Technology Review
In a lot of the various threads all around this Hardware board there are people with a lot of questions regarding buying a video card so they can run Hl2 well, along with all the other DX9 games that are coming up. My advice about getting a card for DX9 is this: ATI, not Nvidia. The nv3x code path which Nvidia hardware utilizes provides poor performance for high range dynamic rendering and pixel shaders. (DX9 effects). ATI uses the proprietary dx9 code path and its very effective. ATI cards are getting between 36-45 fps for 9600pro and 9800pro cards, respectively. Wheras, Nvidia is getting much lower performance, between 9-22 for the 5600ultra and 5900ultra. Running in dx8.1 certainly helps nvidia in comparison to ATI, but that competition isn't about top performance. The stats I listed above are about performance. If det50, nvidias drivers come out soon and a retest is done, nvidia may close the gap, but i couldn't imagine an updated driver doubling or tripling performance.
Buyers Guide
When buying a card, either go for a manufacturer built product .i.e
http://www.zdnet.co.uk/i/z/rv/2002/08/ati-radeon-9700-box.gif
or go for a product with identical specs from a third party manufacturer.
The most frequent problem with shady third-parties is that they label something as a "9700 pro" and they run with different clock speeds. Before deciding to purchase check the spec's. For example, the Radeon 9700 pro runs, by manufactuer's specifications at 325Mhz CPU and 310Mhz or "620 Mhz ddr" (both identical). Some third- parties will run lower. Here is an example http://www.allstarshop.com/shop/product.asp?pid=6227&sid=593F673DMSGG9PUBVRHAU7XRNAN11WU0
That card runs at a CPU speed of 275mhz, not 310. Big performance hit. www.newegg.com gets new shipments of 3rd party ati video cards frequently, unfortunately right now they are kinda expensive.
This is the card i got, its made by Powercolor and has an inordinately homosexual man on the cover. Regardless of that, it runs at ATi factory "pro"specs. My advice is to install the card and hide the box from your friends. Also, https://us.etrade.com/e/t/invest/quotesresearch
go here and check the 1 year graph on ATYT, thats ATI's stock ticker symbol. Jesus Christ i could have made a lot of money if i applied what i know about ATI.
In a lot of the various threads all around this Hardware board there are people with a lot of questions regarding buying a video card so they can run Hl2 well, along with all the other DX9 games that are coming up. My advice about getting a card for DX9 is this: ATI, not Nvidia. The nv3x code path which Nvidia hardware utilizes provides poor performance for high range dynamic rendering and pixel shaders. (DX9 effects). ATI uses the proprietary dx9 code path and its very effective. ATI cards are getting between 36-45 fps for 9600pro and 9800pro cards, respectively. Wheras, Nvidia is getting much lower performance, between 9-22 for the 5600ultra and 5900ultra. Running in dx8.1 certainly helps nvidia in comparison to ATI, but that competition isn't about top performance. The stats I listed above are about performance. If det50, nvidias drivers come out soon and a retest is done, nvidia may close the gap, but i couldn't imagine an updated driver doubling or tripling performance.
Buyers Guide
When buying a card, either go for a manufacturer built product .i.e
http://www.zdnet.co.uk/i/z/rv/2002/08/ati-radeon-9700-box.gif
or go for a product with identical specs from a third party manufacturer.
The most frequent problem with shady third-parties is that they label something as a "9700 pro" and they run with different clock speeds. Before deciding to purchase check the spec's. For example, the Radeon 9700 pro runs, by manufactuer's specifications at 325Mhz CPU and 310Mhz or "620 Mhz ddr" (both identical). Some third- parties will run lower. Here is an example http://www.allstarshop.com/shop/product.asp?pid=6227&sid=593F673DMSGG9PUBVRHAU7XRNAN11WU0
That card runs at a CPU speed of 275mhz, not 310. Big performance hit. www.newegg.com gets new shipments of 3rd party ati video cards frequently, unfortunately right now they are kinda expensive.
This is the card i got, its made by Powercolor and has an inordinately homosexual man on the cover. Regardless of that, it runs at ATi factory "pro"specs. My advice is to install the card and hide the box from your friends. Also, https://us.etrade.com/e/t/invest/quotesresearch
go here and check the 1 year graph on ATYT, thats ATI's stock ticker symbol. Jesus Christ i could have made a lot of money if i applied what i know about ATI.
