ATI 9800 now or wait for the 9800XT???

[FullRoast]

I have been fighting the urge to get a Sapphire Radeon 9800 np for the last couple of days. I don't really NEED to upgrade, but I've been think about it. Now I see that ATI is going to be coming out with R360 (9800XT?) cards, possibly before the end of the year.

I know that the practical thing to do would be to wait until after Half-Life 2 comes out and see what the news on the new ATI card is then. I just hate being practical and waiting... What's the latest rumors on the R360 cards?

 

[NYHoustonman]

~7000 3DMark03 scores. Basically, I would wait, seeing as most people don't find 1024x768@60fps playable, and thats what a 9800 pro seems to be doing right now (until cat3.8, i hope) in HL2. I, on the other hand, would be happy with 1280x1024, ~50fps.

 

[TourGuide]

Wait, or you'll make me do something stupid and impulsive.

 

[Corporate Thug]

9800 NP will be a much better value than the 9800XT

 

[Pete]

Um, a 9800XT will likely debut at $400+. Still, if you can wait a month or two, wait. Otherwise, I don't think you'll regret a $250 9800--it seems to be a great card, period, and there'll always be something bigger/better/faster around the corner. The 9800 should hold its value well, though, as the 9800XT looks to be just a clock-bumped 9800 (meaning no new features). If the 9800 looks to be fast enough for you in the many current benchmarks available for it (FiringSquad is the most recent), then go for it. If you think it may be a little slow on something, then wait.

If you'll be buying HL2 no matter what, then consider waiting for the 9800 replacement, as rumor has it all ATi cards from the 9600P replacement and up will ship with HL2.

 

[Corporate Thug]

there u go, $400 vs ~$240. i dont think the Xt will be 60% faster but it costs 60% more. also, 9800 NP can easily be flashed to a 9800 pro. 9800 pro for $240 for 9800 pro XT for $400, seems like an easy call to me

 

[FullRoast]

Hmm... I like the $250 price of the 9800 np. I'm thinking the price will drop some when the new card(s) come out, but probably not a BIG drop. I will be buying HL2, no matter what, so I should wait.... (man, I hate waiting). I guess that there won't be any changes to the 9800np that would keep it from being flashed up to a Pro. The 9800 np just seems like such a good deal.

Thanks for the input! I guess I can wait another day or so!

 

[NYHoustonman]

Originally posted by: FullRoast
Hmm... I like the $250 price of the 9800 np. I'm thinking the price will drop some when the new card(s) come out, but probably not a BIG drop. I will be buying HL2, no matter what, so I should wait.... (man, I hate waiting). I guess that there won't be any changes to the 9800np that would keep it from being flashed up to a Pro. The 9800 np just seems like such a good deal.

Thanks for the input! I guess I can wait another day or so!

Yep...tonight come the actual benchies, and then theres the cat3.8's, which can only help. I guess the guys have a point, though, the 9800 IS a great deal. But, unless you are having troubles in today's games, its price will only go down the longer you wait.

 

[Pete]

Again, you have to factor in the cost of HL2 when you consider the 9800XT, especially if ATi will bundle it OTOH, according to some scuttlebut, ATi may only bundle the SP version, in which case you may have to purchase the MP version separately if you want to play online. It's not a totally cut-and-dried decision.

Obviously you'll come out ahead in the performance/$ game if you wait, but if you can't wait, a $250 9800 is still a good buy, IMO.

Edit: Some info on how HL2 will be sold. I'd guess ATi will bundle the SP game only with their cards, but we'll see. Maybe they'll add the MP version with the high-end 9800XT.

 

[FullRoast]

Well, given the frame rates from the Half-Life 2 Performance Benchmark Preview , it is still a tough decision. I could order the 9800 np today and flash it up to Pro performance. The card has acceptible HL2 frame rates at 1024x768, but I wouldn't want to go any slower.

I'm sure that tweaks is Half-Life 2 and newer drivers will help. Another day of waiting...

 

[Corporate Thug]

just dont expect the 9800XT to churn out too many more frames

 

[Richdog]

Originally posted by: FullRoast
I have been fighting the urge to get a Sapphire Radeon 9800 np for the last couple of days. I don't really NEED to upgrade, but I've been think about it. Now I see that ATI is going to be coming out with R360 (9800XT?) cards, possibly before the end of the year.

I know that the practical thing to do would be to wait until after Half-Life 2 comes out and see what the news on the new ATI card is then. I just hate being practical and waiting... What's the latest rumors on the R360 cards?

By the time your 9800np starts to give you bad framerates in games a year or more will have passed and the 9800XT will have been long superceded by the next new cards from both Nvidia and ATI, most likely based around DX10. If you want to waste a lot of money for a very small increase in performance by all means buy the R360, but if you're smart buy the 9800np which will then leave you with $200 to put towards something useful like upgrading some other bits of hardware or even... (shock, horror)... something completely computer unrelated (GASP)! :beer:

 

[gramboh]

I've heard the 9800XT is basically a 9800/9800Pro but will run at ~425 core and 750 DDR memory, no idea how accurate those numbers are. I just bought a Sapphire 9800np last week and got unlucky with the Infineon RAM. It overclocks to about 415 core (haven't fully tested, don't want to ruin it) and 333 (666 DDR) memory which I'm happy enough with considering it cost $150 less than a Pro (Canadian dollars), pushing the clock speed over 400 gives me well over 6000 3DMark03 as well. I'd buy the non-pro if I were you, the price difference between the non-pro/Pro and Pro/XT is not worth the cash, unless money is no object, in that case buy one of those Promethia Vapochill setups and run a P4 @ 4+ GHz with a Radeon 9800 Pro @ 510/390

 

[FullRoast]

Well, newegg is currently out of the Sapphire 9800 np that I was having trouble resisting, so it looks like I will be waiting a little while longer.

I almost certainly would not spend the dollars to get a 9800XT. I was hoping that the release of new cards would help push the price of the existing cards down a little.

 

[merlion]

Looks like a lot of the "good" online vendors are OOS right now. If you really don't want to wait to get the 9800np Best Buy has them for $249.99 right now. Shipping is free I think, but tax would push the price up.

 

[FullRoast]

This is how bad it is... I ran over to Best Buy at lunch. They have the ATI brand 9800 on sale for 249.00 after a $50 rebate. Well, I really didn't want to pay sales tax on $300 and wait on the rebate, but the biggest reason I put it off was because I wanted to get a 9800 with Samsung memory. It is suppose to overclock (allow flashing to the Pro level?) better.

I know that I could have checked out the card at home and returned it, but I hate doing that. Besides, if I wait long enough for the Sapphire 9800 to be back in stock at Newegg, maybe sthere will be more info on the new ATI card(s).

 

[slider94]

That $50 rebate is instant, not mail-in. So you're only paying tax on the $250.00.

 

[FullRoast]

Hmmmm.... I thought they still calculated the tax on the pre-rebated price, but I could be wrong.

Anyone know which memory ATI uses? Multiple sources?

 

[modedepe]

They do calculate the tax on the prerebate price, but online it says nothing about a rebate, so I think it's just on sale for the $250 price. I heard before that the 9800np's at best buy had loosey infineon ram on it, or something like that which had no shot at hitting pro speeds.

 

[zephyrprime]

Wait and get the 9800XT np! You said yourself that you don't need to upgrade right now so be practical and wait.

 

[FullRoast]

Well, it turns out I am simply a failure when it comes to waiting...

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: FullRoast
Hmmmm.... I thought they still calculated the tax on the pre-rebated price, but I could be wrong.

Anyone know which memory ATI uses? Multiple sources?

very 9500/9600/9700/9800 i have seen that was built by ATi had samsung

 

[FullRoast]

Good. I hope that every 9800 I see has Samsung memory, too!

 

[risingpheonix]

Just bought it from Best buy using the Sony Laptop error 10% off coupon

Came to $238 (tax included) Tax was like $13 in Ct (6%)

Plus I get a $25 gift certifcate. I don't know how to overclock so I guess I won't be doing it.

Going to install in my Power Edge that I may get sometime this year.

 

[t4t3r]

I've had my ATI BB 9800np for almost 2 months and had nothing but a good experience. ~$250 vs $400 seems like a pretty clear choice to me.