Looking for a videocard/CPU/misc. parts, any suggestions?

[Cyde Weys]

Turns out it wasn't the new mobo that was broken, it's the CPU and
video card. *Grrrrrr* I am so freaking pissed. Anyway, I was looking
around on NewEgg for parts and I was blown away by the range of options.
Have a look at the sections for just ATI Radeon videocards:

# ATI Radeon 7500
# ATI Radeon 7500 LE
# ATI Radeon 8500
# ATI Radeon 8500 LE
# ATI Radeon 8800
# ATI Radeon 9000
# ATI Radeon 9000 Pro
# ATI Radeon 9200
# ATI Radeon 9500
# ATI Radeon 9500 Pro
# ATI Radeon 9700
# ATI Radeon 9700 Pro
# ATI Radeon 9800
# ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
# ATI Radeon 9100
# ATI Radeon 9600
# ATI Radeon 9600 Pro

And within each of these categories are five or more videocards, made by
different vendors! I'm overwhelmed!

What does "pro" mean? How much video RAM do I need? Etc? Well, I've
come to you guys for help. What do you recommend as a good,
reasonably-powered, budget videocard? I'm not looking for the latest
Radeon 9800 or GeForce FX 5900 that cost $400. I'm looking for
something in the range of $100-$200 that provides the best bang for the
buck. I was previously using a Radeon 9000 Pro (the aforementioned dead
videocard) that I got for $100 a year ago and was quite satisfied with
it. I'm looking for something comparable nowadays, perhaps a little bit
more expensive and powerful.

I'm also looking for a new AMD CPU (I already have an AMD mobo). What's
the difference between Athlon MP and Athlon XP? Which should I get?
And what clockspeed provides a good trade-off of price and speed?

I also want to replace my current CPU heatsink/fan with a higher quality
one that attaches on all 3 clips. Can someone recommend a good
manufacturer? And what kind of thermal compound should I go for?

Thanks a lot for the help. I know my questions may seem a bit
open-ended, but I really need some expert help in figuring out what best
to buy for my system.

 

[Cyde Weys]

Im pretty sure the 8500 is better. Its around that level.
People tend to say dont get certain ATI models and the 9000 is one of
them. The 8500 and new 9100 is supposed to be very similar . Some call
it a renamed 8500 though its slightly different - slightly slower I
think.

Anyway - Ive already posted I got the 9100 for $49 at COMPUSA after
rebate but that sale ended Monday. Its pretty close to that price if
you look around Pricewatch.com. It was only 64 megs though.

I don't think the 9100 is powerful enough for my tastes. I think I can
get a bit better videocard still below the $150 mark, right? Should I
consider going with an nVidia card?

They generally tell you to go for 128 megs nowadays though Im not sure
how many games really benefit from that much mem.

Yeah, I definitely want 128MB, for Doom III if nothing else.

I just got the 9100 until christmas when all the new games are slated
to come out and the ATI 9700 or so comes way down in price , I hope.

I can't wait; I have to buy it tomorrow. My mobo doesn't have an
integrated crap video card, so my computer won't function until I get
_something_.

I think its for dual processor boards but Im not sure what exactly is
the difference if any.

Which one, the MP? Yeah, that seems familiar.

You should get the XP.
Some boards /revisions of boards can only take up to XX speed
processor. You should look it up at your MBs site.

I have an A7V8X-X mobo from Asus. I asked the dude at the computer
store where I bought it and he says it'll take all existing AMD processors.

Why on all three clips? All the ones Ive had only used two.
Ive almost always used thermaltakes though others have been highly
rated but the TTs have been rated well and they usually are really
really cheap if you look around.

Okay, maybe not all three clips, but at least two. The current one I
have is only one clip, and it just seems too iffy to me.

I bought one for a friend I think it was the Volcano 9 or 11 - anyway,
it has a huge heatsink and uses a 80mm fan on it. It was around $18.
And since its larger it spins at a lower speed and you can hook it up
to vary the speed by the temp of the CPU.

Quiet is definitely good. This is the computer I'll be bringing to
college and I plan to be able to sleep with it on in the same room.

The one caveat is - its a large unit though smaller than the Pent 4
units which seem gigantic. Take a look at your MB to see how tight the
area is around the CPU. Some MBs have caps that may be a bit too close
for some heatsinks. I saw one test where they had to file away a bit
of some heatsinks to make them fit .

The mobo has enough space around the CPU.

 

[John]

I don't think the 9100 is powerful enough for my tastes. I think I can
get a bit better videocard still below the $150 mark, right? Should I
consider going with an nVidia card?

Well heres ONE benchmark which isnt the only one to go by.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/print/radeon-9100.html
http://www.bytesector.com/data/bs-article.asp?ID=161&ct=Latest Resources&page=2

You notice the 8500/9100 is faster than the 9000 which you just posted
you were pretty satisfied with. The 4200 is faster on this benchmark
and probably in general but it doesnt have some features that the ATIs
have. In this test they claim 128 megs doesnt make much difference vs
the 64 meg.

If you want to keep it to play Doom III , Half Life2 etc then you
probably should get the 9500 Pro but the problem is they are
discontinuing various cards - one is the 9500 pro.

There was talk about BestBuy I think selling them - getting rid of
them for $150 the 9500 pro but the posts I saw said they couldnt find
any at the local Best Buys for that price.

You can easily buy the 9500 at Newegg for under $150.
Try to get a red PCB with the L-shaped memory if you are getting the
9500 so that you may be lucky and be able to unlock it with a software
mod and get a 9500 pro or 9700 at the price of a 9500. Not sure if
you can still do this.

The 9600 pro which many avoid because its designed different - people
are looking for the ability to unlock and OC the 9500 /9500 pro and
9700 to get substantially higher performance. Look in the ATI subs.
However the 9600 Pro isnt a bad card at all.

The more desirable cards usually are the 9500 pro but its being
discontinued and the 9700.

Well just from a casual look at Pricewatch to check which are good
deals - it seems like the XP 2600 333 $91 XP 2500 333 $85 seem like
good deals. Someone may have some comment about OC ability or some
other relevant factor that may make some other CPU a better deal.

I bought a 1700 and 1600 for around the same prices a year or so ago.
At Newegg I think it was only a few dollars more $96 or so.

Okay, maybe not all three clips, but at least two. The current one I
have is only one clip, and it just seems too iffy to me.

Well at Newegg - it was the Volcano 7 that I was talking about.
I noticed the plain old 7 was rated well for cooling but many
complained about the loud noise.

The 7+ which is around $22.50 is rated very well according to the
users though some still mention its a bit loud. Im used to the
screamers - the highspeed Deltas which were rated the best of the 60mm
fans before they started going to bigger lower rpm fans. Now thats
loud. Im not sure its all that loud but the pitch is very high which
makes it stand out way more. Some compared it to a hairdryer.
To me the Volcano 7 seemed fairly quiet.

Only you will be able to say whether its too noisy or not but it is
variable - depending on temp and slower RPM I think the max is in the
5000 rpm range vs , the 6000-7000 rpm of the 60mm deltas which spin at
the max all the time in the early versions I got,

Go to Cooler Guys and see what they recommend for a quiet and
effective fan too.

 

[Cyde Weys]

Well heres ONE benchmark which isnt the only one to go by.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/print/radeon-9100.html
http://www.bytesector.com/data/bs-article.asp?ID=161&ct=Latest Resources&page=2

You notice the 8500/9100 is faster than the 9000 which you just posted
you were pretty satisfied with. The 4200 is faster on this benchmark
and probably in general but it doesnt have some features that the ATIs
have. In this test they claim 128 megs doesnt make much difference vs
the 64 meg.

If you want to keep it to play Doom III , Half Life2 etc then you
probably should get the 9500 Pro but the problem is they are
discontinuing various cards - one is the 9500 pro.

The 9500 Pro is $195 at NewEgg - just a bit too expensive for my tastes.

There was talk about BestBuy I think selling them - getting rid of
them for $150 the 9500 pro but the posts I saw said they couldnt find
any at the local Best Buys for that price.

You can easily buy the 9500 at Newegg for under $150.
Try to get a red PCB with the L-shaped memory if you are getting the
9500 so that you may be lucky and be able to unlock it with a software
mod and get a 9500 pro or 9700 at the price of a 9500. Not sure if
you can still do this.

Here's the page for the 9500 at NewEgg:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...e=0&propertycode=&propertycodevalue=4396,3668
The first one is advertised as "new black PCB version" ... the others
don't say anything special. Are these the magic red PCB ones that can
be unlocked via software to become bigger/badder than they otherwise
would be? I already know which CPU I'll be getting - I just need some
help with figuring out if one of these is the right videocard, because
the page alone doesn't tell me.

The 9600 pro which many avoid because its designed different - people
are looking for the ability to unlock and OC the 9500 /9500 pro and
9700 to get substantially higher performance. Look in the ATI subs.
However the 9600 Pro isnt a bad card at all.

The more desirable cards usually are the 9500 pro but its being
discontinued and the 9700.




Well just from a casual look at Pricewatch to check which are good
deals - it seems like the XP 2600 333 $91 XP 2500 333 $85 seem like
good deals. Someone may have some comment about OC ability or some
other relevant factor that may make some other CPU a better deal.

I chose the 2500+ Barton over the 2600+ non-Barton because it's $9.00
cheaper, and the Barton architecture means it has 512K L2 cache instead
of the 2600+'s puny 256K cache. The clockspeed is rated lower though --
oh well. Is this a wise decision: choosing a 1.83Ghz clockspeed over a
2.06Ghz clockspeed because it has more L2 cache and is nine bucks
cheaper? Or is clockspeed more important, in which case I should go for
the 2600+?

 

[Leonisknovo]

Turns out it wasn't the new mobo that was broken, it's the CPU and
video card. *Grrrrrr* I am so freaking pissed. Anyway, I was looking
around on NewEgg for parts and I was blown away by the range of options.
Have a look at the sections for just ATI Radeon videocards:

# ATI Radeon 7500
# ATI Radeon 7500 LE
# ATI Radeon 8500
# ATI Radeon 8500 LE
# ATI Radeon 8800
# ATI Radeon 9000
# ATI Radeon 9000 Pro
# ATI Radeon 9200
# ATI Radeon 9500
# ATI Radeon 9500 Pro
# ATI Radeon 9700
# ATI Radeon 9700 Pro
# ATI Radeon 9800
# ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
# ATI Radeon 9100
# ATI Radeon 9600
# ATI Radeon 9600 Pro

And within each of these categories are five or more videocards, made by
different vendors! I'm overwhelmed!

What does "pro" mean? How much video RAM do I need? Etc? Well, I've
come to you guys for help. What do you recommend as a good,
reasonably-powered, budget videocard? I'm not looking for the latest
Radeon 9800 or GeForce FX 5900 that cost $400. I'm looking for
something in the range of $100-$200 that provides the best bang for the
buck. I was previously using a Radeon 9000 Pro (the aforementioned dead
videocard) that I got for $100 a year ago and was quite satisfied with
it. I'm looking for something comparable nowadays, perhaps a little bit
more expensive and powerful.

I'm also looking for a new AMD CPU (I already have an AMD mobo). What's
the difference between Athlon MP and Athlon XP? Which should I get?
And what clockspeed provides a good trade-off of price and speed?

I also want to replace my current CPU heatsink/fan with a higher quality
one that attaches on all 3 clips. Can someone recommend a good
manufacturer? And what kind of thermal compound should I go for?

Thanks a lot for the help. I know my questions may seem a bit
open-ended, but I really need some expert help in figuring out what best
to buy for my system.

Well, not to sure about most of that---I simply know enough about
Video Cards to attempt to say something.

First off, you need at LEAST 64MB of video card RAM.
I highly suggest 128MB, as many new programs (at least video games)
are coming out, and want at least 32MB, sometimes even 64MB!!!!

For this reason, I suggest get a GeForce, as long as it has 128MB.
Same with the ATIs.
Although, I must admit I am biased against ATI Rage, Rage Pro, ect.
(basicly all but the Radeon), due to fact its just plain screwed
when it comes to video games. And most my video games are more graphic
intensive
than Flash MX, which I use to make stuff for my website; At any rate,
I say go with a GeForce, however choice is yours but I must insist you
go for one with 128MB of video RAM.

 

[John]

The first one is advertised as "new black PCB version" ... the others
don't say anything special. Are these the magic red PCB ones that can
be unlocked via software to become bigger/badder than they otherwise
would be? I already know which CPU I'll be getting - I just need some
help with figuring out if one of these is the right videocard, because
the page alone doesn't tell me.

ATI OEM Sapphire - the first one on the page. If you read the reviews
youll see the comments.

The thing is not only does it have to be red supposedly but have "L"
shaped memory configuration. The mem chips go in a line at the top but
then go down the side too , like a corner . The other ones are just
in a row on top. Ive also seen people point out the kind of memory
and they even make comments on the heatsinks,

The bottom line though is - its a gamble. Not all of them work without
artifacts. So I think people were saying its probably the higher
priced card configurations which didnt pass the tests and part of it
was disabled.

Some people were buying them off Ebay because the sellers will tell
you if its L shaped etc. Of course theres fraud etc to worry about
there.

I chose the 2500+ Barton over the 2600+ non-Barton because it's $9.00
cheaper, and the Barton architecture means it has 512K L2 cache instead
of the 2600+'s puny 256K cache. The clockspeed is rated lower though --
oh well. Is this a wise decision: choosing a 1.83Ghz clockspeed over a
2.06Ghz clockspeed because it has more L2 cache and is nine bucks
cheaper? Or is clockspeed more important, in which case I should go for
the 2600+?

Sure I guess. Id get the Barton. The comments there say its OCs really
eaily too. The difference in the slight clock speed had got to be
puny. Im not up on the multipliers etc so I can say whether there are
any issues in that dept but the comments say its easily OCeable .

 

[V-man]

Turns out it wasn't the new mobo that was broken, it's the CPU and
video card. *Grrrrrr* I am so freaking pissed. Anyway, I was looking
around on NewEgg for parts and I was blown away by the range of options.
Have a look at the sections for just ATI Radeon videocards:

# ATI Radeon 7500
# ATI Radeon 7500 LE
# ATI Radeon 8500
# ATI Radeon 8500 LE
# ATI Radeon 8800
# ATI Radeon 9000
# ATI Radeon 9000 Pro
# ATI Radeon 9200
# ATI Radeon 9500
# ATI Radeon 9500 Pro
# ATI Radeon 9700
# ATI Radeon 9700 Pro
# ATI Radeon 9800
# ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
# ATI Radeon 9100
# ATI Radeon 9600
# ATI Radeon 9600 Pro

And within each of these categories are five or more videocards, made by
different vendors! I'm overwhelmed!

Dont get anything lower than a 9500. I'm getting a Sapphire based one
(good company)

The best is 9800, then 9700, then 9500, then 9600.
The Pro versions are just a bit faster.
The only vendor is ATI. The assembler doesn't matter cause they all
use the same design, same GPU.
Like someone said, you can softmod certain 9500 non-pros to a 9700
Pro. There is about a 40% success rate I hear.

In fact, all of these cards are already obsolete because of the new
technology that is about to come. Maybe in 1 year time.

V-man

 

[~misfit~]

Cyde Weys <[email protected]> wrote in message

Dont get anything lower than a 9500. I'm getting a Sapphire based one
(good company)

The best is 9800, then 9700, then 9500, then 9600.
The Pro versions are just a bit faster.
The only vendor is ATI. The assembler doesn't matter cause they all
use the same design, same GPU.
Like someone said, you can softmod certain 9500 non-pros to a 9700
Pro. There is about a 40% success rate I hear.

In fact, all of these cards are already obsolete because of the new
technology that is about to come. Maybe in 1 year time.

From Websters Dictinary:

obsolete
\Ob"so*lete\, a. [L. obsoletus, p. p. of obsolescere.] 1. No longer in use;
gone into disuse; disused; neglected; as, an obsolete word; an obsolete
statute; -- applied chiefly to words, writings, or observances.

So tell me, how are these cards no longer in use when the 'new technology'
isn't due out for at least a year?

Dumbass.

 

[V-man]

From Websters Dictinary:

obsolete
\Ob"so*lete\, a. [L. obsoletus, p. p. of obsolescere.] 1. No longer in use;
gone into disuse; disused; neglected; as, an obsolete word; an obsolete
statute; -- applied chiefly to words, writings, or observances.

So tell me, how are these cards no longer in use when the 'new technology'
isn't due out for at least a year?

Dumbass.

First, dont call anyone a dumbass.

The term obselete is used very often to describe current technology,
because new ones are in the works. It need not be available to the
public to be called obsolete. Even if grandpa is using some 50 year
old equipment, that equipment is called obselete when something
newer/better is available.

If you don't agree, I dont care.

V-man

 

[Dave]

Cyde Weys <[email protected]> wrote in message
snip

Like someone said, you can softmod certain 9500 non-pros to a 9700
Pro. There is about a 40% success rate I hear.

Much better than that. So far I'm 4-0 with the Sapphire 9500 (L-shaped
memory config.). Performs just like a 9700 NP at default clock rates...

snip

 

[kony]

The term obselete is used very often to describe current technology,
because new ones are in the works. It need not be available to the
public to be called obsolete.

You have it quite backwards. No component can be obsolete while it's
still the most modern available. What's coming "someday" is
irrelevant, as THAT tech will also be replaced by something coming
"someday".


Dave

 

[Cyde Weys]

Dont get anything lower than a 9500. I'm getting a Sapphire based one
(good company)

The best is 9800, then 9700, then 9500, then 9600.
The Pro versions are just a bit faster.
The only vendor is ATI. The assembler doesn't matter cause they all
use the same design, same GPU.
Like someone said, you can softmod certain 9500 non-pros to a 9700
Pro. There is about a 40% success rate I hear.

In fact, all of these cards are already obsolete because of the new
technology that is about to come. Maybe in 1 year time.

From Websters Dictinary:

obsolete
\Ob"so*lete\, a. [L. obsoletus, p. p. of obsolescere.] 1. No longer in use;
gone into disuse; disused; neglected; as, an obsolete word; an obsolete
statute; -- applied chiefly to words, writings, or observances.

So tell me, how are these cards no longer in use when the 'new technology'
isn't due out for at least a year?

Dumbass.

Why you gotta be so mean?! I understood what he meant, and I'm sure you
did too. "Obselete" isn't the best word choice for this situation, but
that's no reason to call him a nasty word over it.