Vid. Card Upgrade

A

Alex41290

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Feb 20, 2004
Messages
1,570
Okay, well, I've been looking at a new vid card lately, and now, for some reason, Savage doesn't work on my PC. I'm looking at either the 5900XT, the 9800 Pro, 9600XT, or 5700 Ultra. My rig is as follows:

AMD Athlon XP 2500+
512MB RAM
ASUS A78NX-X
ATI Radeon 9200 (very old and decrepid :p)

Price range is anything that is 225 or less.


Thanks,

Alex
 
i'd suggest you wait for a little while and perhaps get the 6800 or x800 when the prices drop, retail for these cards is 299$ and the 6800 can he had right now for 299 at evga
 
I'm looking at a radeon 9800 pro for a longer lasting system. my system is


AMD athlon XP 2400+ (can hit 2600+) upgrading soon to a mobile Athlon XP 2600+
epox 8k3ae (via KT333) upgrading to Abit nf7-s (Nforce2)
geforce 4 TI 4200 tornado (going on teh wall)

my upgrades are going to be nice :-D

get a radeon 9800 pro
 
bobmanfoo said:
i'd suggest you wait for a little while and perhaps get the 6800 or x800 when the prices drop, retail for these cards is 299$ and the 6800 can he had right now for 299 at evga
Click to expand...

$299.00 for the 6800 Ultra? What?
 
$299 for the 128MB version of the 6800. Great price. Also comes with a free copy of FarCry.

Alex, if you want the 9800Pro, I'd recommend a deal AllStarShop currently has going:
http://www.allstarshop.com/shop/product.asp?pid=8648&sid=RXSXB2H3FH3P9J63N4CX9K9160KXF0N9

I bought that same card from them, I should be getting it Monday. I also believe that the card has a 360core, which means it's the same card as the 9800XT. If you were to buy a better cooler you would easily be able to do a bios flash and get the card up to XT speeds without a sweat. :)
 
I'm assuming its worth it for the 6800 Ultra? I mean, it looks like a kick @$$ card. I checked out some reviews and benchmarks, and it flattens everything. so, from all of you, it sounds like ur leanin ATI, but maybe the nvidia ppl haven't read this yet :p. I might convert just cuz nVidia is "optimized" (a load of bs, if you ask me) for stuff, if that even means anything. I've been looking at upgrading something on my pc for a while, and the vid card seems readily accessible and easy, but any other suggestions? my setup is in first posting.

Thanks


the one i've been looking at (5900XT) http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-127-119&depa=0

and its got a freakin amazing software bundle...mostly morrowind :p

to show u how bad my vid card is now, i used AquaMark 3 on it...omg...the second test, the one with the little truck things and the smoke comin out of those pipes: 2.2 fps!!! it is horrible, at least with that...but halo at its highest was just mediocre! i thought it was gonna be like pitiful, and UT2004 on highest wasn't that bad, 30 fps for most of the team deathmatch. I also tried Savage on high detail, that was pretty bad, it was super choppy.

but anyway, thanks guys
 
http://www.tomshardware.com/graphic/20031229/vga-charts-13.html#unreal_tournament_2003

The 9800Pro performs miles better than the FX5900XT in nearly all the tests, and it's about the same price. The only Geforce card that can touch it is the FX5950 Ultra, which generally runs in the 300 dollar range.

If you want games, I've found a deal for you:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=14-127-127&depa=0
It's a 9800 that comes with Morrowind, Ghost Recon, and Duke Nukem. I

There's a reason why we're all pestering you about the 9800Pro. Think about it. It's just better. ;)
 
see, i guess you could call me "mentally challenged" or just not able to find out info :p

i didn't know the "XT" in the GeForce meant it was slower! lol...they just want unknowing ppl to think its the same as the ATI, but cheaper. HA!

or am i wrong?

whatever. i think the 9800 Pro looks like a winner, i'll get back to you guys with anything i find.

i guess that means its not worth it for the 6800? :p it just seems like its amazing, but i might b able to squeeze some dough outta my dad, who knows. thanks
 
lol You're not stupid, trust me. I recently bought a 9800Pro 128-bit version, which SUCKS. True 9800s are 256-bit. Make sure to check for that when you buy your 9800 and don't make my mistake. :)

The XTs are slower than ultras, but they're not gimped or anything. The 5900XT is a good card, but it just doesn't have a stand compared to the 9800 considering that they're the same price.

If you want top of the line, bleeding edge performance by all means the 6800 or the X800 are worth it...You may need a processor upgrade though. 2500 may be a bit of a bottleneck. I'd research into that if you're interested...
 
thanx guys, one more question...


is it worth the extra $50 from the 9600XT to the 9800? Will there really be that much more of a difference? I mean, if there is, then i can see getting the 9800 Pro, but otherwise, if i won't see that much difference, then why bother?

if this helps at all, these are the games that i am gonna be playing, so maybe this will help with the 9600XT vs. 9800 Pro:

UT2004, Warcraft 3, Savage, Neverwinter Nights (not often), Halo PC (possibly the full version, only the demo now, i'm too lazy and broke to buy the full one :p), Age of Mythology, XIII, etc.


i don't know about you, but i find this funny:

AquaMark3 (on my current vid. card: ATI Radeon 9200) i got 6,833!!! with a total average of 6.83 fps...wow...that's........sad :p

but other than that, thanx
 
Well if you want to play all the games at avg framerates at 1024 resolution without AA and AF Radeon 9600 XT should be more then enough it should last you 1 1/2 yrs at the least after which you can get another 150$ card which should faster then 6800 non ultra range...
 
The 9800Pro nearly doubles the 9600XT. Look on that Tom's Hardware link I sent you. I believe the 9600XT is on there. :)
 
Get a 9800Pro, you'll be happy.

I have a 9600XT. It is good enough for lower resolutions. (halo: 1024x768 all settings turned up, UT2k4: 1280x1024 all settings high) I only got the 9600XT because it was on newegg refurbished and was only $121.
 
OK, here was the whole premise of this forum:

Is it worth it?

I mean, i understand i'll find a difference in games, but is it that noticeable and worth the $200 now? The games i play, i get playable frame rates, and i don't know if getting 20 more framerates really matters to me. Is there any other reason I should get one? I know in the future it will be worth it, but is it worth it now?

If not, what can i spend my money on (other than my girlfriend)? as in PC parts, or even the new N-Gage QD? Or some modding stuff...whatever...i just want your opinions cuz you know, and i dont :p...

thanx a bunch,

alex
 
Absolutely positively worth it. If you enable FSAA and anistropic filtering, it will laugh!

I went from a 9800P to a 5900xt (I fried my 9800) and I have to say I really, really, really miss my 9800.
 
Well, what i'm saying is, for the games i want to play (framerates should be over 30 fps and then i'm happy) how much longer will my 9200 last? (probly not that long)

but i can wait, since its summer, mi amigo and i are gonna make some money (hopefully at least $500). so, should i wait to get some more money and get the x800 or 6800 (had to put both so as not to piss off any fanboys...and to let you know, i'm not a fanboy :p) and get some more HD space or RAM or just get some fun mods or crap, or should i get a card now. I think i know what ur gonna say (wait and get the new gen cards), and if that is ur answer, what should i get instead?

thanx, alex

edit - one more thing, if i would get an upgrade, should i get a processor upgrade? i have a 2500+ and i'm scared to OC cuz i f'ed it up before and i don't wanna screw it up again. I don't know if its worth it to pay $$$ for the 64-bit AMD right now, so i want to get an XP...maybe the 3000+ (is that upgrade worth it) or should i get like a mobile XP 2600+ and OC with a new cooling system? I guess if the need arose, i could switch to Pentium, but why? I went from a P3 to an AMD XP and i've used my friends P4 2.8GHz and in light of all that, i think i'd call myself an AMD fanboy cuz i don't think i'm ever goin back, cuz i don't have nearly enuff $ to get the 3.4EE or the FX-53, and even if i did, i probly wouldn't get it cuz i don't know if its worth it. anyway, all the help i can get it good, thanks
 
Lord Blackdrgaon said:
I'm looking at a radeon 9800 pro for a longer lasting system. my system is


AMD athlon XP 2400+ (can hit 2600+) upgrading soon to a mobile Athlon XP 2600+
epox 8k3ae (via KT333) upgrading to Abit nf7-s (Nforce2)
geforce 4 TI 4200 tornado (going on teh wall)

my upgrades are going to be nice :-D

get a radeon 9800 pro
Click to expand...
Why dont you just sve a little more money and go for a 64-bit system?
 
Either get a 9800Pro or 5900XT. ONLY get a 9800Pro if it's 256bit, cos the 128bit ones are awful.

The 5900XT is nice for it's price, the "XT" means it's slower than the normal 5900s, but they overclock very well.
 
wow, before, i posted asking about the 9700 pro vs 9800 pro, and little did i know, [H] did it for me! sorry for the inconvenience.

any more suggestions would be nice.

thanks,

alex
 
Like i said in another thread, getting anything less than a 9800pro will be a waste of your money when these new games come around
 
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