EQ2 and Video Card Upgrades! (Please help me)

Alright... here's the deal. I recently upgraded to 1 gig of ram and oh.. my.. god.. The game ran SOOO smooth, and so I turned the textures up a bit. Still, the game runs alright, but laggy after playing for a few hours. I really like the look, but even the slightest lag gets me kinda wanting to upgrade. SO!

Question number 1:

What's better? The Radeon 9600 XT 256 meg OR the Radeon 9800 XT 128? I've heard that the 128 is better.. But why? Both cost the same, but the 256 is twice the memory, so there has to be something good.

Question number 2:

What the difference in

SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON 9600XT Video Card, 256MB DDR
DIAMOND ATI RADEON 9600XT Video Card, 256MB DDR
Info-Tek ATI RADEON 9600XT Video Card, 256MB DDR
POWERCOLOR ATI RADEON 9600XT Video Card, 256MB
Rosewill ATI RADEON 9600XT Video Card, 256MB DDR
Jetway ATI RADEON 9600XT Video Card, 256MB DDR
ABIT ATI RADEON 9600XT Video Card, 256MB DDR

It's the same card.. but with different names? How do I know which one to get?

Question number 3: How do I check the temperature of my video card? And what's considered hot?

That is all

 

current games will not utilize the 256mb memory on the card, so i would get the 9800 Pro 128.

ATI Product Comparison

Product Name RADEON 9800 PRO 128MB RADEON 9600 XT ASIC RADEON 9800 RADEON 9600 Technology Features

SMARTSHADER™ 2.1 2 SMOOTHVISION™ 2.1 2.1 FULLSTREAM™ Real, DivX Real, DivX Adaptive De-Interlace VIDEOSHADER™ VIDEOSHADER™ HYDRAVISION™ Yes Yes Hardware MPEG Encode Assist - - Specifications

Bus Type AGP 4X, 8X AGP 4X, 8X Memory Amount (MB) 128 128 Memory Type DDR1 DDR1 Memory Interface 256-bit 128-bit Memory Clock Speed (MHz) 340 300 Engine Clock Speed (MHz) 380 500 Pipelines 8 4 Pixel Fillrate 3.04 Gpixels/sec 2.0 Gpixels/sec Geometry Rate 380 MTriangles 250 MTriangles Display Support

VGA Yes Yes DVI Yes Yes Dual Monitor Display Yes Yes YPrPb Out for HDTV w/adapter optional w/adapter optional S-Video Out Yes Yes Composite Out w/adapter included w/adapter optional Multimedia Support

S-Video In - - Composite In - - TV Tuner - - FM Tuner No No DTV Tuner

Remote Control Included - - EAZYLOOK - - Audio Out - - S/PDIF Out - -

 

last post was confusing and couldn't edit due to stupid time rule.

anyway, this should be better

ATI Product Comparison

Product Name RADEON 9600 XT
ASIC RADEON 9600

Technology Features

SMARTSHADER™ 2
SMOOTHVISION™ 2.1
FULLSTREAM™ Real, DivX Adaptive De-Interlace VIDEOSHADER™
HYDRAVISION™ Yes Hardware MPEG Encode Assist - Specifications

Bus Type AGP 4X, 8X
Memory Amount (MB) 256
Memory Type DDR1
Memory Interface 128-bit
Memory Clock Speed (MHz) 300
Engine Clock Speed (MHz) 500
Pipelines 4
Pixel Fillrate 2.0 Gpixels/sec
Geometry Rate 250 MTriangles

Display Support

VGA Yes
DVI Yes
Dual Monitor Display Yes
YPrPb Out for HDTV w/adapter optional S-Video Out Yes
Composite Out w/adapter optional

Multimedia Support

S-Video In - Composite In - TV Tuner - FM Tuner No DTV Tuner
Remote Control Included - EAZYLOOK - Audio Out - S/PDIF Out -

Product Name RADEON 9800 PRO 128MB
ASIC RADEON 9800

Technology Features

SMARTSHADER™ 2.1
SMOOTHVISION™ 2.1
FULLSTREAM™ Real, DivX Adaptive De-Interlace VIDEOSHADER™
HYDRAVISION™ Yes Hardware MPEG Encode Assist -

Specifications

Bus Type AGP 4X, 8X
Memory Amount (MB) 128
Memory Type DDR1
Memory Interface 256-bit
Memory Clock Speed (MHz) 340
Engine Clock Speed (MHz) 380
Pipelines 8
Pixel Fillrate 3.04 Gpixels/sec
Geometry Rate 380 MTriangles

Display Support

VGA Yes
DVI Yes
Dual Monitor Display Yes
YPrPb Out for HDTV w/adapter optional S-Video Out Yes
Composite Out w/adapter included

Multimedia Support

S-Video In - Composite In - TV Tuner - FM Tuner No DTV Tuner
Remote Control Included - EAZYLOOK - Audio Out - S/PDIF Out -

 

Actually, 512 Meg cards can lag EQ2 at FULL settings. But I can't afford something like that. So I guess I'll go with radeon 9600 XT 256 meg.

 

i didnt know 512mb card were on the market yet.

 

there is a common misconception that the more ram a card has the better it is which is totaly false and what Kensi is under the asumption of. Thats why companies make Radeon 9200SE with 256mb and sellit for 200$ a pop. The only 512MB cards that im aware of arent mainstream market cards. If your looking for better performance your looking on the core itself not the amount of ram it has.

 

btw 9800 xt is better

 

Alright cool.. now if I could just find a 9800 Pro that ISN'T ALL IN WONDER! I got an AIW now and I hate having all the extra cables, software, and other junk. Newegg is sold out of the "Normal" cards.

 

you can always go for a 5900U for round same price performance is around the same for every ATI theres an NV counter part and viceversa.

 

Ok , check this out. With your opinion, I want you to help me pick either.

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=320809 (NOT PRO)

or

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=320810 (Pro )

I'm thinkin the 256.. it's cheap, and free shipping is crucial

And my Current card (Radeon 9600) isn't a pro, and it handles EQ2 Decently.