I will say that the 8.10 beta is a huge improvement on the 8.9 driver. It's allowed me to play Crysis Warhead (like, at all) and the fan speed control is handier than doing it manually in the config files. 100% fan speed is scarily noisy! Didn't know a graphics card could be that loud!
Looking forward to the finished driver.
That's just awesome. I hope they release it soon. I'm doing kinda fine with 8.9 on my 4850, but any improvements are great. Not to mention that a working Fan control will be pretty useful.
BTW, ATI CAN count.... 8.9 doesn't mean eight and 9 tenths, it means 2008, 9th month (September), just as 8.10 means 2008, 10th month (October). Maybe they should write it as 8-9 and 8-10, i don't know, but at least it makes sense.
Agreed, it would be fantastic if Crysis warhead peroformance went up. I'm 100% sure my ancient X2 4400+ is bottlenecking it, but it's not even really playable to me at 12x10.
Define playable, and on what settings. I can do medium on a 3800+..
I will say that the 8.10 beta is a huge improvement on the 8.9 driver. It's allowed me to play Crysis Warhead (like, at all) and the fan speed control is handier than doing it manually in the config files. 100% fan speed is scarily noisy! Didn't know a graphics card could be that loud!
Looking forward to the finished driver.
That's just awesome. I hope they release it soon. I'm doing kinda fine with 8.9 on my 4850, but any improvements are great. Not to mention that a working Fan control will be pretty useful.
BTW, ATI CAN count.... 8.9 doesn't mean eight and 9 tenths, it means 2008, 9th month (September), just as 8.10 means 2008, 10th month (October). Maybe they should write it as 8-9 and 8-10, i don't know, but at least it makes sense.
Agreed, it would be fantastic if Crysis warhead peroformance went up. I'm 100% sure my ancient X2 4400+ is bottlenecking it, but it's not even really playable to me at 12x10.
Define playable, and on what settings. I can do medium on a 3800+..
As in, choppy as fuck on "mainstream" or whatever that means.
I want to upgrade my 4870 drivers to the newest. Should I uninstall everything through the Catalyst uninstaller and then install the brand new drivers and catalyst suite? I heard installing over old drivers could cause problems.
So... I still haven't bought a new card. Right now, I'm mainly worried about my power supply.
I believe I'm running a 500w Antec currently. From what I'm seeing, the cards recommend a minimum 450w. Will I be cutting this too close for comfort?
People overspec PSUs way too much. What model have you got? If it's the one in the Sonata III (Earthwatts 500, EA-500W) then you're good for up to a 9800GT or HD4850. A 9800GTX or HD4870 would be cutting it too close IMO, and anything above that (GTX series, X2 cards) is out of the question.
PeregrineFalcon on
Looking for a DX:HR OnLive code for my kid brother.
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
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AxenMy avatar is Excalibur.Yes, the sword.Registered Userregular
edited October 2008
My current video card has crapped out on me and I need a quick replacement. I can spend around $150-$200 at the moment. Whats the best bang for my buck?
Axen on
A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
So... I still haven't bought a new card. Right now, I'm mainly worried about my power supply.
I believe I'm running a 500w Antec currently. From what I'm seeing, the cards recommend a minimum 450w. Will I be cutting this too close for comfort?
People overspec PSUs way too much. What model have you got? If it's the one in the Sonata III (Earthwatts 500, EA-500W) then you're good for up to a 9800GT or HD4850. A 9800GTX or HD4870 would be cutting it too close IMO, and anything above that (GTX series, X2 cards) is out of the question.
Yeah, its the Sonata III PSU. I'm trying to decide between the 4850 and 9800GTX(G92). Leaning towards the 4850 for case size.
This just in, ATI further fucks with product lines. TL;DR on the latest model:
ATI Radeon HD 4830
MSRP US$130
Core config: 640/32/16
575MHz core, 1800MHz GDDR3 (256-bit, 512MB)
55nm, single PCIe power plug, 25-30W less power than 4850
Positioned between the 9800GT and 9800GTX+
PeregrineFalcon on
Looking for a DX:HR OnLive code for my kid brother.
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
I want to upgrade my 4870 drivers to the newest. Should I uninstall everything through the Catalyst uninstaller and then install the brand new drivers and catalyst suite? I heard installing over old drivers could cause problems.
I've been just running the ATI complete installer, it uninstalls the old then installs the new driver.
Never had trouble.
Of course, this is nowadays. a few years ago, new video drivers meant all kinds of shit.
Why does anyone buy the 9800GTX+ when you can save a bunch of money and overclock the 9800GTX, i have mine running smooth on its stock cooler now for a few months, OC'd 760mhz clock and i cant remember what i clocked the shader to...i didnt overclock the memory at all because that has a high chance of screwing things up. Had to increase my fan speed a bit but the card is running smooth as silk and i can run anything i play on pretty much its highest settings. The card cost me $190 Canadian.
I just dont see those 9800GTX Oc'd and GTX+ cards being worth their money in any sense.
Why does anyone buy the 9800GTX+ when you can save a bunch of money and overclock the 9800GTX, i have mine running smooth on its stock cooler now for a few months, OC'd 760mhz clock and i cant remember what i clocked the shader to...i didnt overclock the memory at all because that has a high chance of screwing things up. Had to increase my fan speed a bit but the card is running smooth as silk and i can run anything i play on pretty much its highest settings. The card cost me $190 Canadian.
I just dont see those 9800GTX Oc'd and GTX+ cards being worth their money in any sense.
The question needs to be why does anyone buy nvidia cards at the moment instead of ATI.
There is a big fucking question mark over nvidia cards at the moment, nvidia fucked up big time with their manufacturing process and pretty much their entire line ended up using a shitty process massively reducing the lifespan of nvidia chips. (see here and all the links)
Right now it's a lottery with nvidia chips and you won't really know whether you've won or lost that lottery until a year or two down the line.
I'm just thankful that the 4870 came out when it did because I was originally going to buy an nvidia card.
GrimReaper on
PSN | Steam
---
I've got a spare copy of Portal, if anyone wants it message me.
Why does anyone buy the 9800GTX+ when you can save a bunch of money and overclock the 9800GTX, i have mine running smooth on its stock cooler now for a few months, OC'd 760mhz clock and i cant remember what i clocked the shader to...i didnt overclock the memory at all because that has a high chance of screwing things up. Had to increase my fan speed a bit but the card is running smooth as silk and i can run anything i play on pretty much its highest settings. The card cost me $190 Canadian.
I just dont see those 9800GTX Oc'd and GTX+ cards being worth their money in any sense.
I have an 8800GTS G92 that can do 810/2000/2300 stable with an Accelero S1 cooling it. So my question to you is why does anyone buy the 9800GTX line if they aren't doing tri sli?
Why does anyone buy the 9800GTX+ when you can save a bunch of money and overclock the 9800GTX, i have mine running smooth on its stock cooler now for a few months, OC'd 760mhz clock and i cant remember what i clocked the shader to...i didnt overclock the memory at all because that has a high chance of screwing things up. Had to increase my fan speed a bit but the card is running smooth as silk and i can run anything i play on pretty much its highest settings. The card cost me $190 Canadian.
I just dont see those 9800GTX Oc'd and GTX+ cards being worth their money in any sense.
Because the vanilla 9800GTX was phased out?
Because the 9800GTX+ is fabbed on a smaller process, thus making less heat?
Because there were rebates out the ass for the 9800GTX+ recently?
PeregrineFalcon on
Looking for a DX:HR OnLive code for my kid brother.
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
Having just ordered this monitor, I'm beginning to think that it might be time for my EVGA 320mb 8800 GTS to be put out to pasture. If I were looking to stick with nvidia cards, what would be the most sensible upgrade for running stuff like pretty pretty Far Cry 2 on 1920 x 1080? £200 would be right up there at the limit.
Or am I underestimating the GTS currently toiling away in there?
You'll need to uninstall all of your drivers. I have done this several times. Going from a 965P to a 680i and then to a P35. I just got rid of all my drivers and when Windows booted up after the switch it would come up with all the newly found hardware. Just run your driver disc and you should be okay.
You'll need to uninstall all of your drivers. I have done this several times. Going from a 965P to a 680i and then to a P35. I just got rid of all my drivers and when Windows booted up after the switch it would come up with all the newly found hardware. Just run your driver disc and you should be okay.
Okay wait, how am I suppose to do all of this. I am thinking I will just do it like this.
Put computer together but with only bare minimums. Meaning CPU, Ram, Harddrive, and DvD drive. Then uninstall as much fucking drivers as I can from the Programs page from windows. And then download straight from the internet all of the current drivers for all of the hardware. For the Sound card, for the graphics card, etc. and just plug them in and install drivers one by one.
I have tried to keep my current vista install as clean and tidy as possible, but this drivers BS may make me want to reformat all my shit and truly start fresh.
I'm sitting on a pretty old PC here, 5-6 years old. I decided that when I finish college and get a real job I'm gonna spend some real money on a good, fast gaming PC. Unfortunately that's almost 2 years from now.
Here in the present, my PC's primary flaw is the video card. I upgraded the CPU a few years back to a 3.2 GHz. Christmas is coming soon, and the parents want some ideas. I know I'm asking for another gig of RAM to put me at 2G, but I really need a new video card too (currently I've got a Radeon 9600.) My motherboard's an ASUS P4P800 Deluxe, and I'm not sure what kind of card I should buy. I just want something that'll meet the minimum specs for the next 2 years of games. I see you guys recommending the 8800GT but I don't know if that will even fit in my motherboard. How can I tell if my motherboard is compatible with a given card?
Why does anyone buy the 9800GTX+ when you can save a bunch of money and overclock the 9800GTX, i have mine running smooth on its stock cooler now for a few months, OC'd 760mhz clock and i cant remember what i clocked the shader to...i didnt overclock the memory at all because that has a high chance of screwing things up. Had to increase my fan speed a bit but the card is running smooth as silk and i can run anything i play on pretty much its highest settings. The card cost me $190 Canadian.
I just dont see those 9800GTX Oc'd and GTX+ cards being worth their money in any sense.
I have an 8800GTS G92 that can do 810/2000/2300 stable with an Accelero S1 cooling it. So my question to you is why does anyone buy the 9800GTX line if they aren't doing tri sli?
I have it OC'd to this on STOCK cooling. And i got the card for cheap and when it very first came out it was a good deal. I am planning to switch to ATI though once i have the $$ to do so, i want to get the 4870X2 but its going to take a bit of saving up to do so.
On another note i have read about people clocking to similar clocks that you have there on stock cooling, but i didn't feel the need to risk it. My point was why anyone bothers buying those out of the box OC'd cards at all it just seems like a waste of money to me and a bunch of PR bullshit to sell what is essentially the same card with a different sticker on the cooler for a lot more money.
I'm sitting on a pretty old PC here, 5-6 years old. I decided that when I finish college and get a real job I'm gonna spend some real money on a good, fast gaming PC. Unfortunately that's almost 2 years from now.
Here in the present, my PC's primary flaw is the video card. I upgraded the CPU a few years back to a 3.2 GHz. Christmas is coming soon, and the parents want some ideas. I know I'm asking for another gig of RAM to put me at 2G, but I really need a new video card too (currently I've got a Radeon 9600.) My motherboard's an ASUS P4P800 Deluxe, and I'm not sure what kind of card I should buy. I just want something that'll meet the minimum specs for the next 2 years of games. I see you guys recommending the 8800GT but I don't know if that will even fit in my motherboard. How can I tell if my motherboard is compatible with a given card?
You wont be able to use an 8800 as its a PCI-E card and i doubt a 5-6 year old computer has a PCI-E slot, more than likely you have an AGP 8x slot. I think you can get an 8600GT in AGP form...i think i saw that somewhere, which would probably be the best AGP card you could possibly get. On my old AGP system i sold to me friend for like $150 it had an ATI Radeon X1650 XTX in it and it did pretty well for itself, ran WoW flawlessly, as well as Fable Lost Chapters...ran FEAR as well. That PC was the same as the one you are describing other than it has a 2.6ghz AMD Athalon i believe. Oh and another decent AGP card is the 7800GS i believe that is in AGP form as well.
EDIT: Ok it also looks like theres a Powercolor Radeon HD3850 in AGP form, and that is a very good card, i didn't realize it came in AGP. This is probably the prices you will be looking at when buying.
Why does anyone buy the 9800GTX+ when you can save a bunch of money and overclock the 9800GTX, i have mine running smooth on its stock cooler now for a few months, OC'd 760mhz clock and i cant remember what i clocked the shader to...i didnt overclock the memory at all because that has a high chance of screwing things up. Had to increase my fan speed a bit but the card is running smooth as silk and i can run anything i play on pretty much its highest settings. The card cost me $190 Canadian.
I just dont see those 9800GTX Oc'd and GTX+ cards being worth their money in any sense.
I have an 8800GTS G92 that can do 810/2000/2300 stable with an Accelero S1 cooling it. So my question to you is why does anyone buy the 9800GTX line if they aren't doing tri sli?
I have it OC'd to this on STOCK cooling. And i got the card for cheap and when it very first came out it was a good deal. I am planning to switch to ATI though once i have the $$ to do so, i want to get the 4870X2 but its going to take a bit of saving up to do so.
On another note i have read about people clocking to similar clocks that you have there on stock cooling, but i didn't feel the need to risk it. My point was why anyone bothers buying those out of the box OC'd cards at all it just seems like a waste of money to me and a bunch of PR bullshit to sell what is essentially the same card with a different sticker on the cooler for a lot more money.
Sometimes an OC'd card may come with better memory or higher binned GPU. It's not a guaranteed thing though. If you have an Nvidia card (don't know about ATI warranties) from companies like Evga and XFX you can overclock any card to your hearts content. Their warranties cover OC'ing. They don't as far as I know anything like heatsinks and volt mods. The factory overclocked cards are honestly a bit of a waste knowing that you can overclock from those companies without harming your warranty. So your point about it being bullshit is pretty much on point.
I can reach the clocks on my card with the stock heatsink. It's just when I run benchmarks for Crysis with a lot of loops it can get toasty. FurMark will gets it up there quickly too if overclocked like that. It locked my computer up after 30 seconds before I changes the heatsink and fan. Now it runs much longer and is more stable. When I run benchmarks with my processor at 3.76 ghz I basically negated any bottlenecks. So increasing my cpu speed gave me no gains in benchmarks and games. That's the reason I run it that high.
A refurbished 8800GTS from eVga is only running around $100. My brother has had one for several weeks and it does very well. I figure I might buy another one for my self so I can run SLI. I'm just debating if going back to this pain in the neck 680i A1 is worth the trouble over upgrading to a GTX260 or 4870.
I've seen it as low as 109 cdn, but that is after a rebate of like 30 bucks. Thats a bit over but your right it is really good to. I've seen the 8800gt for 109 without a rebate though so yeah it's personal preference at that point. I agree though I would go for a 9800gt
Posts
Define playable, and on what settings. I can do medium on a 3800+..
As in, choppy as fuck on "mainstream" or whatever that means.
Crysis:
8600: 1280x1024 At all medium settings : 24-35 FPS
260: 1920x1200 All high settings : 30-38 FPS
So nice.
Jack it up to Very High.
I want to upgrade my 4870 drivers to the newest. Should I uninstall everything through the Catalyst uninstaller and then install the brand new drivers and catalyst suite? I heard installing over old drivers could cause problems.
I believe I'm running a 500w Antec currently. From what I'm seeing, the cards recommend a minimum 450w. Will I be cutting this too close for comfort?
3ds friend code: 2981-6032-4118
People overspec PSUs way too much. What model have you got? If it's the one in the Sonata III (Earthwatts 500, EA-500W) then you're good for up to a 9800GT or HD4850. A 9800GTX or HD4870 would be cutting it too close IMO, and anything above that (GTX series, X2 cards) is out of the question.
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
Yeah, its the Sonata III PSU. I'm trying to decide between the 4850 and 9800GTX(G92). Leaning towards the 4850 for case size.
3ds friend code: 2981-6032-4118
ATI Radeon HD 4830
MSRP US$130
Core config: 640/32/16
575MHz core, 1800MHz GDDR3 (256-bit, 512MB)
55nm, single PCIe power plug, 25-30W less power than 4850
Positioned between the 9800GT and 9800GTX+
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
I've been just running the ATI complete installer, it uninstalls the old then installs the new driver.
Never had trouble.
Of course, this is nowadays. a few years ago, new video drivers meant all kinds of shit.
So excited.
3ds friend code: 2981-6032-4118
I just dont see those 9800GTX Oc'd and GTX+ cards being worth their money in any sense.
The question needs to be why does anyone buy nvidia cards at the moment instead of ATI.
There is a big fucking question mark over nvidia cards at the moment, nvidia fucked up big time with their manufacturing process and pretty much their entire line ended up using a shitty process massively reducing the lifespan of nvidia chips. (see here and all the links)
Right now it's a lottery with nvidia chips and you won't really know whether you've won or lost that lottery until a year or two down the line.
I'm just thankful that the 4870 came out when it did because I was originally going to buy an nvidia card.
---
I've got a spare copy of Portal, if anyone wants it message me.
I have an 8800GTS G92 that can do 810/2000/2300 stable with an Accelero S1 cooling it. So my question to you is why does anyone buy the 9800GTX line if they aren't doing tri sli?
Because the vanilla 9800GTX was phased out?
Because the 9800GTX+ is fabbed on a smaller process, thus making less heat?
Because there were rebates out the ass for the 9800GTX+ recently?
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
Or am I underestimating the GTS currently toiling away in there?
Though I don't know why you would go nvidia right now, the 4870 is a damn steal.
3ds friend code: 2981-6032-4118
What about the 260? Comparable?
I am keeping the same HD from my previous computer and basically plugging it into the new one.
What's the best way to ensure shit doesn't implode?
Okay wait, how am I suppose to do all of this. I am thinking I will just do it like this.
Put computer together but with only bare minimums. Meaning CPU, Ram, Harddrive, and DvD drive. Then uninstall as much fucking drivers as I can from the Programs page from windows. And then download straight from the internet all of the current drivers for all of the hardware. For the Sound card, for the graphics card, etc. and just plug them in and install drivers one by one.
I have tried to keep my current vista install as clean and tidy as possible, but this drivers BS may make me want to reformat all my shit and truly start fresh.
You can try that, but in my experience if you transfer windows to a new motherboard without reformatting it gets all confused.
I'm sitting on a pretty old PC here, 5-6 years old. I decided that when I finish college and get a real job I'm gonna spend some real money on a good, fast gaming PC. Unfortunately that's almost 2 years from now.
Here in the present, my PC's primary flaw is the video card. I upgraded the CPU a few years back to a 3.2 GHz. Christmas is coming soon, and the parents want some ideas. I know I'm asking for another gig of RAM to put me at 2G, but I really need a new video card too (currently I've got a Radeon 9600.) My motherboard's an ASUS P4P800 Deluxe, and I'm not sure what kind of card I should buy. I just want something that'll meet the minimum specs for the next 2 years of games. I see you guys recommending the 8800GT but I don't know if that will even fit in my motherboard. How can I tell if my motherboard is compatible with a given card?
I have it OC'd to this on STOCK cooling. And i got the card for cheap and when it very first came out it was a good deal. I am planning to switch to ATI though once i have the $$ to do so, i want to get the 4870X2 but its going to take a bit of saving up to do so.
On another note i have read about people clocking to similar clocks that you have there on stock cooling, but i didn't feel the need to risk it. My point was why anyone bothers buying those out of the box OC'd cards at all it just seems like a waste of money to me and a bunch of PR bullshit to sell what is essentially the same card with a different sticker on the cooler for a lot more money.
You wont be able to use an 8800 as its a PCI-E card and i doubt a 5-6 year old computer has a PCI-E slot, more than likely you have an AGP 8x slot. I think you can get an 8600GT in AGP form...i think i saw that somewhere, which would probably be the best AGP card you could possibly get. On my old AGP system i sold to me friend for like $150 it had an ATI Radeon X1650 XTX in it and it did pretty well for itself, ran WoW flawlessly, as well as Fable Lost Chapters...ran FEAR as well. That PC was the same as the one you are describing other than it has a 2.6ghz AMD Athalon i believe. Oh and another decent AGP card is the 7800GS i believe that is in AGP form as well.
EDIT: Ok it also looks like theres a Powercolor Radeon HD3850 in AGP form, and that is a very good card, i didn't realize it came in AGP. This is probably the prices you will be looking at when buying.
Or if you wanted to go even cheaper but still modern there is the 3650.
Sometimes an OC'd card may come with better memory or higher binned GPU. It's not a guaranteed thing though. If you have an Nvidia card (don't know about ATI warranties) from companies like Evga and XFX you can overclock any card to your hearts content. Their warranties cover OC'ing. They don't as far as I know anything like heatsinks and volt mods. The factory overclocked cards are honestly a bit of a waste knowing that you can overclock from those companies without harming your warranty. So your point about it being bullshit is pretty much on point.
I can reach the clocks on my card with the stock heatsink. It's just when I run benchmarks for Crysis with a lot of loops it can get toasty. FurMark will gets it up there quickly too if overclocked like that. It locked my computer up after 30 seconds before I changes the heatsink and fan. Now it runs much longer and is more stable. When I run benchmarks with my processor at 3.76 ghz I basically negated any bottlenecks. So increasing my cpu speed gave me no gains in benchmarks and games. That's the reason I run it that high.
A refurbished 8800GTS from eVga is only running around $100. My brother has had one for several weeks and it does very well. I figure I might buy another one for my self so I can run SLI. I'm just debating if going back to this pain in the neck 680i A1 is worth the trouble over upgrading to a GTX260 or 4870.
I looked at the OP already, but it's a few months out of date and I don't know if that matters.
You mess with the dolphin, you get the nose.
yup, excellent card for that amount of money
You mess with the dolphin, you get the nose.
I've seen it as low as 109 cdn, but that is after a rebate of like 30 bucks. Thats a bit over but your right it is really good to. I've seen the 8800gt for 109 without a rebate though so yeah it's personal preference at that point. I agree though I would go for a 9800gt