Hehe. Not really into this PC gaming malarkey, but my bro just bought me Half-Life 2 and it looks alright. Only problem is I now need a graphics cards. Anyone know of any bargains at the moment? I'm probably looking at a Radeon, they seem quite popular. Are they easy to install too? Just straight in a PCI slot? Cheers guys!
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Although there a good cards to recommend, its does really depend on your current spec and more importantly how much you want to spend?...
However these are very useful links:
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/sho...eadid=17299532 - Recommended cards for all ranges
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/sho...eadid=17349380 - ETA for OK'ers range of cards
http://graphics.tomshardware.com/gra...222/index.html - Tom's Hardware round up of lots of cards and benchmarks
To get the most out of HL2, you really need a 'DX9 hardware based card'. This will allow you to run run HL2 in the DX9 codepath and thus at the best visual quality. Let us know what your specs, price range are and we can give you some opinions.Last edited by Digfox; 12-01-2005, 12:25. -
Duh yeah that would have been quite clever wouldn't it.
Specs: AMD Athlon XP 2500+, 1 gig of RAM.
Looking to spend up to ?100? Maybe more if I would really see the benefits...
Cheers!Comment
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OK on that set-up you wouldn't want to aim at anything higher than a Nvidia 6800/ATI X800 Pro because the CPU is going to hold the card back and you'll find the highe end cards give no real benefit. Equally what Resolution are you playing games at? If for example you're content playing at 1024x768 then an ATI 9700 Pro or 9800 Pro will probably suit just fine:
As you can see it is only at higher than 1024x768 that the higher cards really pull away:
For less than < ?100 - ATI 9700 Pro or 9800 Pro (if you're lucky or get one s/h). Awoid the 9800/9700SE, non-pro's etc
< ?150 - Nvidia 6600GT
< ?170 - Nvidia 6800LE (or for ?200 a standard 6800)
The reason to spend more, we'll be not just about better performance in future games and other games, but if you want AA or AF enabled, which will hit a GFX card's performance. But it comes down to what you want to spend. An Nvidia 6600GT AGP we'll probably give you a good 12-18months of gaming.
Older Card round-up on HL2 in DX9 codepath:
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Might be worth a nip over to Rllmuk, one of the guys on the forums there is getting some ATI cards imported, including a 128meg 9800pro (thiink he said it was 256bit version, not sure), and at around 120 quid they are an absolute bargain.Comment
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Don't take this the wrong way, as I haven't visited the Rllmuk forum, but ?120 is not a bargain. In that OK'ers (I really don't work for them - honest) have:
An OK'ers Retail 9800 Pro 128MB + Hitman Contracts for ?135 (not inc. postage) and an Nvidia 6600GT 128MB for the same price. The benefits of buying from a UK online retailer is that he'll have full warranty and customer service support (both the boards above are high quality reference cards).
But then as mentioned I don't know the ins and outs of this particular deal and I know its another route for him to consider. I just wouldn't call ?120 a bargain....now ?100 maybe...Comment
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