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General discussion

Hard-core gamers, help me make a budget decision

Jan 13, 2004 11:43AM PST

I'm looking at getting an entry level video card, and have narrowed it down to a GeForce4 Ti 4200, and an ATI Radeon 9200.

The classic question remains: ATI or nVIDIA?

Discussion is locked

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Re:Hard-core gamers, help me make a budget decision
Jan 14, 2004 6:52AM PST

I have been playing computer games for several years now (mainly counter-strike). I use a GeForce4 Ti 4800, i have used a 4200 and give 100fps on counter-strike i couldnt tell you the preformance for other games. The Radeon cards are very good, they provide equal quality and preformance. I have heard of cases where the Radeon cards have not worked maybe this was an isolated case i dont know. My prefernce would be the 4200.

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Re:Re:Hard-core gamers, help me make a budget decision
Mar 1, 2004 1:49AM PST

check for number of pipe lines on the card more pipe lines=higher fps

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Re:Hard-core gamers, help me make a budget decision
Mar 1, 2004 1:54AM PST

I personaly feel ATI overcharges.

I got a geforce 4 4400 ti and I can run games like ravenshield or BF 60+ frames. So it blazes.

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Re:Hard-core gamers, help me make a budget decision
Mar 1, 2004 2:18AM PST

Compare the results at http://www.tomshardware.com , but I pick the nvidia every time. Don't let me influence you too much. But drivers just seem to work better for me.

Bob

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Re:Hard-core gamers, help me make a budget decision
Mar 1, 2004 9:46PM PST

You want driver issues go with ATI. If you want better overall game compatibility go with the GeForce.

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Re:Hard-core gamers, help me make a budget decision
Mar 2, 2004 5:56AM PST

I think you should get the GeForce Ti 4200. If you don't mind spending a little extra cash, it might be worth your while to get a GeForce FX 5200. They have DirectX 9 support.

Look to http://www.pricewatch.com for the latest prices on each. Looks like the ATI 9200 is going for $41 (up to 128MB), the GeForce Ti 4200 at $79 (128MB), and the GeForce FX 5200 for $52 (128MB). You might even consider a GeForce FX 5600, since it goes for slightly higher than the Ti 4200 at $90 (128MB).

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Re:Hard-core gamers, help me make a budget decision
Mar 2, 2004 3:11PM PST