new vid card

[Tempus]

ok so here's the deal
i dont want to spend over 150 on it.. hopefully less so i'm not going extreme
so my first question is:
1st: is there a card in this price range (5700le, 9600 pro) that out performs my ti 4600?
2nd: if not would it be better to go with say a cheap 5200/9250?
3rd: i have read conflicting views so perhaps someone can clear this up for me... on these mid/lower end card does it make a difference to go from 128-> 256 mb?

the reason for this is that i have started to assemble a 3rd comp and need a vid card for it

i'm open to suggestions

[THE JEW (RaVeN)]

1). Running DX8 software? Not likely.
Running DX9 software? Quite likely.
Not running AA/AF? Not likely.
Running AA/AF? Quite likely.

Base whether you want to get a new one off of those situations. Or make a *semi*-informed decision off of these charts and those that follow:

http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphi ... ts-05.html

Your options?
New: 9600 Pro, 5700
Used: 9500 Pro, 9700 Pro, 9800, or the other cards listed above

2). NO. Again, that's an emphatic "NNNOOOOOO!!!!!"
3). Not unless you're into heavy AF and AA.........which with a mid-range card, you're not. If getting 256mb was only $20 more, I might. However, if push came to shove, I'd just get the 128mb one and save the cash.


Conclusion:

Buy used or just keep the 4600. If this is a 3rd computer, it sounds like a backup. Thus, use backup hardware and save $$ for the next big purchase.


EDIT:

If you do happen to buy a 9600 pro or 5700, check the frequencies! Sapphire, Powercolour, and MSI have a tendency to underclock these. So you save $10, but get a far cr@ppier vid card.