<font color=white> I recently visited a LAN-party and saw guys with like monster video cards and big *ss screens... the screen is been taken care of (this month a 17' Dell Screen and next month a NEC tft screen 17')

But I need a good card with it, I dug up some names and if it is possible to translate some of the extensions and acrynoms.

<font color=red><u>Video Cards</u></font>

XFX GeForce FX 5600 128 MB DDR DVI/VIVO 186

XFX GeForce 4 Ti4200 TURBO 128 MB DDR/DVI 168

Chaintech GeForce 4 Ti4200 128 MB DDR/TV/DVI 8xAGP 144

The part were I need help with, is this.

DDR, DVI, VIVO, 8xAGP and TV... can anybody tutor me and explain those terms/acronyms?

And are these cards any good, or do you recommend me an different card?

Thanks for the help guys! </font>

[ 05-16-2003, 03:56 AM: Message edited by: Ziroc ]

DDR = Double Datarate RAM - it's memory with twice the data throughput
DVI = Digital Video Interface - For digital monitors
VIVO = not sure what the accronym is, but it is a TV intrface for your computer.

AGP = Accelerated Graphics Port - the formfactor of the card and bandwidth of it. 8x means it is 8 times the speed of a stanard AGP slot.

TV = TV - you can pipe video to your TV as well as your monitor.

<font color=white> Does anyone mean that I can watch tv on my computer? Because something I really want (tv-in and tv-out), because the tv is the only thing that misses in my room.

Digital monitors? like a TFT screen? or what?

Thanks for the quick response... but are these cards any good or what? (price and quality/performance) </font>

The geforce4 is a good card, but I wouldnt touch a geforceFX. I just dont like that card. If you want a top-end card these days, go for a radeon 9700 or better.

Also, what motherboard do you have? Older boards will fall over if introduced to a geforce4.

I agree. Try the ATI Radeon 9700 Pro. I switched from a GeForce4, and haven't looked back since.

I've had a GeForce 4 Ti4200 128 MB DDR running for about 10 months now. It may not be absolutely cutting edge, but it has coped with everything I have thrown at it. There is also a nice registry hack that I posted here that enables overclocking via the Nvidia drivers.

If you want tv on your computer, you need a tuner card, such as the aiw cards ati offer....

but of those three cards you have listed, the geforce fx is by far the best, and for that price i wouldn't consider the other two...

<font color=white> I got an offer to day to buy a new (package) Transcend ATI Radeon 9700 128MB TV-OUT / DVI card for 200 €.

To expensive and is the card any good (probably..huh?)

</font>

Of those three cards they are all very similar.

the fx 5600 is newer and the same speed roughly as the 4200. It is dx 9 compatible( there are no dx 9 games or apps even in the pipeline for this year)

The ti 4200 is actually a little faster than the fx 5600. And cheaper in this comparison with a couple extras, so hard to ignore that one.

I would get the ti 4200. I dont know what euros to dollars are, but Ive seen it for $100 usd after rebate.

DONT get geforce 4 mx, which is what I have. That mx means its really a geforce 2.

Some games you can play on a regular tv. Keep in mind though that a tv set is 320 x 200 so it will look like crap.

Whats much more useful but expensive is the feature TV-in, which would let you record from your TV like a Tivo.

8 x agp, well does your motherboard have agp? If not you cant get any of these anyway you need to get a pci card. If it does, does it have 8 x agp. If not you can still use these cards its just it doesnt matter to you. Actually there are no bench tests that show 8x agp is faster than 4x agp its just technobabble.

[ 05-16-2003, 03:03 AM: Message edited by: the mighty stamar ]

I have the same card and it is just *fine* for everything currently on the market. The key word here is value for money - if you have a fancy system that can calculate the trajectory of every dust particle orbiting the sun, then this card is not for you. If, on the other hand, you have the average computer with the average 17-21" monitor, then the this card has your name written on it.

As with most computer hardware, the law of diminishing returns tends to apply - spending an extra couple of hundred dollars/euros may only produce a nominal, barely noticeable, performance increase.

I go along with Mouse on this one. I have a new Asus V9280/TD Ti4200 AGP 8X video card with 128 megs of DDR memory. It runs great, was only $135.00 at NewEgg.com and it came with Morrowind!. Get cards with DDR memory.

Here are some questions you need to ask yourself. What AGP cards can your motherboard take? Most are still only AGP 4X, however, many new video cards are backwards compatible. My Asus (they make great motherboards as well)is backwards compatible to 2X. Another question: Do you want a card for the future? If so, then I strongly suggest one that AGP 8X, PLUS designed for Direct X 9. There are only a handful out there and you will pay top dollar for them. Do your research. The ATI Radeon 9700 Pro is one sweet card. Yet, and I have been told by people who build and fix computers, stick with an ATI manufactured card as opposed to a card company that builds using ATI chipsets. I don't know anything about the quality of Transcend cards but I do know to STAY AWAY from Powercolor cards!

As for the geForce FX cards I have heard that the FX5900 is a great card as opposed to the 5800 (though it is still rated high), 5600, and 5200. At www.tomshardware.com they have a good article on the FX5900.

Last question, how much power supply do you have? New cards, yes this is even true of the Nvidia's Ti4200 and the 9700 Pro is a juice monster, will push your power supply. I highly recommend a minimum of 350 watts in a good name brand, i.e., Antex, Enermax. Believe me, not all power supply manufacturers are the same. I hope this helped.