Graphics card recommendation

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Graphics card recommendation

Post by Zealous zerotype »

My friend is going to buy a video card tomorrow and the game he is wanting to run is Oblivion. He already has enough ram and a fast enough CPU ( Atleast 3ghtz ). He is not wanting to spend more than 100bucks 120 at the max. So, can anybody give him some recommendations?
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Post by neoak »

120? Too low for a game that can tax two X1950XTXs in Crossfire. At least 150.

For Oblivion, an ATi i guess. But Oblivion taxes any graphic card known to man so far.

If he wants to play it with all the details and decent frame rate at say, 1280x1024, he needs at least a X1650XT.

Mind you, IT IS NOT ANY OF THE X1600s or X1650 Pro, which is a rebranded X1600XT! The X1650 XT has the same core as the X1950 but with deactivated stuff.

So, remember, X1650 XT. And it will look better than the 7600GT because of its superior texture filtering.

Check this review of the X1650 XT: This is the page where they test it with oblivion:
http://www.techreport.com/reviews/2006q ... dex.x?pg=7
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Post by Lunchbox »

He might as well wait for some more dx10 cards to come out
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Post by ace »

I've got a 7600 GT, runs Oblivion with everything maxed except trees, iirc.
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Post by Caboose »

My machine:

OS: WinXP Professional 5.1 SP2 (Build #2600) CPU: Intel Pentium 4 , 3.46 GHz, 1024KB Video: Radeon X800 SE (Omega 3.8.330) (1280x1024x32bpp 75Hz)

Runs Oblivion at a good frame rate when I tried it when it came out. I have a 360 now so I got it for that, runs better on the 360. It's certainly playable on my PC, very little slowdown and I was running it at 1280x1024.
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Post by Vlad Tepes »

Lunchbox wrote:He might as well wait for some more dx10 cards to come out
I agree, unless he's using AGP. In that case, I say go ahead and get the card and squeeze the last bit of gaming life out of the machine. Then, in a year or two...get a whole new machine. But in that case...I'd say spend a little more on something like an X1950 Pro to make sure the upgrade is actually worthwhile.
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Post by Zealous zerotype »

Yea, he is going to buy it next week since he will have some more money then. We did see a good deal on a card (forgot which one) but it comes out to 130 after the mail-in rebate and he does have PCI-E so that AGP thing is not a problem. Also he is running a 4000+ athlon so he should be more than well off. I'll have to post which video card it is he is actually buying, but I checked in store at that site reveiweing oblivion and it said it ran it pretty well.
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Post by Cid Highwind »

Pair it up with an X1950Pro at least, they have gone down in price by a nice bit during the last couple of months, especially the 256mb version. I have the AGP 512mb version and it offers great performance. A lot better than a 7600GT (I used to have a 7800GS, which is faster than a 7600GT, but otherwise pretty much the same).

Also, depending on how picky he is about graphics, if he's used to ATi he will be greatly disappointed with nVidia's GF7 series. I couldn't stand the texture filtering and even High Quality mode wasn't looking as good as the default settings for my old 9800.

If going with ATi he should keep two things in mind:
1. They draw more power than their nVidia counterparts
2. They produce more heat

An additional thing is that ATi cards are generally less overclockable, but I don't think that's the most important thing.

Btw, in case you're wondering on whether to get a 256mb or 512mb card. There's already some games that eat 256mb for breakfast at standard resolutions. STALKER used the entire 512mb when run maxed out with 2xAA on, at 1024x768. So it isn't a luxury anymore.

About the GF8 series: Tests say that the 8600 series aren't as fast as the Radeon X1950, however, DX10 compatibility and the feature set make it a very interesting card. It costs more than the X1950 though. The GF7 equivalent of the X1950Pro is the 7900GS, which at stock speeds is slower, but can be overclocked to perform better. (with the exception of still having crappy IQ)

Hope it helps a bit :)
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Post by Disheveled DrFreeze »

as for the 8600s, it is true they are less powerfull in general then a x1950pro, but they do stand out in shader intensive games (like oblivion)

now im not a big fan of the reviews they do at hardocp, but their review shows the 8600GTS leading the x1950pro in oblivion

that said, for 120 you would be lucky to find a 8600GT, a gts is out of the question

id probably go for a 7900GS, they can be had for ~150 (or as low as 129 after MIR: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814186013) and usually overclock quite nicely
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Post by Cid Highwind »

I stand corrected, thanks for the info :)

Personally though, if he wants to play Oblivion, I wouldn't get a GF7 card to begin with. HDR and AA cannot be used at the same time, and even AA2x will allow for a much cleaner image than with no AA enabled at all.

The 7900GS is a good overclocker though, meaning that in the end it will be faster than the X1950Pro, but like I said, there's some tradeoffs to be made.
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