Going from a Ti4600 - considering 9800 Pro

[TourGuide]

Do you think it is worth the upgrade or should I go for the 9700 Pro and save the bucks?

 

[SickBeast]

i don't think you need to upgrade at all just yet. the ti4600 didn't come out all that long ago. just my 2 cents.

if you MUST upgrade, i would reccomend a 9700 non-pro.

 

[boyRacer]

do you use AA and AF?... if not... i don't think it's worth the upgrade... i got a real good deal on my 9700... otherwise i'd still be happy with my GF3...

 

[Brian48]

Originally posted by: SickBeast
i don't think you need to upgrade at all just yet. the ti4600 didn't come out all that long ago. just my 2 cents.

if you MUST upgrade, i would reccomend a 9700 non-pro.

I completely disagree on this one. If you're going to upgrade at all, then go for an upgrade that would actually yield a significant increase in performance. A 9700 np would only be incremental and in my opinion and not worth the trouble. The ti4600 itself, still has plenty of juice left with literally every game out there right now. I went from a ti4600 to a 9700Pro myself. The increase in performance was noticable, but it didn't exactly make that much of a difference in actual gaming unless you were benchmarking.

If you're planning on upgrading, then really upgrade and get the fastest thing possible. In this case, the new 9800 (or 256mb version if you have the money).

 

[SilverBack]

I have a 4600 now, but I will be getting a 9800 next week.
I think it's a significant upgrade.

 

[oldfart]

I just went from a VisionTek Ti4600 to a Gigabyte 9700 Pro. No regrets.

2D is better. ATi STILL has better 2D than nV. The text is clearer, crisper and blacker. The 4600 was more fuzzy and grey. The ATi is really sharp and defined.

3D..WOW. I can now play with 4X AA and 16X AF at the same framerate and resolution as the 4600 with no AA/AF! Turning on AF on the 4600 really killed performance. This is what is really cool about the 9700P. If you dont use AA/AF, you can stick with the 4600.

My only gripe is noise. I was very impressed with how silent the GF4 nV ref HS/Fan was. It was the quietest HS/F I've had on any video card. The Gigabyte card had a high pitched whine to it. I was able to solve this by running the HS/F off a mobo header and using Speedfan to vary the speed of the GPU fan. I have it running at a lower RPM when in 2D mode. I have it set so when CPU temp rises as it will when playing a game, the RPM goes to full speed. I use the same program to control RPM of my case fans.

 

[MrPabulum]

Oldfart makes a good point: the real gain that can achieved through purchasing an ATI9700/9800 is the eye candy. If you're not going to turn on AF or AA, then don't bother. As an owner of an R8500 (original) and an older Geforce2, the 2d is def. sharper (particularly at 16 x 12) on the ATI card. Whether that's worth a $200-400 upgrade is debatable. The eye-candy, without question, is worth every penny. As long as you have the CPU horsepower, 4X AA and 16AF is supposed to be incredible.

 

[Medellon]

I never buy a video card unless my current one is 2 generations old. For instance I bought a GeForce SDR several years ago and didn't upgrade until the GeForce3 came out. I think its a waste of money to buy a new card everytime the latest and greatest thing comes out. Games never exploit all of the abilities of the current card most of the time anyway.

 

[Rogozhin]

I would get the 9800.

rogo

 

[DOOPYLOOPY]

if you got to the dosh to throw around go for the top of the range...although saying that u could save a few bucks and go for a 9700pro..and still have pretty close performance.....depends if u want to save any money or what have you.

Best case scenario is money is no object and buy the best.

 

[KillaBong]

I would at least wait until the next set of cards after the 9800pro. Its a fairly big upgrade already, but you'll be sorry when a few new games come out and there is card to put the 9800 to shame.

 

[Rogozhin]

there is always going to be a faster card.

Get the 9800 and don't look back, it's cpu limited anyways unless you have a 3.0ghz +.

Rogo

 

[touchmyichi]

A ti 4600 is adequate for every game released right now and to be released in 6 months. A good rule is to skip every other generation for cards. For example, If you had a geforce 3 (like I did), now would be the time to upgrade. If I were you, I would wait for Doom III, then buy whatever best fits your budget by then.

 

[Rogozhin]

No it's not

try playing raven shield, splinter cell, or UT2003 at hight resolution with AA and AF enabled, that is what I play with and the Geforce 4 ti series don't cut the mustard.

Rogo

 

[chizow]

I had an Albatron Ti4200 Turbo OC'd beyond Ti4600 speeds by a good bit, and it was a great performer. I upgraded to a 9700pro b/c my 1900FP runs 1280x1024 natively, and a few of the more recent games (UT2K3, BF1942, MW4:Mercs) wouldn't run acceptably (to my standards at least) at that resolution with all details set to high. The 9700pro is actually overkill now, which has allowed me to run 2x AA and 16x quality AF (performance looks pretty poor IMO) at a high frame rate. I noticed a bigger increase in performance in most of games when I upgraded to a 2100+ @ 2380MHz, as the majority of games today are still CPU limited. If AF and AA aren't that important to you I'd stick with the Ti4600 for a few months and upgrade your CPU first.

Chiz

 

[cmaMath13]

I currently have a Ti4600 and it was a considerable investment 1 year ago. I am tempted to upgrade to a 9800, but I can run all of my games except Unreal2 at acceptable FPS. Plus, Unreal2 is not much of a game to play...

 

[Rogozhin]

Chiz

"which has allowed me to run 2x AA and 16x quality AF (performance looks pretty poor IMO) at a high frame rate."

What exactly does that sentence mean?

The 9700s performance looks pretty poor, or your old 4600?

Rogo

 

[clicknext]

I definately think you should wait up. There is no way the Ti4600 could be lacking in performance. Get the next generation of ATi or nVidia card, the one that'll probably be out within half a year. DirectX 10 generation.

 

[BFG10K]

I went from a Ti4600 to the 9700 Pro and I found the 9700 Pro totally eclipsed the Ti4600 in every way. And the 9800 Pro will be even better, so go for it.

 

[BFG10K]

I just went from a VisionTek Ti4600 to a Gigabyte 9700 Pro. No regrets.

Nice to see you finally jumping aboard and getting one.

Trust me, you'll really enjoy using this card.

 

[MangoX]

Originally posted by: BFG10K

I just went from a VisionTek Ti4600 to a Gigabyte 9700 Pro. No regrets.

Nice to see you finally jumping aboard and getting one.

Trust me, you'll really enjoy using this card.

Beware of the flicking you get. It's mostly noticable at a refresh rate of below 70, and on a black background. Using the DVI connector doesn't help.

So all I'm saying is make sure you have a good monitor than can do at least 75hz at the resolution you want to play in.

 

[Shagga]

Originally posted by: Brian48

Originally posted by: SickBeast
i don't think you need to upgrade at all just yet. the ti4600 didn't come out all that long ago. just my 2 cents.

if you MUST upgrade, i would reccomend a 9700 non-pro.

I completely disagree on this one. If you're going to upgrade at all, then go for an upgrade that would actually yield a significant increase in performance. A 9700 np would only be incremental and in my opinion and not worth the trouble. The ti4600 itself, still has plenty of juice left with literally every game out there right now. I went from a ti4600 to a 9700Pro myself. The increase in performance was noticable, but it didn't exactly make that much of a difference in actual gaming unless you were benchmarking.

If you're planning on upgrading, then really upgrade and get the fastest thing possible. In this case, the new 9800 (or 256mb version if you have the money).

I agree. I'm thinking of upgrading my Ti4600 aswell, but I'm going to wait for Doom3 to appear and get the quickest card out at that point. Possibly the nV35.