I Need Help Selecting aA New ATI Graphics Card

[LepRechauN]

I'm not that knowledgeable when it comes to the pc. Right now I have a custom pc from Xtreme Gear. I'm running dual Ati Radeon 1600s( the cheap ones). I have Windows XP Home, Athlon 4000, 1000MB Ram, and it all looks pretty when I turn it on. I use my pc for gaming and internet. My monitor is about 8 years old so I know I'll probably have to replace that soon as well. My power supply is 420 so I'll probably replace that with one that's about 700 to 800. I just baught UTIII, and it works ok. When playing it you can tell my graphic cards are outdated. It doesn't seem to work well when I use CrossFire.

What is a good Ati card to buy for under $300? I mostly like FPS like UTIII. I will only buy one card. I won't be using Crossfire.

Suggestions?

[LepRechauN]

I also don't know anything about overclocking. This is all new to me.

[skier]

for $300 you can get damn near any ATI card you feel like as long as you choose the right place to shop(like Newegg.com)

[LepRechauN]

for $300 you can get damn near any ATI card you feel like as long as you choose the right place to shop(like Newegg.com)

Thanks, but which one should I go with? 1950 pro, 2600, 2900, etc.. Which one is best for games?

[skier]

you would probably want either a 2900 for DX10, 3870 for DX 10.1, the 1950 is just too outdated really, but if you want to save $$$ and dont care about DX10, its a good enough buy

3870 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814241067
2900 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814102707

ever thought about venturing into Nvidia?

[LepRechauN]

you would probably want either a 2900 for DX10, 3870 for DX 10.1, the 1950 is just too outdated really, but if you want to save $$$ and dont care about DX10, its a good enough buy

3870 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814241067
2900 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814102707

ever thought about venturing into Nvidia?

Thanks for the info. I wouldn't mind gonig with Nvidia but my motherbourd is set up for Crossfire only. I bought it when Crossfire first came out. It's an Asus.

[Apoptosis]

You should go with a Radeon HD 3870 for sure if you want to stick with ATI. They can be found starting at $235, which is not bad at all. Skip the Radeon 2900 XT... The Radeon HD 3870 uses 100W less at load, which is a huge difference.

Check out my review of it here: http://www.legitreviews.com/article/605/1/

[skier]

You should go with a Radeon HD 3870 for sure if you want to stick with ATI. They can be found starting at $235, which is not bad at all. Skip the Radeon 2900 XT... The Radeon HD 3870 uses 100W less at load, which is a huge difference.

Check out my review of it here: http://www.legitreviews.com/article/605/1/

oh jeez if i knew the 100W difference i definately woulda said forget 2900 and 1950 completely

good call nate

[martini161]

the only ati card i would get right now other than the 3870 is a 1900xt and thats only cause i can fold it

[LepRechauN]

Heres another newbie question, the monitor I have is about 7 to 8 years old. If I buy the 3870, do I have to have a new LCD HD monitor or is the old one I'm using ok?

[hercules71185]

it comes with an adapter for dvi to vga. Before you go nuts realize this. Your picture quality and video quality are both capped by how good your monitor is. Example is, you get a 8800gt running on a 17inch 1995 crt. And a geforce 6600 running a 22" glossy LCD screen. Setting the video on lower quality since you need to you will probably be more happy with the results of a cheaper card looking better. I had a 21crt 2001 series dell. With an 8600gt. I upped to a nice 22" lcd and its the best investment in my computer I've made yet.

I personally recommend the 3870 512mb. You know you hate having to upgrade your video card every 6 months. If you get a higher line card, altho only high end for a few months it plays games for a long term without having to upgrade. Basically what I'm trying to say in short is:
You get the 2600 series in 6 months you will be almost required to update to keep up with games. Get a nice 3870 with good warranty and you will be fine at least for a bit.

[LepRechauN]

Thanks, I installed UTIII and it runs fine but the graphics look kinda blury. It's like when you try and watch standard tv on an HD tv. It looks crappy.

[maj0r_pawnage]

yeah, look at the 8800gtx, that was an amazing buy, over a year after its launch and it can still max out most games