Looking to Upgrade my GeForce 4 - Seeking Advice

I have a LeadTek GeForce 4 Ti4400 video card in my system right now.
System is a 2.2Ghz P4 w/ an AOpen AX4-PER Mobo (845PE Chipset) and has
4x AGP. Is there a card out there less than $300 that will give me
any noticeable performance increases for first-person gaming
performance? I know my current card is DX8 only, but I haven't seen
anything to compel me to go to a DX9 yet. All the games I currently
have don't use DX9 but I imagine Half Life 2 will. I'm also uncertain
if I'll get any noticeable gains for straight 3D performance (no FSAA
or anisotropic) at 1024x768 resolutions. I'm not opposed to ATI, but
would prefer to stick with Nvidia as I'm comfortable with their
products. Also, I'm curious to know how much of a difference 8x AGP
makes. I may determine to upgrade my mobo instead if I'm not going to
see any gains on the video card side for my budget.

Thanks in advance for any advice,

Matt Martin

"Matt Martin" wrote in message
om...
I have a LeadTek GeForce 4 Ti4400 video card in my system right now.
System is a 2.2Ghz P4 w/ an AOpen AX4-PER Mobo (845PE Chipset) and has
4x AGP. Is there a card out there less than $300 that will give me
any noticeable performance increases for first-person gaming
performance?

Sure, the softmoddable Sapphire Radeon 9500 non-Pro for $150, if you:

a) are lucky in finding one that can be softmodded (pretty good chance, all
of them for me so far...)
b) are lucky enough to find one in stock these days...

Otherwise, the 9700 non-Pro, hell, the Sapphire 9700 Pro is $292 at Newegg,
*maybe* the 5600 Ultra (not much of an upgrade esp. re. lack of concern for
AA and aniso...actually the Ti 4600 beats it up in UT '03 among other things
until the AA and aniso come out of hiding, so I'd imagine the 5600U to be
mostly a lateral jump from the 4400 only with added capabilities and better
AA and aniso performance), the FX5800, or wait for the FX5900 128-meg to
drop below the $300 mark which it will and likely soon. The 9700 Pro ravages
these other cards mercilessly, and the 5800 is a little iffy...

I know my current card is DX8 only, but I haven't seen
anything to compel me to go to a DX9 yet. All the games I currently
have don't use DX9 but I imagine Half Life 2 will. I'm also uncertain
if I'll get any noticeable gains for straight 3D performance (no FSAA
or anisotropic) at 1024x768 resolutions.

Sure, with 9700-level performance (however you get there) you'll likely get
the same level of performance as before

a) at the same resolution only with some aniso and AA enabled
b) at 1600x1200x32.

Not to mention DX9.

There is an issue with the FX, FSAA and Half-Life 2. I expect it might take
a lot of head-scratching to sort this one out by release date. If it can be
done I imagine it will be, but one never knows...

I'm not opposed to ATI, but
would prefer to stick with Nvidia as I'm comfortable with their
products. Also, I'm curious to know how much of a difference 8x AGP
makes.

An absolutely unappreciable one.

I may determine to upgrade my mobo instead if I'm not going to
see any gains on the video card side for my budget.

You will, but a faster system will naturally raise the ceiling a little bit.
But I'd think you'd be good to go for awhile with just a video upgrade,
assuming at least 512 megs of system RAM to begin with...

Thanks in advance for any advice,

Matt Martin

9800np? otherwise 9700np ..