Does anyone have any opinions on the ATI Radeon 9550 graphics card?I was browsing new computers at Best Buy (I know, I know..) and came across a system with a P4 3.0 HT 800 Mhz bus system with a 256 MB ATI Radeon 9550 card in it. The price seemed pretty good.I'm not familiar with the 9550 card, and couldn't find any references to it in the forums here. Does anyone have any input?Thanks.

it's a low end family-computing card, they retail for about $70.

You should look more closely at the specs of that system you're interested in. As aigean said the video card is simply a desktop card not really intended for gaming. Often these store bought systems cut corners to lower the price (then they look more attractive to the consumer). Check the memory... for that CPU the computer should have memory rated at PC3200. Also check the motherboard. I've seen some of these "great deals" that had a nice CPU but a M/B rated at a slower speed. Also, the hard drive should be an ATA 133 7200 RPM. These come with either a 2MB (most prevalent) or 8MB cache. A slower 5400 RPM drive should be avoided.The old axiom "if it seems too good to be true, then it probably is" applies here. Go with caution.Greg

It does come with PC3200 memory and a 7200 rpm HD.I don't like what I'm hearing about the card though, and since it's a small form factor machine (Shuttle XPC), swapping out could be a problem. Sounds like it's a pass on this one.Thanks for the input.

"It does come with PC3200 memory and a 7200 rpm HD."Hmmm... that's a good sign. It's worthwhile now to find out more about the M/B.If the price is right it might be worthwhile to buy the rig and then drop something like a 9800 Pro into the AGP slot. Then it would make a pretty nice simming rig.If possible post complete specs here.Greg

Hi Tony, I'ld say, just make sure the P4 gets an Intel chipset too. About the 9550; You'll not find many references in the forum yet. If it's like the 9600, which I believe it is spec-wise, it's very good at high settings (4xAA/XxAF) for up to 1024x resolutions. On a 19" TFT @ 1280, the 9600(pro) struggles with FS, AI and clouds in full glory. Just keep in mind the dispaly adapter adapts to the display... Sounds kinda stupid, but it's as simple as that. For 1280x a 9800pro is better, etc. If running FS is the main cause of your purchase, a nicely rounded system is best. Cheers, good luck and kind regards Jaap Ohhh, and if it's a P4 Prescott, you may want to read up about the disadvantages (heat/high energy consumption). A P4 Northwood is better. Or alternatively, an AMD64 sys, that's a real number cruncher! You can check this page for Ati specs: http://www.rojakpot.com/default.aspx?locat...&var1=88&var2=0 The 9550 seems comparable to the 9600 w/o 'pro'. At least it has a 128Bit and 4 pipeline GPU, but a relatively slow clock

Here's what I have for system specs:Processor Brand Intel

Interesting, Tony.I was curious about this rig, so I visited Best Buy's page. The case pic and specs look something like this:http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc....-101-219&depa=0Jaap is on top of the Intel stuff, so perhaps he can add more to the discussion.Using Newegg's prices I did a quick add-up of the components (including Win XP Home) listed on Best Buy's spec sheet and came in at around $100.00 less than Best Buy's price. So, Best Buy's price isn't too bad for this type of rig.A couple more things I could add... you should assume (to err on the side of caution) that the M/B has only two memory slots. And they might be filled with two 256MB sticks. Then if you want to increase the memory you'll be starting from scratch. If the system is built with one 512MB you'll be good to go for just a second stick. Onboard sound is OK, but a PCI card is better.And the video card ain't gonna cut it for serious gaming. The 9800 Pro can be had for around $200.00... great bang for the buck.Greg

If it is config'd similar to the system you linked to, I wouldn't be able to use the 9800 pro. The spec's says it has a 200w power supply, the 9800 pro asks for a 300w.Thanks for all your help on this.Tony

Nothing prevent you from ugrading your PSU either though. Not always good having really old PSU:s in your computer anyway :) The risks get larger the older they get.