Hello i just moved a couple days ago to a city so i went around looking for computer stores and i did find one thats sells pretty cheap So i started looking a vid cards and i saw one for $99 CAD but im not sure about teh card so that is why i am here before i make a purchase. The video card is a Gigabyte Radeon 9600 pro 256 mb so please someone tell me if i should go for it or not thank you
well, what are you wanting to play?, are you wanting to play the latest stuff on full settings? the 9600pro only has 4 pixel pipeliness.
yeah um i mainly play Half Life so yeah i would like the have the settings cranked upto the max. so you are saying this card would not do that for me because right now i have the g force 4 mx 440 lol
no, the 9600pro would not do if you are wanting tottaly max settings, i would reccomend somthing like a 9800xt or nvidia 6600gt, but they cost more than a 9600pro so i dont know if you could go thats far. oh, maybe on half life, sorry i was thinking of half life 2, i am not sure, i have never played half life, exept on the ps2 and the graphics dont seen that good, so it possibly will be ok, but if your wanting to play games like doom 3 on max, then on it wont, and also, if your wanting to buy new games that comes out in the next 2 years, a 9600 pro is that a good option, i would reccomend somthing in the x800 series of ati cards as you should be secured for at least 3 years with once of those cards, but they cost alot, they can cost form 100-400 uk pounds i have a 9600non pro, and it struggles with gta sa on highest settings, and thats when its overclocked to about as good as a 9600 pro.
hmm yeah i have seen those cards and they are pricey. do you think $99 CAD is a good deal for the 9600pro and how much of an upgrade will it be from my g force 4 mx 440
No Radeons can be overclocked with the software. A 9600 will be an improvement but you'll be better off with a 9800Pro or XT.
If possible get a 9800Pro or XT (as Addis said) Also any Video Card from Gigabyte is good, they make very good cards!
That's bull crap, you just need something like RadTweaker or ATi Tool. The 9550 is comparable to the Radeon 9200/9000's, which are derivatives of the 8500. So, no, that'd not be the best move. The Radeon 9600Pro (well, any 9600) probably wouldn't be able to run HL2 with everything maxed out. Now, yes, I think you could do 1024x768 up to 1280x1024 with basic detail settings and have it smooth for most parts of the game.
thx for that advice. i am going to purchase that card now. but in the mean time what could i do with my v id card that i have now?? you said about the 9550 "that wouldnt be the best move" what does that mean?
The 9600 is a surprisingly powerful card for it's age, Willhub can vouch for that. It won't be able to soar though the latest games but so long as you have a respectable processor and a gig of ram you should be all set.
if your ram is pc3200, and you have decent cooling in your case, you can push the FSB of your processor to 400mhz and your processor will be a 3200+ instead of 2500+. just make sure your temperatures stay below 55c on your processor. The barton's are good cores Also, I play hl2 on 1024x768, 3200+ (2500+ at 400fsb), 9600XT on max settings (no AA, AF) perfectly.
You're system should be good Curtis, the gig will make a great difference. Just a little overclock and you'll be good to go (though it's not mandatory). I think the 9500Pro may have been a little better. You can mod it into a 9700 with RivaTuner which is cool if you're lucky. Good luck finding one though.