ATI vid Cards or Nvidia vid Cards??

[Maschulo]

Hey guys
am building a new computer in the next month or 2 and the thing that is killing me is what video card to buy, am torn between ati 9800 and nvidia gforce 5950, am a gamer and i don't want any problems with the new system am building.

New system specs:

P4 3.4
2 Gigs of Oz 3200 Ram
SATA 200 HD
Asus P4C800-E Deluxe M/B

and that is pretty much it, and the vid card am thinking off right now is the Asus Geforce FX 5950 256MB.
so which one do you guys recommend? ATI or Nvidia?
Thanks

Maschulo

 

[Acanthus]

That is probably the worst card you could possibly buy, the Geforce 6800, Radeon 9800 Pro, Radeon X800 series are all a lot faster for similar money (in the 9800s case a lot less money)

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: Acanthus
That is probably the worst card you could possibly buy, the Geforce 6800, Radeon 9800 Pro, Radeon X800 series are all a lot faster for similar money (in the 9800s case a lot less money)

Exactly. Read the Video reviews on the main anandtech website.

 

[Markfw]

Depends on your budget. If around $200, get the 9800pro. It around $400-$450, get the X800pro. You can't buy the 6800 yet, and the 5950 is terrible for the money. (not as good as the 9800pro anyway)

 

[Algere]

If you decide to head the 9800 route in any case do NOT get a 9800 SE or 9800 XT.

 

[nick1985]

can i ask why you arnt getting an A64 if you are going to be doing intensive gaming?

and 2 gigs of ram?! 😱

 

[magomago]

Originally posted by: nick1985
can i ask why you arnt getting an A64 if you are going to be doing intensive gaming?

and 2 gigs of ram?! 😱

Yeah~ A64 is a faster gaming processor so I also don't see why you are getting a P4, unless you will also be also doing a lot of encoding...

and werd to the 2 gigs of ram. You sure you need that much? I guess even if you were super hardcore 1.5gigs MAYBE....YEah in the future we'll need all that extra ram....but not ATM. Go for 1 gig

oh for your card....if you are building a rig in the next month or two get the newer cards, because they should be more common by then. My vote would probably go to the 6800GT

 

[apoppin]

What i would buy is the nVidia 6800U . . . i believe it has the best performance potential. 😉

my 2nd choice would be the Radeon x800xt

and IF i were looking for excellent bang-for-the-buck, i'd get a Radeon 9800Pro (256MB) and flash the BIOS to a Radeon 9800XT.

edit: the 6800U and the x800xt will [BOTH] be shipping in quantities early next month . . .

 

[Algere]

Originally posted by: apoppin
What i would buy is the nVidia 6800U . . . i believe it has the best performance potential. 😉

my 2nd choice would be the Radeon x800xt

and IF i were looking for excellent bang-for-the-buck, i'd get a Radeon 9800Pro (256MB) and flash the BIOS to a Radeon 9800XT.

edit: the 6800U and the x800xt will [BOTH] be shipping in quantities early next month . . .

Couldn't you just overclock a 128MB 9800 Pro to XT speeds? As far as I've seen the 256MB version of the 9800 Pro doesn't really increase performance much(nothing that warrants the price premium for the 256MB version).

 

[mnguyen84]

my 9800pro doesn't o/c to the TX, mainly because the memory on the TX is DDRII. I guess i could try boosting up the voltage.

 

[LTC8K6]

128MB ATI 9800pro if you have to buy now and $200 is your limit.

ATI X800Pro if you have to buy now and can afford one.

NV6800GT if you can wait a month.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Algere

Originally posted by: apoppin
What i would buy is the nVidia 6800U . . . i believe it has the best performance potential. 😉

my 2nd choice would be the Radeon x800xt

and IF i were looking for excellent bang-for-the-buck, i'd get a Radeon 9800Pro (256MB) and flash the BIOS to a Radeon 9800XT.

edit: the 6800U and the x800xt will [BOTH] be shipping in quantities early next month . . .

Couldn't you just overclock a 128MB 9800 Pro to XT speeds? As far as I've seen the 256MB version of the 9800 Pro doesn't really increase performance much(nothing that warrants the price premium for the 256MB version).

YOU DeCIde . . . but read it ALL 1st

:roll:

 

[daos]

Originally posted by: magomago

Originally posted by: nick1985
can i ask why you arnt getting an A64 if you are going to be doing intensive gaming?

and 2 gigs of ram?! 😱

Yeah~ A64 is a faster gaming processor so I also don't see why you are getting a P4, unless you will also be also doing a lot of encoding...

and werd to the 2 gigs of ram. You sure you need that much? I guess even if you were super hardcore 1.5gigs MAYBE....YEah in the future we'll need all that extra ram....but not ATM. Go for 1 gig

oh for your card....if you are building a rig in the next month or two get the newer cards, because they should be more common by then. My vote would probably go to the 6800GT

Bro! i would love to have 2Gb of ram. it is defintaly needed these days with the memory intensive games that are hitting the shelves. i.e. Farcry, BFV, SplinterCell PT, UT2k4, etc.. the recommended amount of memory these days is 1GB with a 3Ghz CPU. so basically owning 2Gb of memory is like owning 1Gb of memory a year ago. 🙂

when i get the chance and another 400 bucks, im buying another two 512Mb of corsair 3200 registered memory for a total of 2Gb. a buddy of mine has 4GB of 3200, and his games load in an instant, and play so smooth. not to mention, he hardly uses his measly 100MB swap file. 🙂

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: Algere

Couldn't you just overclock a 128MB 9800 Pro to XT speeds? As far as I've seen the 256MB version of the 9800 Pro doesn't really increase performance much(nothing that warrants the price premium for the 256MB version).

they vary, but the newer 9800pros actually have R360 GPUs, downclocked to Pro speeds. The memory is slower though.

Still, with RAMsinks they should hit 430/375 pretty consistantly.

 

[daos]

Originally posted by: jagec

Originally posted by: Algere

Couldn't you just overclock a 128MB 9800 Pro to XT speeds? As far as I've seen the 256MB version of the 9800 Pro doesn't really increase performance much(nothing that warrants the price premium for the 256MB version).

they vary, but the newer 9800pros actually have R360 GPUs, downclocked to Pro speeds. The memory is slower though.

Still, with RAMsinks they should hit 430/375 pretty consistantly.

and that my freind is a killer bang for the buck.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: daos

Originally posted by: magomago

Originally posted by: nick1985
can i ask why you arnt getting an A64 if you are going to be doing intensive gaming?

and 2 gigs of ram?! 😱

Yeah~ A64 is a faster gaming processor so I also don't see why you are getting a P4, unless you will also be also doing a lot of encoding...

and werd to the 2 gigs of ram. You sure you need that much? I guess even if you were super hardcore 1.5gigs MAYBE....YEah in the future we'll need all that extra ram....but not ATM. Go for 1 gig

oh for your card....if you are building a rig in the next month or two get the newer cards, because they should be more common by then. My vote would probably go to the 6800GT

Bro! i would love to have 2Gb of ram. it is defintaly needed these days with the memory intensive games that are hitting the shelves. i.e. Farcry, BFV, SplinterCell PT, UT2k4, etc.. the recommended amount of memory these days is 1GB with a 3Ghz CPU. so basically owning 2Gb of memory is like owning 1Gb of memory a year ago. 🙂

when i get the chance and another 400 bucks, im buying another two 512Mb of corsair 3200 registered memory for a total of 2Gb. a buddy of mine has 4GB of 3200, and his games load in an instant, and play so smooth. not to mention, he hardly uses his measly 100MB swap file. 🙂

Somebody [here] is believing the MaximumPC nonsense about "needing" 2GB RAM and games. 😛
(the RAM manufacturerers sure GOT to THEM, didn't they?)

:roll:

 

[Algere]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: Algere

Originally posted by: apoppin
What i would buy is the nVidia 6800U . . . i believe it has the best performance potential. 😉

my 2nd choice would be the Radeon x800xt

and IF i were looking for excellent bang-for-the-buck, i'd get a Radeon 9800Pro (256MB) and flash the BIOS to a Radeon 9800XT.

edit: the 6800U and the x800xt will [BOTH] be shipping in quantities early next month . . .

Couldn't you just overclock a 128MB 9800 Pro to XT speeds? As far as I've seen the 256MB version of the 9800 Pro doesn't really increase performance much(nothing that warrants the price premium for the 256MB version).

YOU DeCIde . . . but read it ALL 1st

:roll:

Read it, lets just say as the article says that all the new 256MB Radeon 9800 Pro's are 9800 XT's assuming the possibility the hidden features enabled after the flash(temp monitoring + overdrive) is enabled. Does that include the XT's bigger fan(not that it makes much of a dif).

Now the cheapest Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB video card I can find online is $289 @ NewEgg. Compared to the Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB version also @ NewEgg(not sure if it's the cheapest) for $204 which is $85 cheaper, I still hold my opinion of not being that worth it bang for buck wise esp. when a 12 pipe 6800NU will debut soon @ $300(MSRP).

EDIT: Update to that article says the new Radeon 9800 Pro 128 MB version also comes with the R360 core so other than the extra 128MB's of the 256MB 9800 Pro over the 128MB version there's not much of an advantage to pay $85 more for more video memory.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Algere

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: Algere

Originally posted by: apoppin
What i would buy is the nVidia 6800U . . . i believe it has the best performance potential. 😉

my 2nd choice would be the Radeon x800xt

and IF i were looking for excellent bang-for-the-buck, i'd get a Radeon 9800Pro (256MB) and flash the BIOS to a Radeon 9800XT.

edit: the 6800U and the x800xt will [BOTH] be shipping in quantities early next month . . .

Couldn't you just overclock a 128MB 9800 Pro to XT speeds? As far as I've seen the 256MB version of the 9800 Pro doesn't really increase performance much(nothing that warrants the price premium for the 256MB version).

YOU DeCIde . . . but read it ALL 1st

:roll:

Read it, lets just say as the article says that all the new 256MB Radeon 9800 Pro's are 9800 XT's assuming the possibility the hidden features enabled after the flash(temp monitoring + overdrive) is enabled. Does that include the XT's bigger fan(not that it makes much of a dif).

Now the cheapest Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB video card I can find online is $289 @ NewEgg. Compared to the Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB version also @ NewEgg(not sure if it's the cheapest) for $204 which is $85 cheaper, I still hold my opinion of not being that worth it bang for buck wise esp. when a 12 pipe 6800NU will debut soon @ $300(MSRP).

The ASUS 9800Pro-256 has the XT cooling . . . just flash it. 😉

AND - RIGHT NOW - the 256MB ver is WAAY 2 expensive . . . End of Summer you can expect it will have the BIGGEST price drop (along with the xt) . . . i'm expecting you will get it for sub$200 (then).

not now

EDIT: STILL, $289 - right now - for a Radeon 9800XT (flashed from a 9800Pro-256) is a GREAT deal. 😉
(although i'd still wait for the x800)

 

[Algere]

Originally posted by: apoppin

EDIT: STILL, $289 - right now - for a Radeon 9800XT (flashed from a 9800Pro-256) is a GREAT deal. 😉
(although i'd still wait for the x800)

Compared to a actual Radeon 9800 XT most definitely.

 

[Maschulo]

WOW,
thanks you guys, for all this wonderfull input.. now after reading everything you guys have said, now am thinking of building this machine...
and the games that am talking about are EQ2 (main one), UT 04

AMD ATHLON 64 3400+ Socket 754 2.2GHZ 1MB L2 Cache Processor
Asus K8V SE Deluxe Motherboard
Asus AX800 XT/TVD Video Card 256MB

still i like the 2GIGs of ram,

all the input from you guys have been great.. can you guys also tell me what you think now?

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Maschulo
WOW,
thanks you guys, for all this wonderfull input.. now after reading everything you guys have said, now am thinking of building this machine...
and the games that am talking about are EQ2 (main one), UT 04

AMD ATHLON 64 3400+ Socket 754 2.2GHZ 1MB L2 Cache Processor
Asus K8V SE Deluxe Motherboard
Asus AX800 XT/TVD Video Card 256MB

still i like the 2GIGs of ram,

all the input from you guys have been great.. can you guys also tell me what you think now?

So far so good . . . Ask us again when you have your credit card in hand and are (really) ready to order . . . a LOT can change in a couple of months. 😉

 

[klah]

Originally posted by: daos

Originally posted by: magomago

Originally posted by: nick1985
can i ask why you arnt getting an A64 if you are going to be doing intensive gaming?

and 2 gigs of ram?! 😱

Yeah~ A64 is a faster gaming processor so I also don't see why you are getting a P4, unless you will also be also doing a lot of encoding...

and werd to the 2 gigs of ram. You sure you need that much? I guess even if you were super hardcore 1.5gigs MAYBE....YEah in the future we'll need all that extra ram....but not ATM. Go for 1 gig

oh for your card....if you are building a rig in the next month or two get the newer cards, because they should be more common by then. My vote would probably go to the 6800GT

Bro! i would love to have 2Gb of ram. it is defintaly needed these days with the memory intensive games that are hitting the shelves. i.e. Farcry, BFV, SplinterCell PT, UT2k4, etc.. the recommended amount of memory these days is 1GB with a 3Ghz CPU. so basically owning 2Gb of memory is like owning 1Gb of memory a year ago. 🙂

when i get the chance and another 400 bucks, im buying another two 512Mb of corsair 3200 registered memory for a total of 2Gb. a buddy of mine has 4GB of 3200, and his games load in an instant, and play so smooth. not to mention, he hardly uses his measly 100MB swap file. 🙂

I play all of those games and have never seen memory usage over 700MB. The highest I have ever had with any game is FS2004 w/Ultimate Traffic using 812MB.

 

[ColdBrew]

I'll add my 2 cents in here. I have mostly bought nVidia the past few years and then I switched to ATI for the past 6 or so months and have regretted it.

I first bought a ATI 9800 Pro 128 meg to use in a Tyan Thunder K8W 2885 (dual Opteron) motherboard and the card won't work unless the AGP speed and fast writes are disabled.

The second ATI I bought was the 9800 Pro All in Wonder to use in a Shuttle (can't think of the model but it uses an AMD 64 processor). The Shuttle refuses to power on unless you disconnect the power connector going to the video card.

I tested nVidia cards in both of those systems and they worked flawlessly. So from now on I'm sticking to the nVidia no matter if it is the top dog or not. I've learned my lesson.

 

[CraigRT]

you do not need 2 GB of RAM... that is for sure.

you do however, need 1GB of RAM (well, I have seen differences in some things with a gig, over 512)

games like Sim City 4 can utilize more than 512, and UT2K4 has a slow desktop refresh with 512 RAM, 1GB fixes that right up. 2GB however is overkill, and not as overclocking friendly 😀