I am almost ready to crank up my new PC that I have been building for a year and am waffling over the video card part as it is all I need to get the tech part going. As I value greatly the knowledge of this place and the people I come to you for input as I will if anything goes right or wrong. It is a toss up between an Asus V8200 deluxe or the Asus V8200 deluxe Ti500. As it stands now my componants are as followes

Antec SX1030 SOHO Fileserver case w/300W PS
Asus A7V133 MOBO with raid and audio
AMD T-Bird 1.2/266 with Volcano II HSF
WD Caviar 60G 5200 HDD x 2
Sony CRX1611 CD-RW
Teach FDD
Crucial 256M PC133 X 2
80MM case fans X 4 (2 intake/2 exhaust)
WinXP home OS

Am going to get the vid card for my own X-mas present. Thanks in advance for your input.:7

Get yourself the GeForce3 and a new 400W power supply at the same time.

Why 400? Won't the 300 due?

It may, but those GeForce3 cards are pretty power hungry.

You're gonna give yourself a Christmas present??? LOL! :D :D :D

I have to agree with mark on the power supply...dont skimp in that department. You dont want a wimpy PS that dosnt have much room for exspansion...Ive gone that route before and learnt the hard way. Pay a few extra bucks now and save yourself some headaches down the line. Also I recomend staying away from XP. Put w2k pro in there. As for a graphic card.....geforce does make a nice one. Ive got the Geforce 2 MX and its all the card I could ever need.... Id recomend the geforce 3.

Get the Geforce3, the Ti500 is just a G3 with the clock set at 240/500 instead of 200/440. I run my Gainward G3 Golden Sample at 245/510.

Thanks for actually addressing the question, Russ.

Been hearing about people bragging about their GF3 TIs and wondering what the heck they have been talking about.


W@KK0
"Tell me and I forget. Show me and I remember. Involve me and I learn."

I've been using a CardExpert/Gainward GF3 for about 6 months and still love it. I put a geForce3 Ti200 in my SOP's new system and I'll tell ya...it's AWESOME! I'm totally impressed with it. It's running with an Athlon 1700XP and the graphics actually seem a nudge nicer than my card. The clock speed is only 175, so if yer looking fer bigger, faster, top of the line, the Ti500's yer baby. If ya want nice performance at a more reasonable price, do the Ti200 or regular GF3.

As stated above, i have the Gainward G3 Golden Sample. I instaled a Ti500 in my other comp, and i couldn't see a difference in visual quality at all. The frame rates were almost identical, so i can't see it bein worth an extra $150 to $200 for it.

>As stated above, i have the Gainward G3 Golden Sample

___________________________________________________________________

Same here, great card.

Thank you all for your input. I shall use it to my best computing fun. As for the XP thing the fact is I already have it and it was highly recommended by the man that I buy all my equipment from here in town but if there are any serious concerns about it please let me know. I will definately be getting a 400W PS as I do believe that it will be a boon for this system. (Got the case for $100 so I ain't really complaining.) And yes Kid I am buying myself a present because I have to take care of myself too. (Have 5 kids and a very extended family.) LOL. You guys are the best. Am hanging out for awhile tonight so maybe we will meet up elsewhere. May the computer gods grant you all a happy holiday season. :)

Any of you guys using a 350w ps with the G3? I've got an Athlon XP1800+ and am satisfied with the built-in sound, so, won't be pumping extra watts into a fancy soundcard. I think my 350w Enermax 650 should handle a G3 under those circumstances. Anyone think not?

Only one way to find out. :D

I know Shelly/ I replied to yours but I am not yet proficient at this place yet so I went with the low man on the totem pole and became the lowest. LOL. Just one more question for you all. Where is a good, reliable online store to get this card at? I have looked at pricegrabber but respect your opinions more. I want to buy online because my intown dealer turned me off saying that the card had dropped $50 and than qouted me $20 higher than his last qoute. Still love the guy but I need a good deal here soon as I would like to have this thing up and running by year end, preferably X-mas. You see, as soon as I get it up and going I am sure to have plenty of more interesting things to talk about than what to buy, like Help! my hard disk crashed.... You get the point. Thanks again for putting up with my small talk. Peace and Prosperity to all.

:-)

My choice is http://www.newegg.com/app/manufactory.asp?catalog=48&DEPA=1 . They do very well on bottom line prices and EXTREMELY well on their shipping. I ordered my new mobo and other goodies on Wednesday and they're going to be delivered today. I know because they're at the the FedEx facility here in Tampa already. They also have an excellent selection of GF3's. I've bought 4 graphics cards from them and had to return one...the abyssmal Kyro2. They were excellent with the exchange for the CardExpert GF3.

Thanks Mick. Have them in my bookmarks and have looked at them a few times. Will do as soon as I meet my OEM man and see if he is really going to try taking me for a ride. They do have good pricing and am glad to hear that review. Fill ya in later as to the final countdown.:)