5900 Ultra OR 9800 Pro

[Atif]

Okay, I need to get a new video card so I'm going to make this real simple:

Here are my system specifications:

AMD Athlon XP 1700+ DL3TC @ 2.3GHz
Abit NF7-S 2.0 with BIOS 1.6
2 x 256MB OCZ Tech Enhanced Latency Platinum Edition PC3200 RAM
Onboard SoundStorm Audio (Direct 5.1 pass-through to Z-680 Decoder)
Maxtor 160GB UDMA/133 HDD
Lite-On LTD-166S
Lite-On LDW-811S
SinoTech CWT-550ADP Power Supply (550W, OEM for Antec TruePower)
Windows XP with Service Pack 1A
DirectX 9.0b

Here's what I generally play:

NBA Live 2004
Madden 2004
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
Halo
FIFA 2004
(Will be playing Tron 2.0, XIII, Hitman: Contracts, UT:2004, and FarCry soon)

I like to play games at 1280x960 or 1024x768 with AA and AF on

Here are the choices I've narrowed it down to (price difference is negligible, so don't factor that into your suggestion please):

256MB GeForceFX 5900 Ultra (Latest OFFICIAL ForceWare Drivers)

OR

128MB ATi Radeon 9800 Pro (Latest OFFICIAL Catalyst Drivers)

Thanks in advance for the help

 

[PrayForDeath]

9800 Pro would be better, especially for DX9 titles, such as Halo, FarCry and PoP.
Plus, the 9800 PRO is better for AA and AF at high resolutions. And you really don't need more than 128MB for today's titles.
But if the price difference is negligible as you say, then you could go for the X800 Pro, it's already available for 360-400$
The choice is yours.

 

[RussianSensation]

Ok considering the price difference between the 2 and the horrible PS2.0 performance of NV3x cards, 9800 is my choice. You can read the benchmarks I linked in this thread

However, if you are going to spend close to $300 on a 5900Ultra, you are much better off getting x800Pro or 6800gt (when it comes out). I don't see how you think the price difference is negligible considering 1 card costs nearly 2x as much as the other. If money is not an issue to you, then just get the new generation of cards. Spending more than $200 on the old generation of cards is simply unjustified thus 5900ultra/9800xt/5950 are the biggest ripoffs right now. 9800Pro will be faster in Tron, Fifa, FarCry (don't know about the other ones). Besides to be fair you should have at least compared a 9800Pro 256mb.

This $170 256-bit 9800Pro is an excellent choice for its price range. Otherwise, any new generation card (12-16 pipeline).

 

[Matthias99]

I like to play games at 1280x960 or 1024x768 with AA and AF on

I'd say the 9800Pro as well. It generally performs better with AA and AF on, and is cheaper than a 5900U. But, as others have noted, if you're willing to buy a 5900U, you might want to look into a 6800GT (when available) or an X800Pro.

Besides to be fair you should have at least compared a 9800Pro 256mb.

Games today don't need 256MB of video card memory. It only makes a difference at 1600x1200 with AA and AF turned on, and even then it's not drastic. A few games (like COD) *can* use it for super-high-res textures, but it's still a waste of $100 IMHO.

 

[Atif]

^ Thank you gentlemen for your opinions

Now, let me please intercede and clarify something from my first post. When I said that the "price difference is negligible" I said this based on offers I have received for cards for sale. The 9800 Pro has been, at best, $30 cheaper than the offers I've gotten for 5900 Ultra cards.

Based on this clarification/information, has anyone's opinion changed?

Please let me know

 

[Dman877]

You gonna oc? those 5900's oc pretty well...

 

[Atif]

^ Possibly, yes.

If I buy a 5900 Ultra, I'll try to push it to 5950 Speeds (only for 3D Mode)

If I buy a 9800 Pro, I'll buy a VGA Silencer and OCZ BGA RAMsinks and try to push it to XT Speeds

Sorry for not providing this info in the first post

Peace

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: Atif
^ Possibly, yes.

If I buy a 5900 Ultra, I'll try to push it to 5950 Speeds (only for 3D Mode)

If I buy a 9800 Pro, I'll buy a VGA Silencer and OCZ BGA RAMsinks and try to push it to XT Speeds

Sorry for not providing this info in the first post

Peace

In that case (only a $30 price difference, and you're willing to overclock), the differences between the cards are less pronounced. I'd still go with the 9800Pro (it still takes less of a hit in AA/AF modes, plus you save $30), but either card would likely serve you well.

You might want to look at some benches for the particular games you play and see if they run better on either card. I know Tron and FarCry run better on ATI, and Halo is better on NVIDIA generally (unsurprising, as it was developed for the NVIDIA-based XBox). UT2K4 is pretty even (though it's CPU-limited except at very high resolutions). Don't know about the rest -- those aren't really benchmarking apps (the sports games and POP are all console ports, which usually perform relatively poorly on the PC).

 

[g3pro]

6800GT. Otherwise, get the 5900. I'm extremely happy with my 5900NU.

 

[Atif]

^ Thanks for the suggestion Mathias

I think the closest thing to relevant benchmarks came from the Xbit Labs review of the 5950 Ultra RussianSensation posted earlier. They used VERY recent drivers from nVidia (60.72) and ATi (Catalyst 4.4) and it seems as though 9800 Pro (which was not specified as 128MB or 256MB) trounces the 5900 Ultra in those games where it performs better and gets barely beat in those games where it loses to the 5900 Ultra (except in X2: The Threat, which I don't play anyways)

Peace

 

[Atif]

g3pro, correct me if I'm mistaken, but aren't the 6800 GTs expected to have a retail price of well over $200 at launch? If not, then please let me in on when they will saturate the market.

Thanks

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: Atif
g3pro, correct me if I'm mistaken, but aren't the 6800 GTs expected to have a retail price of well over $200 at launch? If not, then please let me in on when they will saturate the market.

Thanks

6800GTs MSRP is $400. The 6800NU is MSRP $300, and supposedly shipping now. No has seen how it performs AFAIK.

 

[Atif]

^ Thank you Rollo

If I may ask, what is your opinion on what card I should choose?

Peace

 

[Keysplayr]

6800GT. I voted for upcoming gen.

 

[VIAN]

I chose "Other Upcoming Gen. Card (Specify in thread)," but after reading your post, I change my decision to a 9800 Pro, upcoming gen cards are much too powerful for your CPU to handle and the 9800 Pro is much better with AA and AF on, not to mention that it's cheaper than the 5900 Ultra.

 

[Atif]

^ Thanks for the reply

As I mentioned in my post however, based on the offers I've gotten, the price difference is not huge, so though the 9800 Pro is cheaper, it hasn't been by much.

Still, the general trend seems to be that the AA and AF performance alone make the 9800 Pro the better choice. I'm gonna look for several more opinions but I'm about ready to order a 9800 Pro an a VGA Silencer

Peace

 

[skiddy]

9800pro.... better PS2.0 support and AA than the 59xx cards. The 5900 cards are pretty good performers, but I would never consider buying one unless it was cheaper than a 9800pro.

 

[RussianSensation]

Originally posted by: Matthias99

Games today don't need 256MB of video card memory. It only makes a difference at 1600x1200 with AA and AF turned on, and even then it's not drastic. A few games (like COD) *can* use it for super-high-res textures, but it's still a waste of $100 IMHO.

I agree with you that $100 doesnt justify getting extra 128mb. But I am just saying if he is comparing 2 cards and price isnt an issue, and 5900Ultra costs more, and 9800Pro 256mb is ALSO available, it doenst make sense from his point of view to not consider a 9800Pro 256mb as well, you know?

But now that he mentioned that the price difference for him is only $30, I would imagine a 256mb 9800Pro costs a lot more than a 5900Ultra 256mb.

Atif, do you live in US? If so you can find cheaper prices on www.pricewatch.com and www.pricegrabber.com and the price difference between the 2 cards will be far greater. Otherwise, more future games will come out with PS2.0 support, and that is where ATI cards greatly excel 59xx series, I would still go for the 9800Pro. How much does either card cost where you live? Because if you are going to spend close to $300, even a 6800NU might be a better choice with its 12 pipelines. Then again if the prices where you live are a lot more than $200 for 9800Pro, maybe the new generation of cards will also cost more in your area.

 

[Atif]

^ Hello, I live in the U.S. Southern California. I am basing my prices off of the forums here and several other boards. The 256MB 5900 Ultra offers are for $200-$210 and the 128MB 9800 Pro offers range from $180-$200.

I wouldn't have hesitated to include the 256MB version of the 9800 Pro in my final decision, however, its price hovers around $270 new (couldn't find it used) and thus, I convinced myself it wouldn't be worth it to go that close to $300 with the next-gen cards right around the corner. Please let me know what you think.

Also, is the overclocking headroom significantly increased and/or is the cooling of the memory significantly improved by installing BGA RAMsinks on the 9800 Pro (will also have a VGA Silencer installed if I go the 9800P route)

Thanks

 

[BFG10K]

This topic has been rehashed many times...might I suggest a search in this very forum?

 

[Atif]

^ Umm, I did search and saw threads about the XT versus the 9800 (the XT is obviously a lower-grade part) and several others perhaps generally asking a similar question.

I posed my question because the GFFX 5900 Ultra on paper (with 256MB of RAM) may seem to overshadow a 128MB 9800 Pro. Judging by the response here however, this is not the case.

I appreciate all the comments and suggestions, I have placed an order for a 9800 Pro. I will order my VGA Silencer as soon as SVC restocks

EDIT: By the way, there was an OLD thread asking the same question, HOWEVER, the benchmarks used to argue at that time are definitely out of date/irrelevant at this point in driver development.

Thanks everybody

 

[Atif]

To bring this thread to a conclusion:

I appreciate everybody's feedback. I have purchased a Radeon 9800 Pro. Thank you VERY much for all your help

Peace

 

[BFG10K]

Umm, I did search and saw threads about the XT versus the 9800

The 5900U is about 5-10% faster than a 5900XT.

Likewise for the 9800XT compared to the 9800P.

 

[Atif]

^ Yes, but I just wanted some hard numbers, and thanks to RussianSensation, I got them.

Thanks for all the replies, once again.