Computer hardware recommendations

GF4 MX 440 can run DX9 just fine, but doesn''t have pixel shaders.

Why not get a regular GF4?

I would say go with the Radeon 9500.

I think that you should save up a little more and get a Radeon 9600 and over clock it. I have a 9200SE and it works fine for me.

______________________________________________________________

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kill yourself. But if you''re gonna kill someone else, kill
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"Save up" has a different meaning when you don''t have a source of income (I need my license before I can get a job; else i can''t get to work ever).

quote:

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Original post by zackriggle
GeForce MX440
GeForce FX 5200 (Ultra or Non)
ATI Radeon 9500 (Non-Pro)

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I would go with the FX 5200 actually. Pricewise, it''s pretty close to the MX440. It blasts a little more vertices, and supposedly nvidia''s antialiasing is far superior to ATI''s in terms of quality (photorealism). Go with the ultra if you can...




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[edited by - YodaTheCoda on December 10, 2003 1:57:54 PM]

I heard exactly the opposite about anti-aliasing. I''d go with the Radeon.

quote:

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Original post by Raloth
I heard exactly the opposite about anti-aliasing. I''d go with the Radeon.

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Yea, the 5200 is supposed to suck big time.

What I heard about the antialiasing is that although the Radeon sports higher numbers, it is some kind of "fake" antialiasing that is not as good as the lower numbered, but less blocky nvidia antialiasing.

It''s kind of like how AMD will put 2800+ on their cpu''s, but the P4 2.8 ghz is by far faster.


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[edited by - YodaTheCoda on December 10, 2003 1:57:54 PM]

And I draw that conclusion from pictures i''ve seen that were rendered on both. If you zoom in on the Radeon''s, it is kind of blocky, the Geforce is photorealistic.


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[edited by - YodaTheCoda on December 10, 2003 1:57:54 PM]

Well, this is all going to be running on a XP 1800 system (oc'd to 2.2ghz @ 400 fsb-- Thermaltake rocks) on an Epox 8rda3+. Obviously this is a budget system ($50 cpu + $20hsf = $150cpu), and the Radeon 9500 is running $160, the 5200Ultra is running $100 (EBay and NewEgg-- Will probably run an extra $10 for name brand).

(edit)
I don't often zoom into the images when I'm playing Midnight Club 2, and don't plan on doing it that often. Photorealism is nice but not required. And at 800*600 to 1024*whatever, AA and AF aren't highly needed, but just addons.

I have heard that the NVidia's FX series sucks, and after reading this review, and seeing the 5200Ultra have a problem with the 9000 Pro (only 64meg, not 128), I think that I'll stick with what I have now: ATi.
(end edit)

[edited by - zackriggle on January 2, 2004 1:10:40 PM]

quote:

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Original post by zackriggle
Well, this is all going to be running on a XP 1800 system (oc''d to 2.2ghz @ 400 fsb-- Thermaltake rocks) on an Epox 8rda3+. Obviously this is a budget system ($50 cpu + $20hsf = $150cpu), and the Radeon 9500 is running $160, the 5200Ultra is running $100 (EBay and NewEgg-- Will probably run an extra $10 for name brand).

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That 9500 is overpriced. Check for sales at local stored because I have seen that card for about 100 USD...

I don't think places like Best Buy or even Staples sells mid-grade overlooked cards like the 9500. I can find the 9000 Pro, 9600XT, and 9800XT just fine. No 9500 . Hell, BestBuy.com doesn't even have that stuff. Staples has a 9600 for $190. Sheesh.

However, I did just find this 9800 for $190. Also, 9500 is showing up as $130 (for ATi Powered) on Pricewatch.

Note: The SapphireTech 9800se sucks (slower than 9600 Pro) but can this is because it only uses 4 of 8 pipelines. It can be soft-modded to a 9800 Pro (without the 256bit memory bus).

Last Edit I Promise:
IM NOT ON PROBATION ANYMORE w00t!!!!!!!

[edited by - zackriggle on January 2, 2004 1:24:11 PM]

9500 Pro is great.

9600 XT (which is still on the market) is the best mid ranged card out there.

The 9500 Pro has 8 rendering pipelines, however, so it can handle all of the 9800 Pro demos (not near as fast heh).

I have the 9600 XT, I would have gotten a 9500 Pro, but they''re discontinued.

Get the 9600 XT, it''s cheap and fast.

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quote:

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Original post by ktuluorion
What I heard about the antialiasing is that although the Radeon sports higher numbers, it is some kind of "fake" antialiasing that is not as good as the lower numbered, but less blocky nvidia antialiasing.

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You have no idea what you are talking about, do you? The GeForce FX allow up to 8x antialising while the Radeons only up to 6x. Ati's antialiasing does the job better than nVidia's at smoothing aliased lines and geometry. nVidia's antialiasing is less "blocky" because it doesn't remove aliasing as smoothly as ATI's. Anandtech has a pretty good review regarding image quality. Using 6x antialiasing with my Radeon9600 Pro I get a very very very smooth image.
Ontopic: Get the Radeon 9500/9600, the FX is too slow, and the MX is a DirectX 7 card, what means software emulated vertex shaders and no pixel shaders at all.

edit: Get a L-shaped memory red PCB Radeon 9500 and softmod it to a 9700 or 9500 pro. Read this.

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"C lets you shoot yourself in the foot rather easily. C++ allows you to reuse the bullet!"


[edited by - CPPMaster Poppet on January 2, 2004 1:33:47 PM]

Yea I''m thinking that is gonna be what I''m gonna buy (9500\9600, and if I can eke out $40 from the ''rents then the 9600XT).

quote:

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Original post by zackriggle
Yea I''m thinking that is gonna be what I''m gonna buy (9500\9600, and if I can eke out $40 from the ''rents then the 9600XT).

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If you have no problem with flashing the BIOS (and a PCI video card) better get a 9500 NP.

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"C lets you shoot yourself in the foot rather easily. C++ allows you to reuse the bullet!"

clicky

Now, on pricewatch, the Radeon 9500 (128 mb) is $126. The FX 5200 128 mb is $56.

You do the price/performance calculations.


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I''m not sure what they have in the way of graphics cards.. but hey, if it helps, enjoy. I tried to find you a staples one, since I thought I saw something about staples up there, but I couldn''t find any atm.



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[edited by - YodaTheCoda on December 10, 2003 1:57:54 PM]

Even better...I have another computer with onboard that can afford to lost its PCI Radon 7500 for an hour or so.

[edited by - zackriggle on January 2, 2004 1:41:07 PM]

quote:

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Original post by zackriggle
Even better...I have another computer with onboard that can afford to lost its PCI Radon 7500 for an hour or so.

[edited by - zackriggle on January 2, 2004 1:41:07 PM]

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So softmodding a 9500 to 9700/9500pro is (nearly, don''t blame if your house explodes!!) risk free. I would have bought a 9500 and softmodded if it was still in shops. I bought the 9600pro instead.

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"C lets you shoot yourself in the foot rather easily. C++ allows you to reuse the bullet!"