What is the best graphicscard

[McRoos]

Using a AMD Athlon 64 processor 3000+
2.01 GHz
with 1,00 gb of RAM

I now use a ATI Radeon 9550 but that hangs sometimes, often in the later stages.
Mostly because of a "loop" it runs out of videomemory.

so, is there a better alternative.

From the Netherlands,

Mark Rosenkrantz.

[Solver]

Best? GeForce 7800 GTX .

Seriously, though, you would never want to buy that card for Civ4 unless you're swimming in money - it's a card with terrific performance fit to run the most graphically intensive games there are.

My real recommendation would be a GeForce 6600. That card is currently, in my opinion, the best balance of an acceptable price and good power.

[Sabre2th]

I certainly don't mean to contradict Solver every time this question comes up, but I think differing viewpoints are an important part of selecting new hardware

My vote goes to the GeForce 6800GS, especially those made by XFX. Very good performance for a modest price

[alva]

There's three very good cards on the market right now, well equipped for Civ4.
In order (both performance and price)

nVidia 6800
nVidia 6600
ATI 9800

Don't buy the cheap versions of any of these cards though, a couple of months ago...maybe. Now, you might as well get the "full" version.

[Auldian]

I've been considering this AGP card myself

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814102679

I can't move to PCI-E for perhaps another year sadly.

[marvinkosh]

The Radeon 9550 is basically a downclocked version of the 9600, which I have running in my box at the moment. If all you're looking for is the ability to run Civ 4, then it can deliver at a lower price. Save your big bucks for a year down the road

[Willem]

Originally posted by marvinkosh
The Radeon 9550 is basically a downclocked version of the 9600, which I have running in my box at the moment. If all you're looking for is the ability to run Civ 4, then it can deliver at a lower price. Save your big bucks for a year down the road

I'm using the 9550 and it's not quite up to the task. It will run the game, but I need to turn the graphics to low for a Huge map, and then I still have trouble in the late game using the grid. It takes forever for the card to redraw the tiles. I personally wouldn't recommend anything less than the 9800 in the ATI line for the game.

PS: Besides, after reading the OP, he already has the 9550. He wants something better.

[Willem]

I just did a bit of research and for AGP, the GeForce 6800 line is the best. They support PixelShading 3.0 whereas the ATI Radeon 9800 only handles 2.0. Anything above those two models require a PCI-Express motherboard.

[marvinkosh]

Originally posted by Willem


I'm using the 9550 and it's not quite up to the task. It will run the game, but I need to turn the graphics to low for a Huge map, and then I still have trouble in the late game using the grid. It takes forever for the card to redraw the tiles. I personally wouldn't recommend anything less than the 9800 in the ATI line for the game.

PS: Besides, after reading the OP, he already has the 9550. He wants something better.

I was suggesting a 9600 as a sort of baseline, the bare minimum he should be looking for. If the price difference between that and a 9800 is negligible then absolutely go for a bit more bang for your buck, but bear in mind that as with all series video cards, some versions with the same model number may perform differently.

So shopping carefully and getting a clear idea of how fast each one runs, as well as how hot and loud, will save a bit of aggravation later on. After all, if you're going to have it for a year then the last thing you want is to have to buy a cooling system as well, or have to waer earplugs next to your computer

[Knave]

One thing I learned from upgrading graphics cards is to check power supply requirements and replace the power supply if needed.

[McRoos]

Dear all;

After "clever" thinking I bought a g-force N6600.
No more problems and a fine result.

Thanks for all your replies.