which should i choose? 3870 or 9600

[Ralph47]

From all the research i've done in the past days on mid range video cards and from what i've got to choose form at the computer store i go to its either a:

- Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 3870 512MB for $175
or
- Gigabyte Nvidia GeForce 9600GT 512MB for $170

willing to spend up to $200 if anyone has any better cards in mind.
i am in Australia btw and i don't know if my other computer components will effect its performance but ill give it to ya anyway.

AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3800+ 2.4Ghz
1GB RAM(most likely changing to 2GB corsair or kingston RAM)

im really noob with computers PLEASE help me out, any advice/suggestions will be highly appreciated. if you need anymore information just ask.

THANK YOU.

[Kheldar]

3870 - i've got one very nice

ATI/AMD claim that if you get the ATI graphics card, AMD chipset & AMD CPU then you'll really notice the increased speed

[casecutter]

Neither with the HD4850 being released and it will smash both of those cards into dust for under $200 too. I'd wait a short short time and get a HD4850, 3870 is officially last year tech as is the 9600GT.

[Ralph47]

cool thanks for the help you two,

after reading some stuff up on the ATI site kheldar i was thinking exactly the same thing.

and thanks a lot casecutter, ill look into the 4850.
i was thinking of waiting anyway and upgrading my CPU and RAM first :D

cheers you two.
plus if you have any good suggestions about a good cheap CPU for gaming around
$130-$175 please share :D

[Kheldar]

I'm running an AMD X2 6000+ very nice

at the last computer swap meet I notice they had quad cores with mboard for $260

I know Intel are faster but I think AMD are better value for money and lets face it CPU speed means squat nowadays, its All about the GPU (video card)

I've got the Asus 3870 DDR4, 2 G corsair DDR and a cheapish gigabyte board, usually I go for the Pro (gigabyte) or Delux (asus) mboard. I'm running Vista 64 and I have no problem whatsoever running every game I Have at 1440 * 900. Last friday I ran dedicated host for ET:QW, Ran the game again so I could play & had 2 virtual machines with win2003 server acting as my PDC(primary Domain Controller) & DC (Domain controller).

ET:QW ran beatifully (ok its an old engine but not that old)

[Ralph47]

lol funny that
i was thinking of upgrading to exactly the same CPU kheldar
and upgrade my ram to 2gb too.

are the quad cores a big or massive difference to the dual core's?
coz they sell AMD phenom 9550 Quad Core 2.2GHz for $225 at the comp store i go to.

[casecutter]

No current game uses even a dual core to it's full potential. You'd be fine with a dual core gaming PC for atleast a few years..
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[Ralph47]

sweet as then :D
coz i can get the AMD 6000+ X2 tomorrow for $130 :D
and then to get some more ram and then to wait for a 4850 hehe :D
know when it might be coming out in Australia casecutter?

thanks a bunch you two

[casecutter]

I'm not sure when, but it should be any day now. You will have a very capable and inexpensive gaming PC when you are done as well.