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GFx cards - which one??
Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2004 1:11 pm
by Mobius
I've settled on:
Athlon 64 3200+
Gigabyte NF3 250GB motherboard
2 x Corsair 512MB XMS PC4000
but for the life of me, I can't decide on a new graphics card. There seems to be great leaps in price, from Too Cheap to Too Bloody Expensive, and precious little in between. What I want is bang-per-buck and enough horsepower to play Doom 3 and HL2 without slowdowns and with eyecandy enabled.
I'll consider either manufacturer. X700 isn't available here yet, and I understand the vanilla 6800 isn't that impressive. So what'm I gonna get?
Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2004 3:14 pm
by Krom
Wait for a Nforce4 SLI chipset (soon, read reviews on anandtech) and get a PCIe 6600 GT. Later when you feel like a speed boost, get another PCIe 6600 GT and SLI them together.
Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2004 3:39 pm
by Mobius
Hmmm, that's a distinct possibility - but aren't these NF4 boards going to be pretty pricey? Plus, it may take months for them to reach NZ.
Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2004 4:48 pm
by Grendel
Do
NOT get a 6600 based card -- you need two of those to get into a single 6800 range..
*click* If you stay w/ AGP, get a 6800 GT -- preferable a
Gainward 2400 GS. If you act quickly you may get one of these
eVGA 6800 256mb Limited Edition cards -- it's a downgraded 6800 Ultra (!) card that couldn't do 425MHz core reliably but will run at 400+ just fine. Comes w/ dual DVI and large heatsink
Edit:
THG on nF4 PCIe
Edit2: sorry, looks like the LE cards are gone..
Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2004 6:53 pm
by Mobius
*sigh*
Vanilla 128MB 6800 = NZ$ 568.13
http://www.pricespy.co.nz/cat_16.html
Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2004 11:21 pm
by Capm
Hey Mobi, I just built a system on that motherboard, and used
THIS card. It screams! (NZ$533)
Oh, and don't even think about putting an ATI card in that nforce3 - you'll have problems.
Posted: Thu Oct 21, 2004 12:58 pm
by Mobius
CapM - where did you see that card for NZ$533???? o_O
Oh, you mean at current exchange rates?
Sorry, I'm not importing any parts for a PC. If they fail it's 3 months for a replacement to arrive. Just not worth the risk.
Best in NZ price for that is GeForce 6800 GT 256MB $789.00
Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2004 1:54 pm
by suicide eddie
how about one of these mobi?
http://tech-report.com/reviews/2004q3/g ... dex.x?pg=1
probably the best speced 6600 out there so far. we got four of these on order for the network, they seem the best value to play any games at a reasonable framerate that may come out in the next year. but they are still a bit rare on the hight street due to the majors grabbing them all for factory builds.
Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2004 6:21 pm
by Ferno
Don't think of using ATI with the nForce3? why not?
Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2004 9:49 am
by Thenior
Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2004 2:15 pm
by MD-2389
Newegg doesn't ship internationally.
Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2004 4:42 pm
by Mobius
Yeah - like I said - I won't import a GFx card. I've had to return two of them now, and they take 3 months to turn around - which sort of defeats the purpose. Plus, shipping from the USA is like profiteering prices.
In adjusted dollars, it costs 4 times to post from the USA as it does TO the USA.
Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2004 5:35 pm
by Bonz
Ferno wrote:Don't think of using ATI with the nForce3? why not?
Yeah I'm curious also, I have a 9800pro,
epox EP-8rda3+ nforce2 ultra mb and it works flawlessly. I know he's looking at an nforce 3 but I can't imagine their is too much difference in compatability.
Before giving someone advise on what not to buy you might want to make sure the advise you give is accurate
Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2004 3:52 am
by Admiral LSD
Isn't AGP handled internally by the AMD64 CPU itself now meaning the chipset has little, if anything to do with it?
Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2004 1:44 pm
by MD-2389
Mobius wrote:In adjusted dollars, it costs 4 times to post from the USA as it does TO the USA.
Actually, it only cost me $13 to ship a sound card to a buddy of mine in Auckland. (USPS) Amazingly, it got there long before it was ever supposed to.
Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2004 4:05 pm
by Mobius
Must have got some special rate man! When Testi returned a card to me it cost him $44 USD to post it!
Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2004 2:48 pm
by Mr. Perfect
Admiral LSD wrote:Isn't AGP handled internally by the AMD64 CPU itself now meaning the chipset has little, if anything to do with it?
Nope. The AMD64 handles memory, not AGP. Infact, about the only thing left for a traditional north bridge to do is the AGP(which is probably why Nvidia combined the north and south bridges).
Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2004 7:43 pm
by MD-2389
Mobius wrote:Must have got some special rate man! When Testi returned a card to me it cost him $44 USD to post it!
kinda pays to research before shipping
Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2004 10:19 pm
by Ferno
yea that's kinda what I figured the answer would be Capm.