Upgrade of video card and CPU

[ChameleonDevil]

:confused:

1. I would like to know what video card should I buy as a new upgrade. I don't know which of the video cards in the same price range is the best value for money. It must be good for now as well as be useful in a year or two. I know GeForce FX and ATI Radeon supports DirectX 9, and the GeForce 4 Ti- series do not. The problem is that the fastest cards is way out of affordable price range.

I am looking at the following cards and would like to know which would be recommended most. They are approximately in the same price range. If there are others please add them.

Here's the list:

- GeForce 4 Ti-4200
- GeForce 4 Ti-4600
- GeForce 4 Ti-4800
- ATI Radeon 9500 128 MB DDR
- GeForce FX 5200 128 MB DDR
- GeForce FX 5600 128 MB DDR

Which of the cards are the fastest (currently [without DirectX 9 support]) and would they still be able to compete when DirectX 9 support are widely used?

The cards that I can get are from InnoVision (INNO3D), would you recommend getting it or must I check for another brand.

2. The other thing is the CPU. I am thinking of buying a Pentium 4 2400 Mhz CPU (with 800 FSB and HyperThreading support). Would the performance gain be noticable (from P4 2400 Mhz 400/533 FSB) in such a way that it would save me money in the long run? Or should I just get a faster CPU (Pentium 4 2530Mhz 533 FSB, no HyperThreading support) as these prices are about the same. HyperThreading is only used in Windows XP, not in Windows 98 right?

As you can see I am looking for the best product that I can afford currently and that would be able to keep me from upgrading in the next year or so.

I would appreciate it to receive a few comments on this.

[james]

you won't notice the difference in CPU one way or the other. 2400 is PLENTY of power for all gaming. The best card there is probably the 5600. Of all the cards there you should not get is the 5200 (read the article from the front page if you want more info).

[Jason425]

my friend has an mx 440 and an fx 5200 and the mx has like 2k more 3d marks :/ .. i'm going to get a 2.4 800 mhz ht cpubut since you have 2.4 now, I wouldn't get another.

[ChameleonDevil]

Thank you for your response.

Well, I must rephrase what I asked. I see that it is a bit unclear. I do not have a Pentium 4 CPU at the moment, I bought the motherboard (GIGABYTE GA-8S648FX) last month.
I want to know if it is worth the extra money for a P4 2400Mhz (800FSB & HypertThreading) or just buy with a P4 2400Mhz 400/533FSB. The price difference between the two is about R 190-00 (± $ 22.5). Is this extra R 190-00 ($ 22.5) really worth it for the HyperThreading? The Pentium 4 2530Mhz (533 FSB) is just R 14-30 (± $ 1.66) more than the Pentium 4 2400Mhz 800FSB CPU. If there is no real gain, then I might just as well buy the faster CPU.

As for the suggestion about the video card, the FX 5600 being faster than the Ti-4800 and (some of) the ATI Radeon cards, I just wanted to clear that matter up. (By the way, I was really thinking of getting the FX 5200 card, as it is a lot cheaper than the FX 5600, so it would probably have been a mistake.) Thanks for that!

As for the INNO3d cards, what do you think?

[ChameleonDevil]

:cry:
I just want to know if there are no more suggestions regarding what I have asked?

[james]

really, you'll be happy with all those CPU's. since you've got a mobo that supports 800FSB, i'd go ahead and get the processor to go with it. it'll be more of a bottleneck than your CPU, trhat's for sure

[eviltechie]

there isnt a much of a price difference between the 2.4C and 2.4B

so get the one with 800fsb

thats a crazy overclocker btw
ive seen ppl gone to 3.8GHz with that chip!

but of course, if you arent overclocking, it is still worth the extra few bucks since you are starting from scratch

as for the video card, Ti-4800 would be the fastest or maybe the FX5600 Ultra tying up with it

depends on what you can afford
Ti4200 is a cheap and good performing card
Radeon 9500 Pro is next up
then the Ti4600
FX5200 is just a piece of )(@#&$)#(%(#
not worth a penny!
btw if you want to get FX, get the Ultra versions
there is quite a difference

[gnogtr]

Well, you could always go with a Radeon 9800 Pro 256 or a Geforce FX 5900, but that's just IMO...

[eviltechie]

HT is a good gain
i would get it rather than going for 2.53
2.4C should be faster than 2.53

9800 Pro is so expensive though
i can afford it but i would have to take money out of my rainy-days-saving-account

lol

[gnogtr]

It's well worth taking out of your "rainy day savings." You can get the Powercolor 128MB version for around $350 from www.googlegear.com. I have the Built by ATI version, and I paid $414 for it a few days after its initial release. It is an excellent card and I wouldn't trade it for anything, except a 9900Pro.....

[ChameleonDevil]

Thanks again for the responses.

eviltechie said that the difference in the video cards is that the Ti-4800 and the FX 5600 Ultra would be the fastest. I'm going to find out if the video card is Ultra versions or just Standard. So how big is the difference from the Ultra and Standard Versions of the FX cards? Would the standard FX 5600 be a lot slower than the Ultra card?

Nobody seems to know about the INNO3d cards, is this dangerous to buy this brand?

I'm just stating again that I want to make VERY SURE of where to put my money. I don't want to cry later on...

As for the 9800 Pro 256 or Geforce FX 5900, well that is WAY TO EXPENSIVE.

[Prometheus]

for the vid card:
http://techwarelabs.com/community/viewtopic.php?t=4260

[ChameleonDevil]

There you only talk about the top of the range. In South Africa this is very expensive. I can only afford the others.

Anyone know INNO3D video cards?

:/

[gnogtr]

Hmmm...Are you a gamer? If so, very expensive is the key. That one you mentioned is apparently unheard of because me of all ppl would have heard of it. It very possibly wouldn't be any better than the card you have now. I dished out a ton of $$ for my card, and I've very happy with it.

[ChameleonDevil]

The INNO3D cards are a brand of GeForce cards from InnoVision. They create GeForce Ti- and GeForce FX- cards.

I just want to find out if it is safe to take this brand that is unheard of apparently, because the shop where I buy from get their GeForce cards from InnoVision.

[james]

i've heard of 'em, not heard any complaints in particular, though i haven't used them to say 'ime' You'll probably be safe though. nvidia/ati maintain such strict standards on their cards now it's hard to find a bad manufacturer (though you might find a manufacturer that skimps on accessories, i.e. software, converter cables, and such). If the box has everything in it that you need, i'd say grab it.

Thanks James. That reassures me that I can try one of these cards. :)

[ChameleonDevil]

Sorry, forgot to login.

I found out that the GeforceFX cards available from them are only Standard versions, no Ultra.
:)

[gnogtr]

I don't know...I've never heard of it at all, it may be a generic brand. They probably get generic parts at the computer store and boost the prices up so that you think you're getting a good part but you're really not because there is probably not a lot of competition over there. You should look at some online retailers and see what kind of prices you can find and how much shipping would be to your part of the world.

[ChameleonDevil]

I finally found info on the INNO3D cards.

This site shows comparison between almost all the cards.

http://www.tomshardware.com/graphic/20030714/index.html