I have a geforce 4 ti4200 - should I upgrade this card yet ??

[dimmy32]

I was thinking of upgrading, but I cant afford the 500-600 $ bad *** cards. I was thinking of getting a radeon 9600 pro ( around 250-300 $ canadian ) ...would it make much difference in terms of REAL performance ( not aquamark 3 , or 3D mark 2002 scores ) ...
I'm looking forward to half life 2 and Doom 3 !
I'm running win xp on an athlon xp 1600 , 512 mb ram , soundblaster live, etc etc.

[mikeysg]

The Ti4200 isn't such a bad card, I'd say hold on to it and save up for a cpu, mobo, ram and vid card upgrade. If you are thinking of HL2 and want to play it reasonably well, then the 9500P/9600P would suit your need - BUT I think your CPU's gonna be the bottleneck here. Can you list your specs so that other smarter SF members can advise you better.

[sapasion]

I've got a 4200 and I'm not buying anything yet. Everyone's talking about HL2 like its already here when in fact it might be several weeks or even months before we're actually playing it. Rumors have HL2 arriving anywhere from Sept.30 which I believe we can finally all agree isn't going to happen to as late as Q2 2004. Mild optimism suggests November as a possibility. Still that just gives cards like the 9800 time to drop in price.

Also dimmy32 understand that your CPU is going to be holding you back quite a bit for either HL2 or D3.

[Un4given]

I'd wait til more performance numbers come out. All the numbers we have seen were done on P4 2.8C chips with 1GB of RAM. Until the benchmarks are available on a broader range of CPUs and platforms, we just don't know what the performance will look like, even with a top end VC.

[coolqf]

adding to wan un4given said, I'm one that likes to buy hardware AFTER I run into software that improves from it

[Vengance_01]

wait till september 30th as thats when the beckmark will be out. Test, read then buy

[hwmicre]

First of all, I don't think your 3DMark 2002 score will change a whole lot......hehhehehehe, sorry.......

To kinda echo, you're probably in line for more of a total system upgrade - plus, do you care about AA/AF? If you DON'T, then the Ti4200 can hold you longer than you think - maybe to a sub-$200 9800 (Pro??)....

[bigpoppapumpg]

good thread, i have virtually the same system as the thread starter, just a slightly faster cpu. Problem is i'm stuck with what i have at least for awhile. I will HAVE to make due with what I have for HL2 and D3, I don't mind running at 800X600 with no AA AF and in game details at medium. That should still look good and perform reasonably well. I suspect your system will do likewise, worst case drop down to 640X480.

When I upgrade I want it to be a major one that will last a few years. That probably means a 64 bit cpu to be ready for longhorn, 3gio/pc express mobo with onboard raid ,serial ata, high quality onboard sound like nvidias nforce 2 'soundstorm' 5.1 dolby audio, and whatever generation of video card will be current. I'm guessing this system is about 18-24 months away.

PS. I'm expecting my 14 month old dead ti4200 back from gainward warranty, I included a message begging the rma dept to ship me a ti 4400 or 4600. How cool would it be if they upgraded my card just to be nice

[hwmicre]

Originally posted by bigpoppapumpg
PS. I'm expecting my 14 month old dead ti4200 back from gainward warranty, I included a message begging the rma dept to ship me a ti 4400 or 4600. How cool would it be if they upgraded my card just to be nice

Well, if you're gonna go for it, you may as well go for it.....why not a 5900U????...heheheehe

[dimmy32]

thanks for the advice...I've heard that Nvidia is gonna improve thier drivers with the 50.xx set....although I'm skeptical , as with each driver Nvidia releases , they promise " up to a 40 % increase " and nothing really changes. I suspect they'll try an optimize the detonators for HL2 somewhat , but I'm not expecting very much.

Guess I'll start saving up my $$ : )

[Mtlpig]

Ok, its like September, and I believe the next generation of cards are supposed to come out in time for the Christmas buying season (November.)
And, since there are no present games that need more than dirext x 8, you should be set for a little while longer.
Half Life 2 and Doom ]|[ are the games that are finally going to push the hardware. I'd wait til they were out and tested - on all the vid cards, before making a purchase.

[bigpoppapumpg]

Originally posted by hwmicre
Well, if you're gonna go for it, you may as well go for it.....why not a 5900U????...heheheehe

Ya you're right, but jeez that just aint gonna happen. besides, to be honest with my slow *** system the 5900u would be overkill. I wouldn't turn it down though