PNY 5700 VE 256MB

Post by **Kills On Site** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 7:01 pm

Building a computer for a friend who only games she plays are Yahoo games and the Sims. So a card over $200 would be overkill. So does anyone know if this PNY 5700 VE 256MB is a good card? I am fairly certain that PNY is reputable, but I am wondering if this card is a good, stable card that isn't trying to pull any marketing ploys.

If not what sub-$200, preferably closer to $150, card would oyu recommend? Personally I definatly perfer nVIDIA, not trying to start a war here, just I would perfer a nVIDIA card here

Post by **4g3nt_Smith** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 7:38 pm

A)Yahoo Games and the Sims in no way require a $100+ card, let alone a $150+

B)Fuck off with your, nVidia only BS.

C) http://www2.newegg.com/Product/Product. ... 6814102300

Post by **Kills On Site** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 7:46 pm

Well aside from the fact that the 9200se is the biggest peice ever made and a GeForce 4 440 would kick its ass I might just consider it......

I am however considering this MSI 5700LE. Prolly a better choice. I know the LE is the crap version, but 128-bit memory and all should support everything

Post by **AmIdYfReAk** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 9:15 pm

allright, lets compare...

a 9200SE is a revamp of the 8500.. Se inplys that some memorylanes where severed to reduce speeds..

now, the Geforce 4 MX 440 is based off of the geforce 2 Core..

Some how i REALLLLLLY dont think that the GF4MX will tuch the 9200's slow ass speed...

Post by **SOAPboy** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 9:28 pm

Kills On Site wrote:Well aside from the fact that the 9200se is the biggest peice ever made and a GeForce 4 440 would kick its ass I might just consider it......

I am however considering this MSI 5700LE. Prolly a better choice. I know the LE is the crap version, but 128-bit memory and all should support everything

Wrong, they own..

Got one in my mame machine, and fucking perfect for trivial gaming like you're friend is going to be doing

Post by **4g3nt_Smith** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 9:47 pm

Precisely. Hell, I used one for 6 months before I got my 9600XT, and pulled a good 55 FPS in America's Army, 120 in RTCW, 120 in Q3, all at 1024x768, hightest graphical settings.

Post by **Kills On Site** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 9:59 pm

Well Smith I saw you play CoD on the 9200 and it was shitty FPS and had some serious aliasing issues happening. Also I have never liked the ATi drivers, I gave them a chancee with their promise drivers for D3 and it still didn't help. I have owned two ATis and have been unimpressed, I have owned 3 nVIDIAs and used nVIDIAs in 3 other machines and have never been let down.

Now if you are going to argue that a 9200 is a better card then a 5700 LE then I am going to laugh.

A 5700 LE will allow her to play more games at higher settings if she chooses to do so in the future

Post by **shadd_.** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 11:32 pm

256 megs in a 5700le is kinda moot?

how about a plain 6600 128 meg?

and for the love of god, there is feck all wrong with ati drivers. i know a few hardcore dudes with ati and nvidias latest cards and they prefer ati drivers.

Post by **SOAPboy** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 11:42 pm

Kills On Site wrote:Well Smith I saw you play CoD on the 9200 and it was shitty FPS and had some serious aliasing issues happening. Also I have never liked the ATi drivers, I gave them a chancee with their promise drivers for D3 and it still didn't help. I have owned two ATis and have been unimpressed, I have owned 3 nVIDIAs and used nVIDIAs in 3 other machines and have never been let down.

Now if you are going to argue that a 9200 is a better card then a 5700 LE then I am going to laugh.

A 5700 LE will allow her to play more games at higher settings if she chooses to do so in the future

For the money, shit id take a 9200

but hey, thats just me..

Post by **Kills On Site** » Sun May 01, 2005 1:43 am

Well it is just the box, no monitor, mouse or keyboard. The rig will have one 512MB stick, her limit is 800, right now the rig is about 650

Specs:

AMD Athlon XP 3200+
ABit AN7
Corsair ValueSelect PC3200 512MB
Maxtor 120GB 8MB HDD
Lite-On 52x CD Burner
Antec case w/ 350W PSU

Seeing as the Corsair RAM is only $40 I might add another stick.

Also after talking to her she might play EQ/EQII and Act of War, EQ being a definate reason for more RAM, and I think a better card then a 9200SE.
Reason I don't want to put a 9200SE in a rig like this is it would be a serious bottleneck for gaming, and then she wouldn't have the potential to play as many games as she would if she had a better card.

Post by **YourGrandpa** » Sun May 01, 2005 2:14 am

You might want to shift your sights to a 128mb card if cost is an issue. You could get a faster GPU instead of more video RAM.

Post by **shadd_.** » Sun May 01, 2005 2:41 am

6600gt 256bit 128 meg.

Post by **Kills On Site** » Sun May 01, 2005 7:33 am

Well I think I settled on this XFX 6600 256MB. I would ave gone for the GT but it was more costly upfront, it had a rebate, but I don't really like mail-in-rebates. No real reason why I went for the 256MB, it just happens to be the least expensive 6600 from a company I have heard good things about. As soon as the Athlon XP 3200 comes back in stock I can order the parts

Post by **Psyche911** » Sun May 01, 2005 8:12 am

Hey KoS...quick question:
Why the XP 3200?
The Athlon 64 3200 is only $15 more. The Athlon 64 3000+ is $50 less. If you went with an nForce 3 motherboard, I don't think that would cost any more than the AN7, and I'm pretty sure this would outperform the Athlon XP.

Post by **Psyche911** » Sun May 01, 2005 8:22 am

Okay, in this Anandtech review of another processor, it lists both the XP 3200 and the Athlon 64 2800-3200. Comparing the XP 3200 vs the Athlon 64 3000 check this out:

25-40 higher FPS in UT2k4
12fps higher in Warcraft 3
65fps higher in Quake 3
13fps higher in Enemy Territory

Only marginally faster in 3D Studio Max & DivX encoding, but 40% faster in Lightwave.

It is faster in every single test they run it through, I believe. Considering if you went with the 64 3000+, it would actually be cheaper overall, better performing, cooler running, and possibly using quite a bit less power.

All other parts could be the same, but get 2x256 for the dual channel RAM (nForce3-250 has dual channel RAM, make sure you go with the nForce 3-250, not the nForce 3-150)

Post by **Kills On Site** » Sun May 01, 2005 8:29 am

Well the reason I did not go for Athlon 64 is I was unaware that the prices had gone that low. After looking at it I can go for an Athlon 64 3200. As for the mobo I am having a tough time choosing a good one, so far I have found this Gigabyte GA-K8NS. Now it has the nForce 3 Ultra, is the Ultra better or worse then the 250Gb? I would imagine better.

Now would this MSI K8N NEO2 Platinum be a better choice then the Gigabyte, I am not all that fond of Gigabyte after hearing Toxicbug's leaking capacitor problem with his

Post by **Kills On Site** » Sun May 01, 2005 8:58 am

Well I just had a great thought and damn does it save some money. I recall seeing the BFG Tech nForce 4 Ultra mobo for $128 and I thought, damn, that is a newer chipset cheaper then the MSI, and if BFG Tech makes mobos as well as their graphics cards this thing will kick ass.

Then I thoguht, well damn, that would mean I would have to go with PCI-E, and then I recalled the fact that the PCI-E 6600s were cheaper then the 6600s AGP versions. So I am thinking I will end up with this MSI 6600 256MB PCI-E

Although I did not find reviews from Anandtech and THG on the BFG mobo I googles and found this. It seems to be a good performer and stable. They only complaint is no Firewire, but the girl I am building for will most likely not need Firewire, if she does a Firewire card is quite cheap.

Post by **Psyche911** » Sun May 01, 2005 10:28 am

Well, let's put it this way:
The MSI K8N NEO2 has 77 reviews on Newegg, the BFG, 0 reviews.

The NEO2 is tried and true. Many people consider it the best NF3 motherboard. It would be a safe bet.

To be honest, I'm not a big fan of any of the NF4 motherboards yet. Too little variation. They are all practically the reference design. The only two that really stand out in my mind are the DFI and the Abit Fatal1ty board. Loads of people have problems with the DFI board though, and the Fatal1ty is way overpriced for what you get.

But then again, a NF4 board would be more futureproof.

Post by **Kills On Site** » Sun May 01, 2005 2:12 pm

Well I am partially going on name, seeing as BFG Tech has to be one on my all time favorite companties. I might go for the MSI as I like MSI also.

Decisions, desicions....

Post by **YourGrandpa** » Mon May 02, 2005 2:42 am

You better hurry up, this chick is goona be dead before she gets her new PC. :icon26:

Post by **Kills On Site** » Mon May 02, 2005 3:25 am

Well she is waiting to get a check, so I have the time to come here and talk to you guys about it

Post by **Kills On Site** » Wed May 04, 2005 4:41 am

Well while still waiting on her I was thinking, just a minute ago, that the ABit AN8 is an nForce4 chipset and only 4 dollars more then the MSI nForce 3 Ultra chipset board. I also remembered that the PCI-X 6600s were cheaper then the AGP versions, so I ended up getting a newer chitset and saving money.
I feel good