Advice on which ATI graphics card to buy

sottawa · Mar 2, 2005, 03:25 PM

Hello,
I'm in the market to buy a new graphics card, but my system has some issues that prohibit me from
buying the newest tecnology. I would appreciate some suggestions on which cards will and will not
work for me. I will be using the card for Video editing. BTW, I am not interested in buying a new system nor changing my power supply.
System Specs: p4, running windows XP.
My contraints are that my power supply is 200w, and my motherboard supports 4x, but not 8x.
Because of the power supply limitations I have ruled out all nVidea cards since everyone I checked
had a minimum of 250w requirement. I'm pretty sure I want to go with an AGP type card.
So on the ATI front I am looking at 9200, 9550, and the 9600 series.
I would prefer the card had at least 128MB. I have found little in the way of info on power supply requirements
on the ATI web site.
Does anyone have any suggestions on which cards will work for me?
Thanks,
Steve

The_Neon_Cowboy · Mar 2, 2005, 03:40 PM

Actually run this Calculator....

http://www.extreme.outervision.com/index.jsp

and tell us what you get (with out video included) and look at the estamate of max wattage used with diffent cards this isn't 100% accurate but it works !

sottawa · Mar 2, 2005, 07:39 PM

Well,
From what I know about the machine, according to the calculator, it came up as
260w which is probably high by about 30w since I had to guess in a couple of places.
I added a DVD RW drve where before it had a DVD-R drive.
Thanks,
Steve

sottawa · Mar 2, 2005, 07:46 PM

Hi,
I tried different cards. I should mention that my system is an HP 760n.
The video card it came with was a 32 mb nvidia tnt2.

I'm guessing I can get by with either a Radion 9200 AGP 128mb
or maybe Radeon 9600 AGP (with the standard 128mb).
Thoughts?

farkas · Mar 2, 2005, 07:58 PM

I say 9600 AIW for gaming or 9200 AIW if gaming is not important.

redsolar · Mar 2, 2005, 08:32 PM

What are other system details? CPU, RAM, hard drive, etc? Do you have some sort of budget?

sottawa · Mar 3, 2005, 02:39 PM

Additional System details:
512MB RAM (sorry don't know what type)
120 GB HDD
P4 running at 1.8 MHz

As far as budget goes, I am sure it would not be top of the line since I can't
go beyond a 4x agp card, so I am figuring somewhere max around $100.
thanks,
Steve

redsolar · Mar 3, 2005, 03:39 PM

Well, if you can find one, go with a 9500 or a 9700. If you can afford one, go with a 9800Non-SE/9800Pro/6600/6600GT AGP. They will work in 4x slots without any problem.

Otherwise if you really need video input capabilities, go with 9600AIW. Though if you care about video quality and compatibility, I would rather pick a standalone PCI Hauppage-class card.

Mar 2, 2005, 03:25 PM	#1
sottawa DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 4 Rep Power: 0	Advice on which ATI graphics card to buy Hello, I'm in the market to buy a new graphics card, but my system has some issues that prohibit me from buying the newest tecnology. I would appreciate some suggestions on which cards will and will not work for me. I will be using the card for Video editing. BTW, I am not interested in buying a new system nor changing my power supply. System Specs: p4, running windows XP. My contraints are that my power supply is 200w, and my motherboard supports 4x, but not 8x. Because of the power supply limitations I have ruled out all nVidea cards since everyone I checked had a minimum of 250w requirement. I'm pretty sure I want to go with an AGP type card. So on the ATI front I am looking at 9200, 9550, and the 9600 series. I would prefer the card had at least 128MB. I have found little in the way of info on power supply requirements on the ATI web site. Does anyone have any suggestions on which cards will work for me? Thanks, Steve

Mar 2, 2005, 03:40 PM	#2
The_Neon_Cowboy DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 16,135 Rep Power: 76 System Specs	Actually run this Calculator.... http://www.extreme.outervision.com/index.jsp and tell us what you get (with out video included) and look at the estamate of max wattage used with diffent cards this isn't 100% accurate but it works ! __________________

Mar 2, 2005, 07:39 PM	#3
sottawa DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 4 Rep Power: 0	The calculator values Well, From what I know about the machine, according to the calculator, it came up as 260w which is probably high by about 30w since I had to guess in a couple of places. I added a DVD RW drve where before it had a DVD-R drive. Thanks, Steve

Mar 2, 2005, 07:46 PM	#4
sottawa DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 4 Rep Power: 0	I am guessing this is what I can use Hi, I tried different cards. I should mention that my system is an HP 760n. The video card it came with was a 32 mb nvidia tnt2. I'm guessing I can get by with either a Radion 9200 AGP 128mb or maybe Radeon 9600 AGP (with the standard 128mb). Thoughts?

Mar 2, 2005, 07:58 PM	#5
farkas IT Support Specialist Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Ste-Anne-de-Beaupre, Québec, Can Posts: 180 Rep Power: 0	I say 9600 AIW for gaming or 9200 AIW if gaming is not important. __________________ K8N DLX (s754) A64 3200+ Thermalright XP-120 Corsair CMX512C2 X 2 1GB total Asus X800XT PE with ATI Silencer 4 rev 1 120Gb Sea SATA + 120GB WD PATA + 80GB WD PATA

Mar 2, 2005, 08:32 PM	#6
redsolar Off duty Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Iowa, USA Posts: 1,252 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	What are other system details? CPU, RAM, hard drive, etc? Do you have some sort of budget? __________________ Real_Men_Do_Not_Use_Space_Bar Main rig: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 3.6 GHz (Zerotherm Nirvana NV120) \| 2x2GB Mushkin + 2x2GB Corsair DDR2-800 5-5-5-18 \| Abit IP35 Pro \| XFX 8800GTS 512 800/1100 \| 2x160GB Seagate 7200.9 RAID1 + Hitachi 1TB 32MB \| NEC SATA DVD+RW + Xbox 360 USB HD DVD Drive \| Antec TruePower Quattro 850W PSU \| Antec Nine Hundred Case \| 3x 24" LCD (Dell 2407WFP + 2x StarLogic) \| Logitech Z-5500 \| Vista Business x64 Laptop: Dell Vostro 1500 \| Core 2 Duo T7500 \| 2.5 GB RAM \| nVidia GeForce 8600M GT \| 200GB 7200 RPM \| DVDRW \| 15.4" 1680x1050 LCD \| XP Pro

Mar 3, 2005, 02:39 PM	#7
sottawa DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 4 Rep Power: 0	Additional System detail Additional System details: 512MB RAM (sorry don't know what type) 120 GB HDD P4 running at 1.8 MHz As far as budget goes, I am sure it would not be top of the line since I can't go beyond a 4x agp card, so I am figuring somewhere max around $100. thanks, Steve

Mar 3, 2005, 03:39 PM	#8
redsolar Off duty Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Iowa, USA Posts: 1,252 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Well, if you can find one, go with a 9500 or a 9700. If you can afford one, go with a 9800Non-SE/9800Pro/6600/6600GT AGP. They will work in 4x slots without any problem. Otherwise if you really need video input capabilities, go with 9600AIW. Though if you care about video quality and compatibility, I would rather pick a standalone PCI Hauppage-class card. __________________ Real_Men_Do_Not_Use_Space_Bar Main rig: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 3.6 GHz (Zerotherm Nirvana NV120) \| 2x2GB Mushkin + 2x2GB Corsair DDR2-800 5-5-5-18 \| Abit IP35 Pro \| XFX 8800GTS 512 800/1100 \| 2x160GB Seagate 7200.9 RAID1 + Hitachi 1TB 32MB \| NEC SATA DVD+RW + Xbox 360 USB HD DVD Drive \| Antec TruePower Quattro 850W PSU \| Antec Nine Hundred Case \| 3x 24" LCD (Dell 2407WFP + 2x StarLogic) \| Logitech Z-5500 \| Vista Business x64 Laptop: Dell Vostro 1500 \| Core 2 Duo T7500 \| 2.5 GB RAM \| nVidia GeForce 8600M GT \| 200GB 7200 RPM \| DVDRW \| 15.4" 1680x1050 LCD \| XP Pro