Buy 9800 or 5900 now or wait for R400 and nv40?

[deepspace]

Hey guys, I posted a similar question yesterday about cpus in the general area now i'm asking the same about video cards. I'm going to be building my first system from the ground up. My current system is about 4 years old and badly needs replacement. My question is do you think it would be wise to purchase a 9800 128 now or a 5900 in a couple weeks, or should I wait until the R400 and the nv40 come out later this year? I can wait on the system but I would rather not. Do you guys think it is worth the wait. How much better do you think those cards are really going to be?

 

[bjc112]

Why don't you build the system you were planning on building, and grab a ti4200 for about $100 or a decent deal in the 9500 for about $170...

Your saving $200 dollars there that you could put towards the Nv40 or the next radeon core...

😀

Good Luck

 

[John]

I'd buy a 250.00 radeon 9700 pro instead of the expensive 9800 Pro or 5900. Depending on what resolution and detail level you plan on running in games, a Radeon 9500 might be a more viable option.

 

[bjc112]

Originally posted by: John
I'd buy a 250.00 radeon 9700 pro instead of the expensive 9800 Pro or 5900. Depending on what resolution and detail level you plan on running in games, a Radeon 9500 might be a more viable option.

A 9700 non pro might also work out,

Right there you have a nice selection for your needs.

- 9700 pro + Overclocking

-9700 non pro for about $30-50 less.

-Or if your not a big gamer you can snag a 9500 pro for $170.00 which is not a bad take either.

 

[Jinny]

if you're gonna wait, you might as well wait for NV90 or something, jsut buy what you want now

 

[Celeryman]

I think the ti4200 (128MB) is a very good choice for right now. I am not just saying this because I have one. It is handling everything just fine. I really don't know whether I would invest in a radeon 9700 at this point (I think the 9500 series is a better choice currently). I would point out however that the radeon do have superior image quality if thats what your after. The point I would start worrying about upgrading is basically the same time that everyone else is. That is when Doom 3 and HL2 come out. Then I will probably upgrade

 

[Oyeve]

If you can fing a 9500 Pro, go for it. Its much cheaper than the new stuff and runs everything I have thrown at it so far. I run UT2003 with every detail turned up to the max at 1280x1024 and this card rocks.

 

[nick1985]

Originally posted by: Oyeve
If you can fing a 9500 Pro, go for it. Its much cheaper than the new stuff and runs everything I have thrown at it so far. I run UT2003 with every detail turned up to the max at 1280x1024 and this card rocks.

how do you fing something? 😉

 

[Xernex]

Well I'm in a similar situation, I?m thinking of upgrading my ti4200 but don?t know weather to hold out till the end of the year, or get a 9700 or 9800 now and upgrade mid next year, along with a Mobo/CPU upgrade ready to support the new PCI express cards. I?m trying to justify the slightly extra cost of a 9800pro over a 9700pro to myself atm. Most of the improvements of the 9800pro we wont see until games like doom 3, HL2 and dues ex 2 come out that make extensive use of pixel shaders and the like, that?s when we will we see the real improvements of the 9800pro. As synthetic benchmarks have already shown, it excels quite well in those areas.

IMO, if money is not really a problem for you, get the 5900. If you?d rather save some cash get a 9700pro now, and then sell it and upgrade in about 8 months.

 

[shock311]

I have the 4200 right now and like everyone else, it handles todays games rather well. I'll wait and see when Doom and HL2 come out to make my decision, then you can know for sure if the 9700 is still suitable for playing those games, which it should be. Or, wait till the new chips come out so that the 9800 and the 5900 are cheaper then pick em up.