I have £240 to spend on a graphics card. I am in the process of ordering a gigabyte motherboard with PCI-E, (I have a 3.0Ghz Pentium 4 HT 1Mb L2 Cache 800Mhz FSB LGA775 (Socket775). But the problem is I do not know whether to spend the money as my friend says on a new graphics card or to split the money between a graphics card and a new CRT monitor (I will mainly be using it to play games and connect my Nokia freeview via the Video In on a graphics card).
Also which graphics card should I buy: Please keep in mind the following facts:
Shader Model 3.0: Basically the current problem with Shader Model 3.0 isn't capability but speed. Most of it's functions require long shaders, which run slower. So, unless a card is particularly fast, Shader Model 3.0 actually buys you very little. In fact, by effectively wasting part of the chip that's not going to be used most of the time, a non-Shader Model 3.0 part could easily be faster. This is what ATi tells us at the moment, claiming that by choosing only to supportShader Model 2.0b in its X800-series cards, it has a better range suited to the games that will be played on it. It's a fair point at the moment, as no game so far has made any real use of Shader Model 3.0.
Nvidia's series 6 cards all use Shader Model 3.0.
ATi's series X800 cards also have 3Dc, do Nvidia cards have this?
I will be buying a 20inch CRT (19inch actual viewable area) which has a maximum resolution of 1600 x 1200 will require a high end graphics card to play at those resolutions. Do I have to play at those resolutions if I buy a 20inch CRT?
If I play on lower resolutions, will the image quality be spoilt?
After reading these facts can someone please help me and tell me which graphics card to buy?
Gainward Ultra/1960 PCX XP 128MB Golden Sample GLH or PowerColor ATI Radeon X800 XL 256MB DDR3 VIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) (link:http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/copy_of_X800_Series.html#agx_2d029_2dht)?
Can anyone reccomend me any other graphic cards remember PCI-E ONLY and at a budget of £240.
Also which graphics card should I buy: Please keep in mind the following facts:
Shader Model 3.0: Basically the current problem with Shader Model 3.0 isn't capability but speed. Most of it's functions require long shaders, which run slower. So, unless a card is particularly fast, Shader Model 3.0 actually buys you very little. In fact, by effectively wasting part of the chip that's not going to be used most of the time, a non-Shader Model 3.0 part could easily be faster. This is what ATi tells us at the moment, claiming that by choosing only to supportShader Model 2.0b in its X800-series cards, it has a better range suited to the games that will be played on it. It's a fair point at the moment, as no game so far has made any real use of Shader Model 3.0.
Nvidia's series 6 cards all use Shader Model 3.0.
ATi's series X800 cards also have 3Dc, do Nvidia cards have this?
I will be buying a 20inch CRT (19inch actual viewable area) which has a maximum resolution of 1600 x 1200 will require a high end graphics card to play at those resolutions. Do I have to play at those resolutions if I buy a 20inch CRT?
If I play on lower resolutions, will the image quality be spoilt?
After reading these facts can someone please help me and tell me which graphics card to buy?
Gainward Ultra/1960 PCX XP 128MB Golden Sample GLH or PowerColor ATI Radeon X800 XL 256MB DDR3 VIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) (link:http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/copy_of_X800_Series.html#agx_2d029_2dht)?
Can anyone reccomend me any other graphic cards remember PCI-E ONLY and at a budget of £240.
