GeForce or Radeon?

[rfjeff9]

I have to go buy a card to be able to play this game (medieval 2: TW) due to having a stinky Intel Chipset taking care of my video right now. I have read alot, and so I will ask here to those who know. I am trying to spend my money wisely, so I want to it right the first time.

I have about $125 I can spend on this card, and I have heard Radeon HD2600 and GeForce 8600GT are the ones most likely in my budget, but how well does either do the job? What about HD3650 1GB? GeForce 8600GT 512 ok?

What type of playability can I expect with each? What do YOU use and how well does it work?

I have...

System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 6/21/2008, 15:45:27
Machine name: FAMILY
Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.070227-2254)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Gateway
System Model: 702GE
BIOS: Default System BIOS
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.40GHz (2 CPUs)
Memory: 1014MB RAM
Page File: 445MB used, 1994MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.2180 32bit Unicode

[Vanquisher]

My old ATI X1950XTX played it fine maxed out 6aa 16af etc so if you're not needing DX10 the X1950XT or similar would do fine. 3850 isn't too shabby to be futureproof. Nvidia wise 8600GT should be fine mate. I'd also reccomend you upgrade your RAM to 2Gb if you can as well.

[SonOfCrusader76]

My old ATI X1950XTX played it fine maxed out 6aa 16af etc so if you're not needing DX10 the X1950XT or similar would do fine. 3850 isn't too shabby to be futureproof. Nvidia wise 8600GT should be fine mate. I'd also reccomend you upgrade your RAM to 2Gb if you can as well.

Seconded. MTW2 really sings with 2gb of RAM, even with resource heavy mods like Deus Lo Vult.

[Roman Clone]

And it screams with 4 GB's

Just don't any lower than 3850/8600 GT, because those aren't gaming cards.

And look out if they they have a Geforce 9600 for around that price range, you'll be very happy with that card

[SonOfCrusader76]

9600GT 512mb?

[Roman Clone]

Yup. Basically it's an 8800 GT with 1/2 the Stream Processors, you can run the new DX10 games around high, but try to keep it at lower resolutions. Don't try Crysis on an 30" .

[SonOfCrusader76]

Yup. Basically it's an 8800 GT with 1/2 the Stream Processors, you can run the new DX10 games around high, but try to keep it at lower resolutions. Don't try Crysis on an 30" .

No problem, my screen is 19 inch.

[humvee2800]

mwahaha, my computer plays crysis at very high graphics setting

though to be fair I still cant turn antialiasing all the way up... hopefully soon though

[SonOfCrusader76]

Talking of Crysis, PC Gamer say that the follow up game will be PC only. Hah! Take that, licence hoarding console toys!

[HansDuet]

Talking of Crysis, PC Gamer say that the follow up game will be PC only. Hah! Take that, licence hoarding console toys!

Yeaaa! *high five*

Those consoles lack the raw power!

[Vanquisher]

Don't mention Crysis, that won't play one anything at 30" anyway lol.

[Roman Clone]

Well it gets ~10 Frames on 1920x1200, so I'm guessing 3 notches down it would get around 20-20 Frames on high.

[SonOfCrusader76]

That's fine. It's not the best, but 20fps is definitely playable.