Videocard suggestion

[Drizzt]

It's sad, but after three years of honored service I feel the need to change my G400 with something a bit more powerful...

The most important need, however, still remain video quality.
I once tried a low cost Gefarce 2 on my PC, and spent the next two week's cleaning up my monitor.

So:
1) I'm oriented on an Ati
2) I'd like to have TV-Out
3) I have no much money, so I have to buy it used.
4) If a new one...what about the Ati 9000?
5) I don't need hypadupasupa power...



And, last but not least, a rant:
WHY THE HELL I CAN'T HAVE A MATROX CARD THAT HAS THE DOUBLE PERFORMACE OF MY G400, A FEW FEATURES MORE, THE SAME VIDEO QUALITY, WITHOUT HAVING TO SPEND 500€ FOR A PARHELIA??? O_o

Taste my wrath, Matrox

[Kurt]

aspetta la seria 9100... stanno per arrivare...dovrebbero costare di meno ed essere compatibile con Dx 8 (la seria 9000 é soltanto compatibile con Dx 7)...

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Wait for the 9100 series...they're arriving...they should cost less and be compatible with Dx 8 (the 9000 series is only compatible with Dx 7)...

//unless I'm wrong of course

[Topha]

At the moment i would go for the ATI 9500 Pro, its not that expensive (250€), and it almost delivers 9700Pro (fastest thing right now) performance, and it is fully DX9 compatible.
They should be available in the next couple a weeks.

[Evildead666]

yup. a friend of mine bought a Rad 9000 non-pro, and he is regretting it badly. My Geforce2 GTS 64Mb is a bit faster in most games today. he thought the 128Mb would help. not really.
The 9500 or 0500 pro is a good choice, the 9100 series being nothing other than a rebadged 8500. 0.15u part i think.
9500 is best value, go pro if possible, you get 8 pipelines on a 128bit memory bus. for the 9500 non-pro you only get 4 pipelines on the 128bit bus. (not sure about 9500 specs now, can someone clarify?)

stay clear of the 9000.

[knirfie]

Originally posted by Kurt

Wait for the 9100 series...they're arriving...they should cost less and be compatible with Dx 8 (the 9000 series is only compatible with Dx 7)

What the Hell? since when is the 9000 only a Dx7 card?

isnt the difference between the 9000 and 9100 that the 9000 has one texture unit per pipe while the 9100 is the original 8500 (LE) under a new name?

[GT98]

the 9100 is the rebadged 8500...far as I know not the LE verison

the 9000 is cut down, cheaper verison of the 8500

[KeiFront]

Knirfie a 9000 is like the 8500 (renamed to 9100) a directx 8.1 videocard.

I also found a nice overview: http://www.reactorcritical.com/chips/summary-full.shtml

The 9000 has one texture unit per pipe while the 8500 has 2.

[knirfie]

exactly like I said, the difference is 1 texture unit per pipe for the 9000 against 2 (which the 8500 had) for the 9100.

as far is i know they're labelling both the 8500 as well as the 8500 LE as 9100's.

[lecter]

Get the fastest Radeon you can afford that has the Rage Theater chip....2d/video output quality is top notch.

[Kurt]

Originally posted by knirfie
What the Hell? since when is the 9000 only a Dx7 card?

isnt the difference between the 9000 and 9100 that the 9000 has one texture unit per pipe while the 9100 is the original 8500 (LE) under a new name?

yep, my bad...it's a cheaper(er) (if that's possible) 8500, thus Dx 8 compatible, while the 9000 is also Dx 8 (not Dx 7) with one less TMU/pipe (got mixed up with the GF4 MX whoops ).

the 9000 series is a dog, pricewise & IMHO...





edit: happy now?

[Novdid]

Originally posted by Kurt
yep, my bad...it's a cheaper(er) (if that's possible) 8500, thus Dx 8 compatible, while the 9000 is also Dx 8 (not Dx 7) with one less pipe (got mixed up with the GF4 MX whoops ).

Equal pipes (4), the main difference vs the 8500/9100 is that it has 1TMU per pipe as opposed to 2.

[Drizzt]

Ok, I need a few opinions more.
The problem is that I want to wait for buying a Parhelia this summer, so now I can't spend too much money.
A new Radeon 9000 would cost only 90€, and I know I will sell it easily this summer to one of my customers for 50€.

Now, the question is, will the 9000 grant me let's say...50% more performance than the G400?
Is there anything better in about the same price tag? :-)

[capt. marvel]

I dont think there officiallly really is a "9100" I think a co. is selling a clocked up 9000 as that

[Novdid]

No it is a real 8500!

Drizzt, get a 9000pro if you can find one cheap enough.

And yes the 9000 offers more than 50% than the g400. It's more like 2-2,5 times faster.

[Guru]

Originally posted by capt. marvel
I dont think there officiallly really is a "9100" I think a co. is selling a clocked up 9000 as that

They renamed the 8500 to 9100 since it is faster then the 9000/9000 pro!

Anyone here know if there will be 2 9100 versions available?