My current GeForce 3 Ti-500's fan (and prolly some more) is kaput and it needs to be replaced very soon; now I saw this one:

Sapphire Atlantis Radeon 9600SE for 79 euro (afaik about the same amount in $).

Now, it seems that this card is quite a big heap of crap; however the budget isn't really much higher, and if it can run Vendetta with rglow on and preferably also AA (note: I'm running linux) on a reasonable res without acting like some slideshow it's good enough for me (I think I'll replace it with some uber card after working in the holiday anyway).
So, anyone else tried this card out? =)

Here are the stats of my PC btw:

linux 2.4.22
AMD Athlon Thunderbird 1333 Mhz
512 MB ram
2 x 40 GB HD
1 x 60 GB HD
(fast tmp drive hehe)

IT really sucks ass... Try to find a Ti4200.. it will preform better.


Heres Benchmarks of all Mainstream cards (9600XT/5700Ultra and lower...).

That should help you sort out all* the messes of Video cards costing under 200USD. I still think you should try to hunt down a cheap Ti4200.


* The FX5500 is missing from that article. The FX5500 is really a FX5200 overclocked.


Edit: Wait, only your fan is failing? Well if your good with your hands, I suggest you just stick another HSF on there. There are already pre-built Heatsinks and fans for the GF3-series.


I personally like Arctic Cooling's VGA Silencer:

http://svc.com/vga-rev3.html

But other (and cheaper) Solutions are effective too, like the Vantec Iceburq. (yes a Q). They are created to fit on GF3s so you don't need to 'mod' them.

Well, I'm not quite sure wether or not it's only the fan that is failing on my card.. but I do expect it to break down pretty soon now (I already have to underclock it 210 out of the normal 250 to prevent everything from just locking up), and if I'd buy a fan now; and my card breaks down anyway, I won't have anything to play Vendetta on :P

Also, the GF4 Ti cost quite a bit more than the 9600SE and I can't afford it till I get my summer"holiday"job -_-"

Oh, and my parents are buying the new videocard btw; but if I want more; I have to pay for the extra cost, so too bad.

Thanks for your help anyway, I'll think about getting a nice gpu (with nice silent fan) after the holiday >:)

Ooo! Ooo! I'll take the old one, fix it up, and keep it! I'll even pay for shipping! :D

just so you know, if it has a silent fan it sucks...

Besides the fact that it (The VGA Silencer) would make a good enough Passive cooler for a GF3, it must suck. And its already better than most stock heatsinks on a lot of Video cards.

The VGA Silencer does fit on most Radeon cards, so it doesn't matter if it does fail or not, cause you can always slap it on another card.

Ti's are too expensive? Hmm, well you could always get one used.

Or at least get a Radeon 9600.. http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?catalog=48&DEPA=1&submit=property&mfrcode=0&propertycode=&propertycodevalue=4807,3668

SEs suck.

get a 9500 pro. Ebay

Hmm, well I'll do my best to try and get the normal 9600, however the webstore my dad is getting the 9600SE from doesn't sell even a single 9600 :( So that means I'll have to pay extra for the shipping from some other store, oh well.

Get a 9500 pro. Much better than a 9600 non-pro.

The 9500 cost almost double that of the 9600 SE; so the 9500 Pro will cost more than that; but I couldn't find it on Tweakers.net' pricewatch, that basicly means it's almost nowhere to be found. Anyhow, there's no way in hell I can convince my parents to get that one (and I'm not going to loot my account just for a videocard which will be replaced soon(tm) anyway) Altough it seems the 9600 is a deal now :)

BTW, is there any site to compare an 9600 to a 3 Ti-500?

http://search.ebay.com/ati-9500_All-Categories_W0QQsofocusZbsQQsbrftogZ1QQhtZ1QQfromZR10QQsosortpropertyZ1QQsosortorderZ1

Nah, isn't going to happen; my dad doesn't trust 2nd hand equipment.

A GF4 won't give you rglow in Mac or Linux, ya know... You should just save up for a GeForce FX. I just saw an FX5600 with 128M of RAM here for $139. I know it costs more, but if you save for it, it WILL give you rglow and good performance.

Ehm, I'm getting the Radeon 9600; that one does have rglow on linux right?

FX5600 for $93.49... yes Albatron is a Brand Name.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-170-039&depa=1

FX5700LE for $101
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-150-056&depa=1

c'mon, your prices are outdated.
>>Sheenan Said<<
>Ehm, I'm getting the Radeon 9600;
>that one does have rglow on linux
>right?

I donno :(, bump for you.
If I were you, just wait it out... in 1 month you can get a decent card. (when the X800XT and GF6800U should be available to consumers). At least your GF3Ti500 is still working...

I don't know if it does rglow in linux. I know the R9700/9800 does...

it does

My GF3Ti500 is as-good-as-dead, it has to be massively underclocked just for 2D, and even more to run 3D. Even then after a while it becomes unstable.

Why dont you just buy another fan for it? Blue Orb, $10

By now, his memory's probably fried anyhow. He's 3 release cycles behind, I'd say time for a new video card.

Complimentary Nvidia progression diagram:


TNT2 (aka There are other gfx card companies?)
||
Vanta (aka Oh, you wanted 3D? I guess you wanted my big brother, TNT2...Too late!)
||
GeForce (aka The new cool)
||
GeForce2 (aka Successor to The new cool)
||
GeForce2 MX (aka Big Seller, Small Performer :P)
||
GeForce3 (aka Ooh Look at the Chameleon)
||
GeForce4 (aka Eat my Dust ATi! No, wait! We're supposed to win!)
||
GeForceFX (aka Honey, is that a vacuum cleaner or are you just using the Computer?)
||
GeForce 6800 (aka Up goes nvidia, past ATi, and here comes ATi for the photo finish...)T