DamentZ

Anyone know which gfx card i should get for christmas hanging at about 150 bux? I'm gettin Half-Life 2 and i already have Farcry and Doom 3.

bug77

Maybe you can get a deal on a 9800SE. And mod it into a Pro? But you would need to change the cooling, so that would cost you extra. Anyway, even unmodded, I think is the best choice for that money (even if it is a bit over 150 'bux').

The_Neon_Cowboy

9800se sucks a 9600xt beats it lol

I'd get a "GE cube 9600XT 256MB" 500 core / 650 memory
your can find them here www.newegg.com about $180
not a bad deal... should play most games fine just not at the higher reses

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Shuflie

Actually, if the 9800SE takes the pro mod without any problems it will give you much better performance than the 9600XT. But its a bit of a gamble whether it will work or not. Shop around for a 9800pro, they aren't much more expensive than a 9600XT here in the UK but you know what you are getting with them. In fact from a quick check of price watch for 9800 pro 128MB the price seems to be ranging from $133 to over $300, so you should find something in there to match your budget.

EDIT: looks like most of the cheaper cards on price watch are 128bit bus, not really a 9800pro card at all even with the full 8 pipelines active. Looks like $200 is the going price for a proper 9800pro. ADOsystems seem to have an ATI one for $195 but I'd stay away from them. Seems they don't accept credit cards which is usually a sign of credit card companies blacklisting them because of the number of complaints and chargebacks that happen. Visiontek sell a 9800pro for $199 which comes with a lifetime warranty, and you can buy direct from the manufacturer which is always good.