vid card under $200

[hoodiejuggalo]

Yo all, I finally have gotten the chance to upgrade my video card, the only catch is that its gotta be $200 or under. I've been looking at the Gainward 5700 Ultra card and was wondering if it's any good?? Or is there something better?

[texuspete00]

9800 pro is a lot better than that. Probably the best card you are gonna get for $200 right now. The 6600GT doesnt look like its gonna be better either. I think they will be bridging them over to AGP parts but might not matter perhaps because it's the 128bit mem that slows it down.

[craig588]

Yeah, get a 9800. Don't bother with the pro, my NP had the same ram chips as my pro, and acctually clocked higher once it was volt modded to the same levels as the 9800pro was. The only difference between the pro and NP seems to be the voltage applied and the timings set. Just make sure you don't get one with infinion ram chips. The samsung 3.3NS chips and 2.86NS chips are based on the same proccess with different voltages applied, so even if you get stuck with lower rated ones, the voltage boost should be enough to bring them to the same level as the 2.86NS ones.

[onethreehill]

6600 GT beat the 5950 Ultra and the 9800 XT in most benchmarks.

[jjcom]

I would either wait for a 6600GT or if you want an Nividia 5900XT. Altho I would probly have gotten a 9800 pro if I knew how much it was going to cost...o'well...seems like there was a price drop right after I bought my computer parts :(

[onethreehill]

ATI drops price of X700XT to $199

Now this GC is within your budget

[saaya]

wait for the new cards ;)

[hoodiejuggalo]

How much of a difference is 128 or 256 bit cards going to make in the future?

[hoodiejuggalo]

Times have changed in a few days and I now can afford a 6800, only two problems: 1. it has to be under $300 2. i can't seem to find many reviews for them, like the Albatron, Prolink, etc. So I'm again turning to my good friends at Xtreme to hook me up with the great information you all provide on the daily. SO, with that said, which should I buy?! BTW, it will be used primarley for Doom 3 and Far Cry, if that helps any. Thanks again erybuddy!

[jjcom]

wait for the 6600GT. Its about that same as 6800 (not Ultra, not GT). plus it should cost less

[hoodiejuggalo]

Any idea on when it'll be released by?

[jjcom]

I'm not sure...might be October. and I think thats for PCI-E I don't think theres a release date for AGP..it just when the compines get around to making it

[hoodiejuggalo]

I wish I could wait, but I'm just too excited to get rid of this 5200. Hows the Gainward 6800 look, or the BFG 6800 oc? Those are the two I've been looking at most as they have, what appears to be, decent cooling. Any suggestions? Oh yeah, is there anyway to flash it to the GT or U bios and get the other 4 pipes, or were they cut completely?

[jjcom]

go for a leadtek one...I saw the review on tomshardware and they looked nice. I'm NOT sure about the pricing on them tho.

[hoodiejuggalo]

Well it's come down to either the BFG or eVGA, mainly because I'm little low on funds once I buy a card and either one comes with FarCry. So what do ya think?

[jjcom]

eVGA normally seems cheaper....and they have good cards so I would go with them.

[hoodiejuggalo]

After careful consideration, I figured getting a graphics card based on the game it comes with is not the best idea. So, thanks JJ, I'm going with the Leadtek, looks nice and I can't wait!

[jjcom]

let us know how the overclocking goes! Those things have huge copper coolers on the side that take up two slots. Shouldn't even need to replace it :D. Unless your going to use water or something else. Should turn on very nice overclocks.

[hoodiejuggalo]

Back! Sorry it's been a while, but I just had some things to take care of. Anywho, when I went to Best Buy the other day, man, I just couldn't resist, so I went ahead and bought the BFG 6800 OC. So far I'm quite pleased, haven't had the chance to overclock or run any benchmarks, however I have had the privilage of unmasking the pipes! :D I know people have been doing it all over, but I was surprised none the less. It's great, no artifacts or nothin', Doom's runnin' great as well! Just got Far Cry to work too. So what do you guys think I should be getting score wise in benchys?

EDIT: Ran Aquamark3, got 53,000. First time ever running AM3 so I'm not sure if that's a good score or not? A little help?

[jjcom]

what was the price? Normally Best Buy's not always the best buy...anyway...They normally have higher prices on vid cards and RAM.

[hoodiejuggalo]

Unfortuniatly you're right, Best Buy isn't always the best buy. But dang, I couldn't help myself! :rolleyes: It was $299, so only $20-30 bucks over Newegg's offers. I'm sure though if I put some better cooling on the card I'd get some decent results for my money. Least I hope!

[jjcom]

yeah o'well...Best Buy sometimes ain't too bad. Altho I don't think I've been there in awhile so they might of changed.

[Massive]

For under $200 9800PRO would still be the best choice...go find the one with the R360core and hynix 2.5ns memory..you'll save a lot by flashing them to 9800XT...