Best Video Card?, for CS:Source Options

[turtlekid75]

What's the best video card for cs source?

[mechwarrior1989]

Because it's CS, you need to go for ATI cards, HL runs better on ATI though Nvidia is overall better and much better in Open GL Games. Because the ATi X850 XT Platinum edition isn't out yet, you'd have to get the X800 XT Platinum Edition which has a sticker price of around $600, and I'm not sure whether they have an AGP version so you'll need to check that your computer's motherboard has a PCIe slot and if your comp is from before July then it won't have a PCIe slot.

To rephrase, the Nvidia top of the line cards are better overall. The new 6 series of Nvidia crushes the ATI cards that are in the same price bracket.

[*kryogenix*]

Turtlekid: do you have PCI Express?

[sm0kinm0nky]

yeah i'd say ATIs or Nvidias. most computers today have the videocard built into the motherboard but if you get a videocard and put it in,it automatically switches.

[mechwarrior1989]

yeah i'd say ATIs or Nvidias. most computers today have the videocard built into the motherboard but if you get a videocard and put it in,it automatically switches.

Um, ATI and Nvidia are the only two consumer graphics card makers, what else are you going to choose if you get a graphics card? Who else are you going to buy from? 3Dlabs? Matrox? How many people have even heard of these two other companies? Very few, I'll tell you that.

[*kryogenix*]

Um, ATI and Nvidia are the only two consumer graphics card makers, what else are you going to choose if you get a graphics card? Who else are you going to buy from? 3Dlabs? Matrox? How many people have even heard of these two other companies? Very few, I'll tell you that.

S3, 3dFX too.

But i'm not sure if they're still around. Voodoo was popular a few years ago, and my old computer has an s3 card in it. And the KRYO-II!

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/kyro2.php

I have a videocard named after me!

((YES I KNOW KRYO IS A TYPO! BUT IT'S COOL ANYWAY!))

[mechwarrior1989]

S3, 3dFX too.

But i'm not sure if they're still around. Voodoo was popular a few years ago, and my old computer has an s3 card in it. And the KRYO-II!

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/kyro2.php

I have a videocard named after me!

((YES I KNOW KRYO IS A TYPO! BUT IT'S COOL ANYWAY!))

S3 is basically dead, I haven't seen any voodoo cards in a while and I've never heard of kryo though they probably aren't a huge consumer graphics card company. And the fact that that article is from 2001, well, it doesn't seem like it has really grown at all, so basically it's still ATI and Nvidia dominating the market.

Anyways, you need to give us your price range since just "the best card" is a bit broad to be working with.

[*kryogenix*]

S3 is basically dead, I haven't seen any voodoo cards in a while and I've never heard of kryo though they probably aren't a huge consumer graphics card company. And the fact that that article is from 2001, well, it doesn't seem like it has really grown at all, so basically it's still ATI and Nvidia dominating the market.

Anyways, you need to give us your price range since just "the best card" is a bit broad to be working with.

I think turtlekid75 died or something.

he hasn't responded at all.

[largosama]

best card? we don't know if his computer can even run some of them
like the new nvidia geforce (6900 i think) needs two power plugs xD some computers don't have that lol

[wayne]

the expensive one.. the most expensive one

[mechwarrior1989]

I think turtlekid75 died or something.

he hasn't responded at all.

No, he's just slow, see it says so under his avatar.

[turtlekid75]

Oops sorry. I forgot about this topic. Wats a PCI Express? I'm hella stupid on computer stuff.

[burnoveride]

ok first of all video is built into mother bords but that is called onboard video witch sucks over all i dont care if u think it's good it's not :) if u read the games system's recomends it says ati or nvidia 126 or 256 acclorator card meaning u have to go out and buy an acclorator card by ati ( boooo ) or nvidia ( yayyyy ) so pretty much on borad sucks lol

[mechwarrior1989]

ok first of all video is built into mother bords but that is called onboard video witch sucks over all i dont care if u think it's good it's not :) if u read the games system's recomends it says ati or nvidia 126 or 256 acclorator card meaning u have to go out and buy an acclorator card by ati ( boooo ) or nvidia ( yayyyy ) so pretty much on borad sucks lol

There's nothing wrong with ATI boards. If you know anything about graphics cards, you'll know that games that utalize the HL2 engine run better on ATI cards and open GL and other games will run better on Nvidia cards, however, this is only apparent in the higher end cards. Open GL has always ran better on Nvidia but the cards have been fairly competative overall. Of course integrated graphics sucks, that's why it's cheap, but it's more than enough to run your computer. So if you're only going to be playing CS: Source and HL2 and what not for a long time, stick with ATI, otherwise, I'd say get Nvidia if you're shooting for higher end, that's the new 6-series, otherwise it doesn't matter too much.

My friend was interested in a 9800pro but I persuaded him to look at the 6800 instead since he isn't going to be playing HL2 forever and the 6800 is much better than the 9800pro.

[vanish]

If you only play with the Source engine, get an ATI Xseries board. The best one, coming soon, would be the X850 XT Platinum Edition, with an MSRP of 550, i think. if you don't have that high of a budget, get the X800XL, which has great performance for 300 bucks. If you'll be playing Doom 3, however, i would recommend the BFG (nvidia core) 6800GT OC. 400 bucks, but one of the best cards you can buy at this point and a great card overall. will last you a long time.

[mechwarrior1989]

If you only play with the Source engine, get an ATI Xseries board. The best one, coming soon, would be the X850 XT Platinum Edition, with an MSRP of 550, i think. if you don't have that high of a budget, get the X800XL, which has great performance for 300 bucks. If you'll be playing Doom 3, however, i would recommend the BFG (nvidia core) 6800GT OC. 400 bucks, but one of the best cards you can buy at this point and a great card overall. will last you a long time.

You have to also remember that so far the X850 XT PE and the X800XL have only been announced for PCI-e, their AGP counterparts will not be coming out till march, that is if they decide to make them at all. You technically don't really need a 6800GT OC unless you're afraid of voiding your warentee since anyone can overclock by themselves. But it'll only give you a tiny boost in performance. If you want a great card for pretty low budget, the 9800pro will suit you just fine. It's last gen's top dog but for $200 you can't go wrong. Plus you can often get it for less than that so if you don't plan on upgrading too soon and don't want to spend too much then that's a great choice. BUT you could also get the 6800 like i've said before which is better than the 9800pro but costs a little more. The price should come down some more in a few months though with more pressure from other cards.

the expensive one.. the most expensive one

Expensive doesn't necessarily mean the best. Look at the workstation cards, those run at over $1,000 yet they're terrible for gaming. So price doesn't always mean good.

[vanish]

You have to also remember that so far the X850 XT PE and the X800XL have only been announced for PCI-e, their AGP counterparts will not be coming out till march, that is if they decide to make them at all. You technically don't really need a 6800GT OC unless you're afraid of voiding your warentee since anyone can overclock by themselves. But it'll only give you a tiny boost in performance. If you want a great card for pretty low budget, the 9800pro will suit you just fine. It's last gen's top dog but for $200 you can't go wrong. Plus you can often get it for less than that so if you don't plan on upgrading too soon and don't want to spend too much then that's a great choice. BUT you could also get the 6800 like i've said before which is better than the 9800pro but costs a little more. The price should come down some more in a few months though with more pressure from other cards.
Expensive doesn't necessarily mean the best. Look at the workstation cards, those run at over $1,000 yet they're terrible for gaming. So price doesn't always mean good.

9800pro is a bad idea. this generation's midrange cards do much better, and for the same or less price. if you're thinking of going with 9800pro, get a 6600GT or regular 6600 for 200 dollars or less. it has better performance and comes in PCIexpress as well.

btw the 9800 series are still very expensive for their performance.

[auroradude]

<---- GeForce 6800 Ultra x16 . PWNAGE. Little bit overkill i think. I shouldnt have blew as much cash as i did on that

[snak3y3z1001]

best bang for the buck is nvidia 6800gt. :)

[MasterNe0]

Nvidia is what I choice for HL and CS: Source. The better the card, the better the quality. Also make sure u have a overall good system for the game since graphic card is one piece of the big puzzle.

[mechwarrior1989]

Nvidia is what I choice for HL and CS: Source. The better the card, the better the quality. Also make sure u have a overall good system for the game since graphic card is one piece of the big puzzle.

Then you have chosen wrong my friend. Obviously Neo can't always make the right choices. The HL2 engine just runs better on ATI than on Nvidia, it's proven, that's why all the HL2 boxes say "Runs best on ATI" of course bang for the buck wise Nvidia cards are better than ATI when we look at the current generation of cards. However the older cards are up for grabs though the 9800pro is probably the most common and thus the best. But if you're playing HL2 and CS:Source then you definatly want ATI, but if you'll be playing other stuff as well and don't think HL2 engine will latch on real well, then go Nvidia.

[auroradude]

I dont think I would want ATI for maybe 1 or 2fps more . Video producing is so f'ing fast with the 6800U. Half of that probably accounts for my EE P4 though.

[snak3y3z1001]

When you buy a GPU you go for the best bang for the buck. I wouldnt blow $300 on a card to get 5 more fps in one game :/ I highly doubt you will be only playing hl2/source only, so i recommend a 6800gt. However if your only play hl2/source go ATI then.

[vanish]

I dont think I would want ATI for maybe 1 or 2fps more  . Video producing is so f'ing fast with the 6800U. Half of that probably accounts for my EE P4 though.

actually ATI performance is 10-20 fps more. add some zeroes.

  best bang for the buck is nvidia 6800gt. :)

at least until x800XL is out, which will be very soon. $100 cheaper, about the same performance.

[SuPerSoPow1025]

ATI ~ its built for Half-Life games =)