9800 pro to x800 xl

[maddogatc]

I currently have a Radeon 9800 pro. There is a ATI Radeon X800 XL on sale for 349 CDN (287 US). Is the upgrade worth the money or should I wait abit for the prices to drop.

 

[jelifah]

How long can you wait?

As with all upgrades, and computer equipment in general, the price will drop. Buy when you need, but if you can wait you will save money, and sometimes even, get better equipment for less.

How about this:
How long can you work on your current card?
Are you happy with your 9800 Pro?
Will you be able to stomach the fact that the new ATi card hits the street in a month?

[This is the big question]
Do you have the $ to upgrade each generation, or would it be better to skip generations?
[/This is the big question]

SO MANY QUESTIONS, stop the madness...

Notice in my sig below that equipment was bought in November. How much money would I have saved if I bought now? Wait until 2020 then the upgrade will be worth it!

Sorry to be so NOT helpful

 

[maddogatc]

I quess my biggest question is will I see a giant leap in performance over my 9800 Pro? Is that kind of jump worth 349 bucks?

 

[Munky]

It will give you a big jump in performance, but you also need to consider how long you intend on keeping the rig. If you're already using an A64, then it makes sence to upgrade the gfx card, but if you're still on AXP/P4, it might be better to switch over to A64/Pcie, because the older cpu's will bottleneck the video card somewhat, and AGP is a dying platform anyway.

 

[Ramsez]

Unless you have something slower than a P4 2.4 X800XL would not be bottlenecked.

 

[jelifah]

Sorry again with the questions, but you also did answer my biggest question, so let me rephrase

Is 350 CDN disposable enough to you to perform a 1 generation leap in performance?

Also, what games are you playing right now? I guess the new hype of the month, i.e. BF2, probably hurts your card but I thought the 9800 Pro is 'decent' enough.

Based on my gut feeling you'd be better off waiting until the end of August when all ATI card should drop at least $25-$50 with the release of R520

 

[Jeff7181]

I'd wait. You're not going to see a HUGE increase in performance, but you will if you get a 7800GTX or ATI equivalent.

 

[maddogatc]

Well I am still running a p4 3.2 socket 478 on an abit IS7 mothrboard (AGP slot). Not going to upgrade board or CPU as it will cost to much with a new video card. The x800 xt and 6800GT are both out of my price range as they are generally 500 CDN or more. Must make a decision as the X800 XL goes back up in price to 450-500 today.

 

[BoboKatt]

I went from a 9800 pro to the x800 XL (and I bought it here in Canada for $399 so yours is even cheaper). I noticed a HUGE gain but mainly in high res games where I had everything maxed out. I loved the upgrade - period. Realize however that the 9800 pro is simply a workhorse that refuses to go away and die. I still have it in my other machine and it still kicks butt in almost everything -- it's just that good so.

 

[Dman877]

An X800XL has twice the pipes of a 9800 Pro and is very similar architectually. The clock speeds are also higher and it has 256mb ram. In a non-cpu bottle-necked situation, it would be over twice as fast. Benchmarks pretty much back this up. If you play games at 1024x768 or even 1280x1024 without aa/af, the difference won't be huge. It's when you crank the settings up that you'll see a real difference.

I'm in a similar situation actually. I'm kind of hoping that when ati releases its next batch of cards, the X800XL/6800GT level cards drop to around 200 .

 

[blckgrffn]

Go for it. Games like Far Cry, HL2, and Doom3 will be MUCH more playable

 

[imported_Doughboy]

I too upgraded from a 9800 pro 128MB to a x800xl 256MB. The the difference is ~2x, and even more at higher resolutions. I play BF2 on my first system at 1600x1200, Med settings, no AA, with frame rates typically 50-70 FPS. On my second, 800x600, Med settings, 6x AA, not sure of Frame rates, but very playable for my friend. It would probably run 1024x768, but no AA and most settings on low. Hope that helps if BF2 is your game.

Bottomline: if your unable to play your games, maybe upgrade to the 800xl. I'm very happy with mine. but if you can wait for next gen parts, you'll only get better performance, but at twice the price. and who knows what's to come of AGP. I'm very disappointed in nVidia for their lack of AGP support on the 7800GTX model, but if they want to limit their own market it's their loss. I'm sure ATI has something great in the works. time will tell.

 

[maddogatc]

On sale at Future Shop for 349. 150 off regular price.

 

[Midwayman]

I just got a x800xl fro $245 shipped US. I came from a 9800(non pro) but clocked to stock 9800pro settings.
BF2 went from 1024x768 with medium settings to 1600x1200 no AA and max settings on everything. This is with a older 2.8g HT p4 system.

You're not buying yourself framerate so much as resolution and improved shaders. Well, probably some frame rate at lower res.

 

[ZobarStyl]

It would definitely be a big jump in performance at high resolutions, but a 9800Pro can still belt out the needed frames in most cases, so I would suggest holding out a little while longer for a cheaper deal/better card, as prices come down when next gen hits from ATi.