Albatron FX5900 Turbo 256MB?

[Peter D]

Alrighty 🙂

I currently have an aging PNY Ti4400 and im looking to hop into the ring with a new, high end DX9 video card. I'am a pretty avid gamer, so i need a powerful card, and i want something that will be good for Doom3, HL2, and that will last for at least a good year or more. I have the chance to trade for the mentioned video card with someone in the FS/FT forums, but im in a dilemma. I also have the chance (pending a few questions) to get a 9800 Pro (128mb). Do you guys think i should get the FX and overclock the hell out of it, or wait a week or so to see if i can trade for that 9800 pro? I do like ATI's image quality, and superior AA&AF features, and all this controversy with nVidia has left a somewhat bad taste in my mouth..

Help me out! 😱

 

[Schadenfroh]

wait, there is going to be new cards soon

 

[Peter D]

Schadenfroh i realize that nv40 is coming, as well as the radeon 9900 (cant remember the code name.. r400? 😱) but i cant shell out that much, and i think a 9800/5900 would suffice, but im just wondering of the two which i should get..

 

[TourGuide]

If you have to buy now, AND you can get the ATI to work properly in your rig you should go that route. There is no hiding the fact that ATI has superior hardware right now, the question is, will it work right for you? There is nothing worse than buying a high end card and having it be a PITA.

 

[Peter D]

Well looks like im going with the ATI, and ill just do a clean format to get rid of drivers ... 🙂

 

[McArra]

Originally posted by: Vegetto
Well looks like im going with the ATI, and ill just do a clean format to get rid of drivers ... 🙂

Nice decision

 

[Genx87]

Nvidia has a better AF implmentation while ATi has a slightly better AA implementation.
As for 9800 vs 5900. Most reviews I have seen show the 5900 besting the 9800 NP in most situations.

 

[Ronin]

Originally posted by: Genx87
Nvidia has a better AF implmentation while ATi has a slightly better AA implementation.
As for 9800 vs 5900. Most reviews I have seen show the 5900 besting the 9800 NP in most situations.

Accurate information, but even from a guy who's running a 5900 Ultra in his main box, the 5900 only marginally does better. It's not a head and shoulders horse whippin, it's more of an eek by in some cases, and in other cases, the 9800 Pro will outperform the 5900.

 

[NYHoustonman]

I did the same exact upgrade (ti4400->9800pro) with no problems. Just make sure you completely remove the NVidia drivers and you should be fine.

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: RoninCS

Originally posted by: Genx87
Nvidia has a better AF implmentation while ATi has a slightly better AA implementation.
As for 9800 vs 5900. Most reviews I have seen show the 5900 besting the 9800 NP in most situations.

Accurate information, but even from a guy who's running a 5900 Ultra in his main box, the 5900 only marginally does better. It's not a head and shoulders horse whippin, it's more of an eek by in some cases, and in other cases, the 9800 Pro will outperform the 5900.

wrong

check out the hothardware review. they took screenies to back up their statements. their conclusion: image quality with AF is almost identical with ATi at a small and almost unnoticable advantage. With AA, ATi plain out destroys nvidia in image quality

 

[Peter D]

I have to agree with shady about the AA

i found a review with the 128mb variant of the 5900 against a 9800 pro, and they had animated pictures of the 9800's image quality with AA, with AF, without, and several others vs. the 5900's, and the 9800 was much easier on the eye. For AA,the 9800 cant be beat, and the AF as well... Ill get back with how it turns out 🙂

Thanks guys, you can let this thread drop unless you wanna battle it out some more .. 😛

 

[nRollo]

With AA, ATi plain out destroys nvidia in image quality

This may be true when scrutinizing screenshots, but you don't really notice the difference when playing games. I went from a 9700Pro to a 5800 to a 9800Pro, and I can tell you I'm not saying "Thank you Jesus!" over the "destroying" image quality difference.
It's just not that big of a deal in actual gameplay. The 4X/4X Quality I ran on the 5800 doesn't look all that different than the 4X/8X performance I'm currently running.