AAAAARRRGGGHHH.... Still confused...

... as to which video card to get.

Building a Shuttle XPC system, model SN45G w/Barton 2500+ and various other tidbits. I just cannot decide which video card to get! I am not a serious gamer, but I do play the following a bit:

UT
Quake
Motocross Madness 2

Kids hammer the computer with simple games as well. Currently, my Radeon 9000 Pro runs everything fine for me. I would like the shuttle system to be better, but I have always tried to limit the video card expense to the low end. Seems the "SE" series of cards sucks for the most part. And I do not think the PNY GeForce FX5200 that I looked at today would be better than my R9000 Pro...

So what do I do guys? Here is whats important:

Quiet operation (XPC will be on desktop)
Fit into XPC
Low cost (as in $175 or below)
Low power consuption
Did I say low cost? ;)

Looking at the following cards, in order of cost, low cost to higher cost:

FX 5200 ($70 after rebate, cheap card!)
R9200
R9600XT
FX5700U


What else should I look at? Would like to stay with a well known company that stands behind its products as well.

What would you buy ?????
Opinions please!

Radeon 9200 128MB

its passive cooled so quiet, will be slightly faster than you 9000 so id say thats fine.

Martin_89 - That is what I am leaning towards right now. it is AGP 8X and has double the memory compared to my current R9000. Should do fine for my needs, and I will still have the excellent quality of ATI. That is a concern as I do image work as well...

Got some parts on order for the XPC from NewEgg. Hope the SN45G does OK as I have read of probs. I wanted the 200FSB speed though!

Personally, I'd go for the R9600XT out of the list, as I usually go for the best I can afford. Obviously you'd get a bit more life out of one of these, as it's a lot faster than a 9200 let alone a 9000.

na id go for the 9200 because of noise and then when your having problems with it upgrade to a 9600Xt which will be at the price that a 9600XT is now! its like buying a barton 2500 for word processing if you dont need the power dont play for it!! lol

the shuttle should be great i was going to get one for my birthday in 9 days but i think im just going to wait till the athlon64 comes down in price and ill build one around that.

Quote:

---

Originally posted by Martin_89
na id go for the 9200 because of noise...

---

well, if it's anything like my 9800 Pro, you'd wonder if it had a fan on at all! :)

The 9600XT can't be that noisy; the HS/fan is tiny. It's worth mentioning that in your price range a 5900SE or 5900XT would be faster.

If you are considering the 9200 then at least get the 9600 instead which is quicker, DX9-compliant also usually passively cooled. Like this:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...102-328&depa=1

MuFu.

See, this is my reason for staying low cost....

I will be building another XPC this time next year, and it will be based on the A64 chip and board. This is to get me by until A64 is cheaper. I do a new system every 10-12 months so by then, the hotter video cards will be cheaper.....

The 9600 is tempting.... especially at $105.00 for the Saphire. Do they really make good cards? Maybe I will stretch it and go for the 9600 that MuFu linked to as it is passively cooled as well which would be quiet...

Quote:

---

its like buying a barton 2500 for word processing if you dont need the power dont pay for it!!

---

What is wrong with a Barton 2500+ for MS Word and Excel?!?!? ;) I want that spreadsheet to "fly" open! :D

I know people that are running the 9700 in those systems and it is not loud at all.

Quote:

---

Originally posted by AMDnut
Do they really make good cards?

---

Yes. They actually make boards for ATi themselves.

Captain Amazing has a 9600XT in an SFF PC. Maybe he can post some feedback.

Quote:

---

Originally posted by Martin_89
its passive cooled so quiet, will be slightly faster than you 9000...

---

No it won't, he has a 9000 Pro. It will probably be quite a bit slower.

MuFu.

ohh a 9000PRO i never noticed sorry!

well the cards fans cant be that noisy im just going by my cards fan which is very! yup that saphire 9600PRO i was just looking at myself on ebuyer so it will be quiet and alot faster so id say go for it!

Quote:

---

Sapphire Technology Limited - - SAPPHIRE ATI Radeon 9800SE AGP 8X 128MB DDR Video Card.
Details:
-RADEON 9800SE 128 SAPPHIRE ATI Radeon 9800SE AGP 8X w/DVI l TV-Out 128 mb DDR
Part - N82E16814102303
Updated - 1/23, 1:07 PM TotalCost $152
Price - $152
Shipping - Free FedEx Saver
Will Ship - Same - 1day

Can't buy? Newegg.com
Score 226 / 240 Feedbacks
800-390-1119
909-395-9046 La Puente , CA
Info ...
Winner of Bizrate Circle of Excellence Award 2001. PLATINUM PLUS Customer Satisfaction Rating at Resellerratings. Real-time inventory with 6500+ computer hardware & software. FAST shipping, rush order processing available. Order online 24/7 at Newegg.com.

---

Here you go. The 9800SE from the EGG for $152. With your budget it would be what I would get and I trust the EGG.

Hmmmmm....... 9800SE seems nice, but is the 9600XT a bit faster?

Narrowed down to 9600XT or 9800SE now...

I would still go with the 9600XT or a FX5900.

A stock 9600pro is quite a bit faster than a sapphire 9800se stock(about 30% faster on average). If you are successful in unlocking the sapphire card, its performance moves up significantly; but it's still 5-10% behind the 9600 pro. I know it still can be overclocked, but I don't think it can be overclocked nearly enough to catch an overclocked 9800xt for the same price.

RDX,

Quote:

---

If you are successful in unlocking the sapphire card, its performance moves up significantly; but it's still 5-10% behind the 9600 pro

---

You are saying a 9800np or (9800se->9500 pro) is slower than a 9600pro?

What?

A R350 core OC's higher than the r300 core so a 8 pipe r350 core @ 400+ MHz would take a dump all over a 9600 OC'd.