AAAAARRRGGGHHH.... Still confused...

[AMDnut]

... 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!

[Martin_89]

Radeon 9200 128MB

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

[AMDnut]

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!

[RecklessLeper]

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.

[Martin_89]

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.

[RecklessLeper]

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!

[MuFu]

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.

[AMDnut]

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...

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!

[ol' man]

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

[MuFu]

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.

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.

[Martin_89]

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!

[ol' man]

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.

[AMDnut]

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

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

[RDX]

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.

[ol' man]

RDX,

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.