Videocard comparison chart?

I've been looking online, but does anyone know of a page that compares the various specs of nVidia and/or ATI cards? I've had a GF4 Ti4200 for a while now and it's going to be upgrade time soon; I've been out of the loop for too long and all the "pointless numbers in the name" naming conventions are somewhat confusing.

m19

 

www.tomshardware.com is reliable and also very detailed along with benchmark notes, screenshots, etc.

 

Yeah, I've visited their site in the past but I'm really looking for an actual chart, table, orp age that shows an at-a-glance rundown, not just a site...

That being said, I did manage to find large 30+ card benchmark comparison here:

http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20041004/vga_charts-08.html

...which is a good start.

m19

 

Here's a comparison of some fo the higher end models

 

Suggestions?

Hmm... I've always managed to get any new videocard at the time (Voodoo3, GF3, and GF4 Ti4200) for under $150 by not buying the newest and greatest. Do you guys think that budget's possible, and still be able to run the likes of HL2 aruond medium or high-ish settings? The trusty 64mb Ti4200 just isn't cutting it for the newer software.

The other relevant parts of my system are:

• AMD XP 3000+/400FSB
• MSI K7N2 Delta-L board
• 1 gb Geil DDR400 (2 sticks of 512)

I have a feeling that I just need to upgrade the videocard to get acceptable performance, as the rest of the system seems like a good mid-range gaming platform. (As it stands now, HL2 runs well... It just chokes on the outside portions.) I'd also like to stick with Nvidia, and it has to be AGP. I've had good luck with Gainward and Leadtek in the past, but I've heard Albatron is also good. How about thoughts on the necessity of 256 mb RAM, or is 128 decent for the near future?

Can I get an opinion on these two (very different) cards?
• Chaintech Geforce FX5700LE (256 mb)
• Leadtek Geforce 6600GT (128 mb)

How loud are these newer cards? I've got passive cooling on my Ti4200 (a "wrap-around" copper doohickey) and I'd like to do that again, but if the cards' fans are quiet enough I might be ok...

m19

 

*sigh* Really wish the post-5-minute Edit function was still around...

To amend my above post, I wouldn't mind a Radeon, so long as it can a) perform and b) is around $150 or so. I'm finding it very, very difficult to fit all this criteria AND have an AGP card...

Also looking at the Leadtek FX5900XT card now. I need to narrow this down.

m19

 

Went and did some homework... I think I'm going to spring for the extra fifty bucks and get a GF 6600GT card, so it's narrowed down to the Leadtek and XFX options.

Anyone have either card? I'm looking for some real-world experiences apart from what's posted on Newegg. Also, is it easy to adapt a regular VGA monitor plug to the XFX card? It looks like it only has those new "white" plugs rather than the standard blue.

Thanks for any any and all help...
m19

 

Well I have experience with XFX motherboards, but not thier video cards. I like thier MB's, but I've not heard alot of good about the video cards.

Leadtek on the other hand has been around for a long time. I've own a couple of thier video cards & I've not had one problem with them. Currently running a Leadtek TNT2 in another machine & it's rock solid.

That said.....I believe you will be happy with either of those cards. If the connection is an issue , I would go with the one that doesn't create the problem.

 

OK I reckon I shoulda added that you will be needing a power connection ( 4-pin Molex connector off the Power Suppply ) to the card for it to run at full potential. Also your current PSU should be at the very least 450watts or you could run into power issues.

 

Yeah I'm leaning towards the Leadtek simply because a) I've had good luck with them in the past and b) I've been reading some really good reviews of that particular card/brand today.

Anyone who has the Leadtek 6600GT... How noisy is the fan? I'm using a passive cooler on my Ti4200 now so anything more than a whisper is going to drive me nuts. :\

m19

 

I really wish there was an AGP card inbetween the 6600GT and FX5700, though. Seems like the name-brand cards between those two are only PCIe.

m19

 

I'm hunting for a non-GT 6600 card now, but like I mentioned before it's exceedingly difficult to find an AGP version. Scouring Newegg to see what I can find... Considering the difference in base price of the 6600 vs. 6600GT is almost $100, I'm hoping I can find something.

And so the saga continues!

m19

 

hehe using a 6800gt oc OC'd and a venus 12+ cooler @ max speed and 4 fans... I fall asleep hearing the sound without a hitch . Morgan i don't think you want to go below a 6600gt for performance reasons; unless your on a budget and such. Theres a bunch of 6600gt's on new egg..price diff between 6600 and 6600gt is only about 60$

 

Yeah, but the trick of it is finding an AGP one, which still seems pretty rare. I think I've settled on the Leadtek 6600GT, as everything I've read indicates it's the best price/performance purchase right now and I'm comfortable with their cards... $50 more past my budget isn't a huge deal if I get a couple years out of it, which the way I'm going, I will.

m19

 

Yup, good luck; you can tell which ones are AGP because of the 210-220$ price gauge on em'

 

The FX 5900XT I have is great & the fans are actually quite. You really can't hear them running. Cooling is not a problem with this card. For fans that are so quite, it's amazing how well it cools. There are fans on both sides of the card with huge copper heatsinks.

 

Its time for the FX series to go the way of old yella'

 

Yeah. At first it looked like a good budget card but after reading many, many reviews on what I believe is its craptacular Dx9 performance, I'm not so inclined to use it for this- or next-gen games.

m19

 

I placed an order at Newegg for the Leadtek 6600GT late last night. The price was only about 50% more than what I was expecting to pay, but considering it's been a few years since I got my current Ti4200 (which will find a nice new home in our other computer, yay recycling!), I think the upgrade was worth it.

I'll post again when it's installed, with results and general impressions.

m19

 

congrats! Don't forget to use driver cleaner 3.3

 

The 6600GT came today so I'll most likely be installing it tonight. Do I really need to do the uninstall/reinstall driver dance since I'm going from one Geforce to another?

m19

 

Hmm... Apparently there are a ton of people (the vocal ones, anyway) having issues with the AGP 6600GTs. Everything from crashes and freezes to flickering textures. I've noticed some flickering in Tribes: Vengeance and Half-Life 2, and Tribes 1 is just way too stuttery to even play. Of course at this point it seems like everyone thinks they know what's wrong: "it's the drivers, no it's heat, no wait it must be BIOS settings!" but honestly I'm not sure what's up. I've tried several different versions of Forceware along with various BIOS and Display settings and, although things aren't crashing or freezing, things definitely don't seem "right."

Anyone else with an AGP 6600GT having issues?

m19