Looking for a video card

[ThePosterFormerlyKnownAs]

I got a new PC a few months back and put more into the mobo so I would be able to upgrade later. I got a 256MB Geforce 6600 (PCI-E) and have been very happy with it but the fan is starting to rattle and I'm thinking it might be the excuse I need to go ahead and upgrade.

I want a 512MB card that will be a significant improvement over the 6600 without going to one of the really expensive ones. I don't have a preference between ATI and Nvidia so either will be fine. Here's what I'm looking for:

PCI-E
512MB
Significant improvement over Geforce 6600
All for < $250

Thanks.

 

[WhirlwindMonk]

Honestly, any 512 MB card that you get for under $250 probably won't be worth the money. At that point, you're paying for the memory only and not the speed or pipelines, which can really hurt a card. When the 256's were newer, my friend bought one for $120, but because it only had 2 pipelines, my 128 card that cost me $150 whooped it easily. If you want a good video card that's going to show obvious improvement over a 6600, you're probably going to need to go higher than $250. Not much, maybe $300 or $350. I think I put $400 into my 7800 GTX 256 MB when it was new, and that thing is just amazing. But I really think that if you want a big performance boost, you're going to have to put out a decent amount of money.

 

[Los]

I'd agree with the previous post. An ATi X1900 or 7900GTX, though extreme and costly, will keep you on track with the current trend of games for a long time to come.

 

[micro]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102684
x800 gto 512mb $136.12/s&h. this is the next upgrade from yours.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150154
6800xt about $182

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102027
X1800gto2 about $245 before $30 rebate.

Some games out there that are very demanding will utilize the extra 256mb of ram on the card. Like bf2. If your vcard runs out of memory it utilises your system memory. So yes i would see an improvement going to a 512 mb vcard over a 256mb. If you have 2 gigs of ram you may not notise a difference with more vcard memory.

 

[ThePosterFormerlyKnownAs]

I only have 1GB of system ram right now but that is probably going to be my first project after a video card. I have two 512 sticks and will most likely get two 1GB sticks and hope 3GB will be all I need for the forseeable future. Then, maybe mid to late 2007 replace my 3500+ with a good FX processor. The 939 prices should really be down (I hope) by then.

 

[WhirlwindMonk]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102684
x800 gto 512mb $136.12/s&h. this is the next upgrade from yours.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150154
6800xt about $182

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102027
X1800gto2 about $245 before $30 rebate.

Some games out there that are very demanding will utilize the extra 256mb of ram on the card. Like bf2. If your vcard runs out of memory it utilises your system memory. So yes i would see an improvement going to a 512 mb vcard over a 256mb. If you have 2 gigs of ram you may not notise a difference with more vcard memory.

An improvement, yes, but how significant? I just don't see there being a big difference going from what he has now to the x800 or 6800 XT. The X1800 probably will show a decent amount of improvement.

 

[TheGreatGobi]

An improvement, yes, but how significant? I just don't see there being a big difference going from what he has now to the x800 or 6800 XT. The X1800 probably will show a decent amount of improvement.

T

Directx 10 will be amazing I would just wait for it if I were you.

 

[TheGreatGobi]

http://www.istartedsomething.com/20060817/directx10-fabulous/

Plus when Direct X 10 cards come out it will probably knock down the price of the current cards.

 

[Dracil]

I'd agree, now is not really a good time to upgrade. Should be doing the upgrade after 1 year.