
  3. GT3_GOD

    GT3_GOD What's a Dremel?

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    GF3 ti 200 = Radeon 8500LE (DX8)
    GF3 vanilla = Radeon 8500 (DX8)
    GF4 MX440 = Radeon 9000/9100 (DX8)
    GF4 MX460 = Radeon 9000 Pro (DX8)
    GF4 Ti4200 = Radeon 9500 (DX8.1 vs DX9)
    GF4 Ti4400 = Radeon 9500 Pro (DX8.1 vs DX9)
    GF4 Ti4600 = Radeon 9700 (DX8.1 vs DX9)
    GF-FX 5800 Ultra = Radeon 9800 Pro (DX9)

    Roughly speaking. But the radeons are better cards to go for these days due to better IQ over nvidia cards, better driver support than they used to be and of course much more power than the equvilant nvidia card.

    Of course this could all change with the imminant release of the Nvidia NV35.
     
  4. HumZilla

    HumZilla What's a Dremel?

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    Thanks GT3_GOD, thats exactly what I was looking for!


    Now I just need to work out which Radeon cards can be overclocked.

    Can 9000 be oc'ed to 9500, 9500 to 9500 Pro?
     
  5. Bogomip

    Bogomip ... Yo Momma

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    9500 pro i believe can go to 9700, iand i am sur ei have heard somewhere that the 9700 can goto the 9800, but to be honest, even with a 9500 pro you arent gonna be lagging in anything soon, even doom 3 should run pretty well on that card un-oced!

    i would point you in the nvidia direction still though because of the amazing driver and tech support they give, there amazing people for that :) but as they say, the tides are changing and ATI are starting to power over nvidia! if only trhe got their driver support to the same standard they would own the GFX market :)
     
  6. jetsetjimbo

    jetsetjimbo Up-up and away

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    I stuck with nvidia for years but ATI have now taken the lead now IMO. I have a connect 3d 9500 (non pro), one of the earily ones tha soft mods to a 9700. But even without the mod the core will clock to pretty much 9800 speeds and the memory to 9700pro speeds.....

    You might even find a bargain on ebay (???) that'll soft mod to 9700?
     
  7. GT3_GOD

    GT3_GOD What's a Dremel?

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    Q.)Which ATI cards Are Softmoddable? And what to?

    A.)You have the following options with Radeon 9x00 Cards:



    Radeon 9500NP: - If you have a card on a 9700PCB, it can be modded into a 9700PRO(if your lucky) with catalysts 2.4 to 3.2, but can be modded into a semi-9800 with catalsyt 3.2's.
    However, if your unlucky and you get checkerboarding then you can still mod the card with the 9800 driver path (only Catalyst 3.2's)

    Radeon 9500PRO: - Cant be modded into a 9700 or a 9700PRO unfortunately, this is due to its NON 9700 PCB layout, both the memory and the power connector is in the wrong place. However, you can mod the 9800 driver path into your drivers, with the right wizzard patch.

    Radeon 9700NP: - With a BIOS flash (see below) you can overclock, or simply flash to card to a 9700PRO, and with the correct wizzard patch, you can initialize the 9800 driver path.

    Radeon 9700PRO: - As this is the current top of the line card, your only softmod options for this card are initialising the 9800 Driver path (as with the 9700NP)
     
  8. jetsetjimbo

    jetsetjimbo Up-up and away

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    GT3_GOD, can you explain the 9800 driver path (or link to somewhere that does). Will this further improve the performance of my softmodded 9500?
     
  9. GT3_GOD

    GT3_GOD What's a Dremel?

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    Simply enables the features that the cat 3.3 drivers will unlock with a 9800 Pro. Basically if u use the Cat 3.2s and the 9800 driver on a 9700 Pro you will have a 9800Pro with slightly lower clocks.
     
  10. MikeTitan

    MikeTitan Ling Ling: 273 Battle Points

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    One thing is the 8500 wouldn't it be The Geforce 3 ti-500??

    Anyone pretty good list.. tho i would rate the 9000 more towards
    the ti-4200 but good list... Ati still has bad drivers IMO but i like their cards.. frankly i could care less who is on top as long as i get good graphics.... :rock:
     
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