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I've been advised to go for a Ti4800 or 5200 but I can't manage to get them on ebay (where things are far cheaper, even new.

I've only got around $150 but I can get either of the above for around $AU75 (which is about $US55) at ebay.

I'll probably end up upgrading later, but the PC is only 'Mid range' so I see no point in wasting too much on a very expensive card without the resources to run it at its full capacity.

Which would you go for? And is the price 'right'??

Also does it really matter which 'Brand' (Asus, Gigabyte, NVidia etc) Radeon or GeForce that you get???

Thanks

If you go to NewEgg: www.newegg.com- they have a FX5200-retail boxed-on sale for as low as $54 for a AGP8x version or $75 for PCI. (don't know what you have,so I thought i'd offer both). On ATI's side, they have a 9200SE for
$48 in AGP8x or $51 in PCI.

Hope this helps,L1011blonde

If you go to NewEgg: www.newegg.com- they have a FX5200-retail boxed-on sale for as low as $54 for a AGP8x version or $75 for PCI. (don't know what you have,so I thought i'd offer both). On ATI's side, they have a 9200SE for
$48 in AGP8x or $51 in PCI.

Hope this helps,L1011blonde

Thanks for the ideas mate, but I'm in Australia. The freight would defeat the purpose.
Thanks anyway........  ;D

OK dude I did a little scanning on the OZ ebay site and have come up with an FX5200 a GF4 Ti4600 and a GF4 Ti4200.

First the FX5200

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=70875&item=5125779581&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

Now the Ti4200

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=70875&item=5125874698&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

Now the Ti4600

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=70875&item=5126169488&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

My advise would be to go for the GF4 Ti4600.  I base this on the fact that I owned one of these cards for quite a long time.  At the time myself and my brother had the same setup exactly bar the graphics card.  He had an FX5600 256ddr version and I had the GF4 Ti4600 128ddr version.  

My GF4 Ti4600 out performed his card in all games which I thought was great  ;D he didn't though.  Sure its not fully DX9 compatible but I never noticed anything it couldnt do compared to my bro's FX5600 other than it couldn't run the nature test in 3dMark03.

This is the one I would spend my money on  ;D

[quote]OK dude I did a little scanning on the OZ ebay site and have come up with an FX5200 a GF4 Ti4600 and a GF4 Ti4200.

First the FX5200

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=70875&item=5125779581&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

Now the Ti4200

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=70875&item=5125874698&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

Now the Ti4600

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=70875&item=5126169488&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

My advise would be to go for the GF4 Ti4600.

Thanks for all the advice. I have an idea where I'm going now.

One question tho'. Are all AGP slots the same. I ask because I've seen some cards that say they 'support AGP 8X/4X input'. Does that mean there are different port types.
Will any AGP card I get, fit into my port??

Thanks

All are cross compatible so dont worry.  The card will basically run at whatever your mobo will allow it to.  So if your mobo is 4x AGP and your card 8x it will down speed to 4x. and visers versa if the card is slower than the mobo.

[quote]




Or, just wait a little longer for the 6600 from Nvidia to be launched - a card that'll out perform either the TI4200 ATI 9200 or FX 5200 / 5600. it should be a similar price to an FX5200.

Avoid all se models of the ATi range, they are low bandwidth models, not intended for gaming.  Get yourself a FX5200. FX5700 or R9600, those are good cards which can be got for good prices right now.

[quote]Avoid all se models of the ATi range, they are low bandwidth models, not intended for gaming.

Thank you all. I'm going to have a go at a New FX5200 that ends auction this arvo . I'd go for a Ti4200 if there was a New one selling in the next few days, but alas.
I've also read a few reviews on the 9300SE, but they aren't specifically related to gaming (why else would anyone wan t graphics card........ ).

Also saw a few more comments about the SE series not being anything like the 'Pro' series in terms of performance.

So, again, thanks all. I appreciate the help.

P.S.

I just won the bidding in an auction for a Brand new FX5200 128Mb for $AU62-00 ($US44-00).

Very pleased..........................Now I have to wait for it to come!!!

Thanks people.  ;)

[quote]I just won the bidding in an auction for a Brand new FX5200 128Mb for $AU62-00 ($US44-00).

Very pleased..........................Now I have to wait for it to come!!!

Thanks people.

For an idea of performance in the ATi range:

9x00xt: 200%
9x00pro: 150%
9x00: 100%
9x00se: 50%

That is why you should always look at the normal models or higher for the ATi range.

NVidia

5x00Ultra: 200%
5x00: 100%
5x00xt: 50%  

Although i would watch out for some models of the NVidia range especially the 5200 series, they sometimes don't label them as 5200xt.  You need to look for a model that 128-bit(yes bit not Mb) for bandwidth, and avoid ones with 64-bit.  If it does not say what bit it is i would avoid it, as it is obviously hiding it.  128-bit models usually boast that they are 128-bit so you should look for those.

Thanks for the thrill Foz. It's been a long time mate. So long that those VR one's look OK...........

Yep. I knew to look out for the higher 'bit' rating. This one is a 128 bit. Thanks.

This is the Spec for the one I got (It apparently retails for $149 - so they claim )

[quote]Specifications:

CineFX Engine -New shading architecture that total supports the latest DirectX 9.0 pixel and vertex shader specifications 2.0+.
High-precision Graphic Engine - brings you the most intense cinematic visions by combining the dynamic range of state-of-the-art 3D motion pictures with the studio-quality precision of the 128-bit graphics pipeline.
Unified Driver Architecture (UDA) - Guarantees forward and backward compatibility with software drivers. Simplifies upgrading to a new NVIDIA product because all NVIDIA products work with the same driver software.
nView Technology -represents the pinnacle of Multi-Display functionality and performance through its advanced display pipeline.
Digital Vibrance Control (DVC) 3.0 -provides dynamic control of visual quality give users complete control of the overall color and clarity on your computer display.
AGP 8X support -doubles the graphic bus bandwidth, but also dramatically improves the overall throughputs for today