Friend wants to upgrade video card

Last edited by krazykaveman on Wed Jul 05, 2006 6:03 pm; edited 1 time in total

Ok my friend wants to upgrade his video card but doesnt want to spend more than $50-$60.

He has a AGP 4x slot and he wants me to help him get a new video card. Right now he has a Jation Geforce MX 4000 AGP 8X.

So im debating between a Radeon 9600PRO or a Geforce 6200. He wants to play B&W2, Oblivion, and LOTR: Battle for middle earth 2.

So will a 8x card like an g-force 6200 fit in his 4x slot? im assuming it will because he already has a 8x MX 4000. And what would be better in those three games a 9600pro or a 6200?

Last edited by ChrisMG on Wed Jul 05, 2006 8:04 pm; edited 1 time in total

Both cards are fairly close in terms of performance, with, in my personal opinion, a slight edge going to the 9600Pro.  Both cards will play the games listed fairly well.  I will mention though, that on one website I found, the Geforce FX6200 was placed against the Radeon 9800 (Pro or XT, can't remember) and the Radeon just ate the Geforce's lunch.  Perhaps because it was an XT or PRO card, don't know.

I guess what it really comes down to is compatibility and drivers.  ATI probably has some of the worst drivers I've ever seen for a video card (with the exclusion of the Omega drivers).

An 8x enabled card will fit into a 4x slot as long as its 1.5v (you can tell 1.5v cards by the double notches in the pin board.  Earlier AGP cards only have one notch), as most of the newer AGP cards are.

It should work fine in a 4x slot -
It will just transfer at 4x.

Which one is cheaper?

It's a hard choice, but I'd go with the 6200 over the 9600, because the 9600 is almost 2 generations ago.

Does anyone know how the 9800SE compares with the 9600PRO? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16814102558

Last edited by Greg M. on Wed Jul 05, 2006 10:43 pm; edited 1 time in total

As I remember, it was a tiny bit faster... but that may have been the 9800...

More reading says...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16814102510
9600XT

Faster than a 9800SE

Last edited by ChrisMG on Thu Jul 06, 2006 6:40 am; edited 1 time in total

XTs are typically faster than SEs, even if its from the generation before.

The 9800SE is probably a bit better than the 9600PRO. A baseline 9800 runs close to a 9700PRO in terms of benchmarking, with the 9700PRO winning a couple of rounds.

This seems to be the breakdown:
9800SE > 9700PRO > 9800NON PRO > 9800PRO <--best

The 9800SE is essentially a 9800PRO with 4 of the 8 Pipelines disabled. You could try a softmod to unlock the pipes, but who knows if it would work.

complete tests and article Here.

Chris... you have your >/< symbols backwards.
;)

If you want to try a softmod, then the 9800SE would be the best bet as you may be able to get a 9800Pro out of it.

Last edited by krazykaveman on Thu Jul 06, 2006 5:43 pm; edited 1 time in total

yeah i was kinda leaning in the direction of a 6200 since it has \"Newer\" Technology. mainly pixel shader 3.0. He can't even run lots of games out there because his current card has no pixel shader.

but i think im going to try to convince him to save up some more money to get atleast a 6600 but if he doesnt want to i think i'll get him the XFX nVidia GeForce 6200A 256MB.

Last edited by ChrisMG on Thu Jul 06, 2006 7:51 pm; edited 1 time in total

Yeah I know Greg, it was supposed to go from left to right.

Hey, give me a break. I usually only have time to post when I get off of work at 6 in the morning, and by that time I'm absolutely wiped out.

:P

mk so its a choice between the 9800SE and the Geforce 6200

i'll be ordering through newegg

the 9800SE is $5 more than the 6200.
Which would be better? the 6200 got better reviews.

the 9800SE is about 75% faster.