| Graphics
Cards |
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| Which
Graphics Card? |
| There's two
guys that run this site in the main, and we
both sit on different sides of the fence
when it comes to graphics, one of us plays
NVidia, the other ATi. Admittedly the
comparison of the cards is not really fair,
one is a 256mb 9800XT ATi card and the other
is an NVidia 64mb Ti200, but both play the
game to an amicable basic level. When
discussing graphics cards in the current
market its a very confusing place, there are
a number of different brands producing cards
based on two company's chipsets, this is all
about to change with two new chipsets coming
to market and the evolution of on board
graphics capabilities.
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In truth on
board graphics will not cut it in Tiger
Woods PGA Tour 2002/2003/2004, we need to
look at this with an element of
ruthlessness, the capabilities of on board
graphics are primarily aimed at desktop
publication and not an awful lot else.
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| As we talk
about the options there are a few things you
will need to check...... |
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| Can I
upgrade? |
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Many look
to upgrade first, this is the most cost
effective path, but can be quite selective
especially for people who have the
mainstream manufacturers machines, the likes
of Dell's (with the exception of their
recently introduced XPS range) make and
market their machines for the mainstreams
users, not really for the gamer in mind, if
you want to upgrade a mainstream
manufacturers machine then I would recommend
you get in touch with the manufacturer and
see what options you have. Specifically
things to consider are AGP slot
availability, Power Supply capability and
case space as these are usually built to
meet minimum specifications required of
desktop publishing. |
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| nVidia or
ATi? |
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This is a
personal preference in all honesty, if you
go for the core specifications there is no
doubt that the 9800XT wipes the floor with
the current Nvidia cards, but there is more
to this, the graphics market is ever
changing, ATi have a new chipset on the
horizon and it should be with us by mid year
at the latest, tie with this the
introduction of a new slot type, the PCI
Express and graphics markets are going to
explode as new games hit the market that
slowly push the cards, in all honesty the
games out there can hardly push the current
cards, the 9800XT for example hits over 100
FPS on most sections of the courses
available with Tiger 2004.
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Conclusion |
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If you have
the money, buy the best you can get, this
would currently be the 9800XT from ATi in my
humble opinion, of course others may direct
you to the FX5950 Ultra card from NVidia,
for the mid range buyer there is no doubt
here, the 9600XT is the card for anyone
right now, if you can still get them then of
course as the price drops a little more then
the 9800 Pro is definitely where your money
should go. all in all its a good time for
the buyer, the competitiveness of ATi and
NVidia means chip prices drop quicker as
more and more cards come to market, if you
have the money then buy around April May
2004 as this is when new cores are predicted
and the current range toppers will be
stupidly priced for the power. |
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