Suggestions for graphics card

[azygos 0]

I am planning to buy a new computer. The problem I am having is about the graphics card. I need a decent graphics card with 64 MB Video Ram and which is able to run most of the new games smoothly.

One option I have is to buy an intel motherboard with integrated intel extreme graphics and ac97 onboard sound. Would this do for gaming purposes or is buying a NVIDIA G-Force necessary.

Thanks in advance

[ViolentGreen 0]

Quote:

I am planning to buy a new computer. The problem I am having is about the graphics card. I need a decent graphics card with 64 MB Video Ram and which is able to run most of the new games smoothly.
One option I have is to buy an intel motherboard with integrated intel extreme graphics and ac97 onboard sound. Would this do for gaming purposes or is buying a NVIDIA G-Force necessary.
Thanks in advance

Integrated graphics are usually no comparison to actual cards. I would suggest spending $100 and getting a mid range radeon card.

[thatsteveguy 0]

Yeah I wouldn't bother with the inboard video either. spend the xtra $$ and get a half decent card. ati9700 is pretty cheap right now and a great card.

the only use I have for integrated graphics is if something should happen to my video card then you have something to fall back on till you get the card running.

S

[Newumbrella 0]

If you plan to use Intel's "Extreme Graphics", then you should expect super slow fps. Although nForce2 onboard (Geforce4 MX, or more accurate, Geforce2 ++) it's not performing that great already, Intel's solution its even slower, performing at a bare minimum level (as you can see in the benchmarks, and i dun think they should use such a aggressive name for a product that perform very poorly).

 

I would suggest ATI 9500pro/9600pro/9700, as they are not too expensive and ATI's quality surpasses Nvidia product...

[ConQueso 0]

Buck for buck for gaming, I suggest getting an nForce2 motherboard. The integrated solution is the best integrated GPU out there, but I recommend getting the motheboard (without integrated graphics, the SPP northbridge) for its excellent options and build in audio (only if you get a soundstorm spec board). With the money you save on not having to buy a sound card, you can put toward a faster GPU or CPU. Keep in mind that you'll get better performance with two sticks of equal sized ram than 1 stick of the same total ram.

 

AMD or Intel, for the GPU, if you want to go budget, I recommend getting a GeForce FX 5200. This is basically the FX MX, although isn't relatively quite as bad as other MX cards, especially when compared to the GF4 MX. You can find these cards with 64MB and 128MB (i'd suggest spending a few more for the 128) and unlike the DX7 GF4MX, the FX 5200 supports DX9.

 

If your not going budget, you've got plenty of options.

[Mr.Guvernment 0]

DO NOT GET AN FX 5200! it is not worth the money it costs for the performace you get.! end of story - go with an ATI for that price range or if u want budget get a ti4200 if it is around $100.

 

 

^^^ seems someon is a nvidia fan..lol

 

check out

 

 

http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=7

 

for good opinions and suggesiton onc ards.

[ConQueso 0]

Quote:

ATI's quality surpasses Nvidia product...

Are you refering to image quality? If so, take note:

"As you will remember from our NV30 review, we were far from pleased with the way NVIDIA's anisotropic filtering looked in comparison to ATI's. Luckily with the latest drivers from NVIDIA that accompany the NV35, the problem has been solved... ...NVIDIA's claim that their "performance" mode offers equal to or greater quality than ATI's is actually true. The benefit here is that NVIDIA actually does some (albeit a small amount) of trilinear filtering in their performance aniso mode, which smooths the transitions between the different mip levels. The tables have turned and now it's ATI's turn to play catch-up and make their performance mode look better... ...Both ATI and NVIDIA's quality modes are virtually identical, you'd be hard pressed to find a difference between the two... ...NVIDIA's Detonator FX drivers will be publicly available on May 14th and will improve performance across the board for all FX cards... ...we're glad NVIDIA finally changed their anisotropic filtering quality settings to match up with ATI's (as well as fix the image quality issues we've been griping about all this time)" AnandTech.com

[Newumbrella 0]

Of course Nvidia have improved their quality, but if you have two cards side by side, ATI clarity is better then Nvidia...like 2D, but most appearant is when playing videos (VCD,DVD,XviD,DivX,....)

[azygos 0]

I have decided to buy an ati card but then which motherboard should i choose since now i don't require integrated graphics. I would like your opinions on the Asustek P4PE Motherboard. Also, can I find an intel motherboard with onboard sound minus the extreme graphics

Thanks in advance

[jmmijo 1]

Most likely you won't find a mobo that will have onboard sound and not onboard graphics, at least not in the P4 arena unless you go to one of the high-end 875 Caterwood boards. The cost of a board with onboard graphics is most likely not going to be a major cost factor, if at all. Most boards will disable the onboard graphics when it detects an AGP card installed.

 

If you get an Intel board, remember they don't allow you to tweak much in the BIOS but not everything messes around with these anyway.

[ConQueso 0]

The best integrated sound I know of comes on some nForce2 motherboards that feature SoundStorm. Many of these don't include an integrated graphics card (All SPP northbridges). Something to note though: While most boards have 5.1 surround output in analog (and some digital), most of such boards have only 3 jacks. Green is fixed front line out. The other two are can be toggled in windows using NVSwap from nvidia. Pink is Center+Sub line out or mic in. Blue is rear line out or line in.

 

Some boards have small cards that enable allow all 5 in and out at once.

 

Be sure to read all the details to know what your getting. Be sure to get the southbridge with the "-T" extension if you want the best audio and options.

 

You can find out much more user information and links to reviews go to:

http://www.nforcershq.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=27

 

For a good review contrasting Audigy2 and nForce2 APU, go to:

http://firingsquad.gamers.com/hardware/audigy2_versus_nforce2/default.asp

[Brian Frank 0]

Intel makes their Extreme Graphics seem like something killer, but basically they're promising a Ferrari and giving you a Yugo.

Something fairly cheap that doesn't suck is the ATi Radeon 8500/9000 Pro (9k is rebadged 8500). You can find these well under $100, like $70-80, on-line. No DX9, but otherwise, these are great cards, especially for the money.

[Mr.Guvernment 0]

Look @ the ABit boards

 

u can EASILY find intergrated sound on MOST mobos u look @ now so not sure where u are looking that u can only find integrated sound on board with intergrated graphics.

 

Abit / Asus - most boards not just the new 800mhz chipsets - include onboards sound.

 

 

i woudl suggest an Abit board with the 6 channel audio, it will do just fine!

[Rhadoo 0]

I wold suggest an i865PE-based motherboard : ASUS P4P800 Deluxe. It isn't cheap ($150 in Romania), but it has all the features you want : support for 800 MHz FSB, 6 channels audio and 3Com Gigabit LAN on-board, RAID SATA, UDMA 100, 8xUSB 2.0, Firewire and (as ASUS representatives say) support for PAT technology, which is found only in the i875 chipset. There is also the cheaper version - P4P800GD, which has all these features, but lacks Firewire and RAID SATA; still it has SATA. This one is about 20$ cheaper.

As for the video card, any card with the GF4Ti4200 chipset will do, or the ATI Radeon 9100 series, for a budget under $100. Over $100, you might consider an ATI 9500 which you cand transform into an 9700.

From ABIT comes the IS7, which is also an option.

 

Good luck.

[Champion_R 0]

The FX5600 Ultra both old and new outperform the Radeon 9600Pro. Also I think in some benches the Ti4200 can defeat the Radeon 9600Pro.

 

Also the FX5200 Ultra and standard (providing it has 128bit RAM) can beat the Radeon 8500/9100/9100/9200. The FX5200 Ultra is a nice card actually despite what some dodgy hardware sites claim. The FX5200 can also be had for cheap but MAKE 100% SURE you get 128bit memory.

[Rhadoo 0]

I won't consider for buying an FX5200 only because it has DX9 support; it's clearly outperformed by Radeon 9100. There are VERY FEW games built with DX8.x and none with DX9, so when they would be on the market, the FX series will have better prices.

[sapiens74 0]

THe radeon 9000 series of cards are a great buy. I hear some of the new FX cards are good as well.

 

THe radeon seem to be more bank for the buck though

[Rhadoo 0]

The FX are good, except the FX5200, which is a kind of GF4MX. You hear FX and do not think of anything else ?