I'm planning to buy a new desktop and I saw two that are reasonably priced. I just wondered which video card is better? I'm not much of a hardcore gamer even though I do play some every now and then. One has an ATI Radeon HD3850 card with 1024 MB, the other has nVidia GeForce GT120 1024 MB Both desktops use the same Intel Q8200 Core 2 Quad processors with 4096 MB RAM So what's better? And is 1024 MB always better than 512 MB? Or is it more complicated? Thanks.
Welcome to HWF The GT120 is actually the new name of the Geforce 9500GT. That's a terrible card. I'd suggest to get the Radeon. The amount of graphics memory is only important for some games, like GTA IV. But with most games, it'll be okay to have 512 MB - 786 MB of graphics memory.
i've got a radeon hd 4870 (from sapphire), and i have to say, i love it. i've had no problems with it other than a slight software conflict with vista x64. it laughs at the latest games' attempts to overwhelm it. one thing i would say though, is make sure you've got enough room in your case, cos that thing is huge!
Currently using a GTX 260 in my system right now along with a Q9400, and it runs games with no lags even Crysis. The HD 4870 is also a good choice for a video card and runs latest games without lags too.
I still got my doubts about that. Got that card myself. Can run Crysis at 1920x1200, with all settings to High. When I start using Very High, it starts to lag. The same with Far Cry 2 when using AA.
Sorry. I forgot to mention that the settings are only in high and there is no AA, and the resolution is 1440x900. Those are the setting I play in.
Nvidia's reputation has gone down dramatically because of their defective GPU's manufactured last year. ATI on the other hand boosted their ratings by introducing their more powerful GPUs to meet the demand's of new heavy PC games. I would go with the Radeon on this one. Your specs seem to be top notch when it comes to playing the latest games. So memory and frame rates should not be a problem for you.
