wich grapic card to buy

[Marius Peterson]

I have to buy a new PC tomorrow:
P4 2,4GHz 512k 800MHz HT
1024 MB RAM
2 x 80 GB IDE HDD 7200 rpm

and everything is ok, only thing I cant decide - which graphic card.

Seller proposed three different types in very diffent price categories:

a) GeforceFX 5200 128MB
b) MSI GeforceFX 5600 128MB
c) ATI Tadeon 9800 PRO 128MB

But they didnt know, which one I realy need if I'll mostly use Photoshop 7 or earlier, my fails can be sometimes up to 0,5 GB.

Can someone more experiances say a word.

(sorry for my english).

[dave milbut]

I just got a similar setup and went for ATI All-In-Wonder Radeon 9700 Pro. Love it.

[Carl B. Johnson]

Go with the ATI Radeon, the Geforce I think are 3D cards... you want
good 2D cards, 3D not important with Photoshop, unless you intend to
game.. then ATI Radeon has on that has both 2D and 3D graphics... Matrox
Parhelia is also a good choice for 2D/3D (if you want to spend ober $300)

[dave milbut]

ant the all in wonder has tv! :)

[Rick Moore]

FYI, the Radeon 9800 and the Parhelia are the same price.
Of the three cards listed, it won't make a difference in Photoshop at all,
so pick the cheapest or use some other deciding factor

--

Rick Moore
Barnes Gromatzky Kosarek Architects
(512) 476 7133
(512) 478 2624 FAX
[url]www.bgkarchitects.com[/url]

[Marius Peterson]

Thanks!
So, opinions are divided.

Ok. Let's say, in addition to Photoshop works, I will sometimes wach some DVD films, may be create some 2D animations, may be do some short video-clips for home use...

Is it an argument to definitely buy Radeon 9800 Pro

Thank You for Your advises!

[Daryl Pritchard]

Hello Marius,

I am not absolutely certain, but of the 3 cards you identify, I believe the ATI card has additional hardware support of DVD decoding. So, while a software-only DVD solution will work, the ATI might offer an advantage in DVD playback. Having said that, if the price differences are substantial and a lower-priced card met your needs, then I would go with that option instead. For the most part, the differences between the cards here will likely be only of serious concern to someone who does a lot of gaming. If you were involved in 3D image rendering using programs such as 3D Studio Max, Maya, etc., there may be a benefit there also, but that would only be a guess on my part.

For strictly 2D purposes, I suspect any of these cards would readily meet your needs. I'm still using an old Nvidia Ultra TNT2 Pro (it predates the GeForce chipset) and it works fine for Photoshop and 2D animations. For that matter, it also works well enough with PowerDVD to provide a DVD playback solution on my Dual Pentium II 450MHz system. What you're buying is much more powerful than what I have, so I suggest you let your wallet and your overall needs guide you.

Regards,

Daryl