Is a 9800 Pro a worthwhile upgrade from a 9500 Pro?

[bernse]

With 9800 Pro prices plummeting, I am thinking of picking one up. I am happy with the 9500 Pro right now as it plays all my games well with a notable exception, LOMAC (which from what I understand struggles on pretty much every PC now). But with an eye to the future, is it worthwhile or should I wait?
Opinions?

 

[bernse]

BTW - Rest of system is a P4 2.8C with 1GB PC3200.

 

[PlatinumGold]

i upgraded to a Geforce 5900 from an ATI 8500.

 

[PG]

Don't waste your money. Sure, the 9800 is faster, but they both will run DX9 games just fine. ATI and Nvidia should have new cards out in the spring.

 

[Dedpuhl]

I think it's worth the upgrade. If you like comparison benchmarks, check out Tom's Hardware and possibly sharky extreme.

 

[bernse]

Hmmm. I was hoping for more of a consensus on this!

 

[GTaudiophile]

With the lack of DX9 games like HL2, I say no. Stick with the 9500 PRO until the Spring when R420 and NV40 will debut, pushing current prices even lower.

Of course, if you can buy a 9800NP for $199, DO IT!

 

[RaynorWolfcastle]

I wouldn't bother with the upgrade unless you are a hard core gamer (in which case you wouldn't have bought the 9500 Pro to start with, heh). Save your money for next-gen products IMHO

 

[bernse]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile.

Of course, if you can buy a 9800NP for $199, DO IT!

Pricegrabber and Pricewatch have been pulling prices of around $150 for NP and $260ish for Pro's!

 

[GTaudiophile]

Originally posted by: bernse

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile.

Of course, if you can buy a 9800NP for $199, DO IT!

Pricegrabber and Pricewatch have been pulling prices of around $150 for NP and $260ish for Pro's!

I'd suspect that info. I bet it's giving you 9800SE prices.

 

[0roo0roo]

depends on your salary.

 

[kage69]

I love my 9800Pro, worth every cent. My 9500Pro was badass, but I noticed in a few games while running at high res with all the bells and whistles on that I could still encounter slow downs. I just moved it to my gf's computer - even she could tell the difference in image quality from the GF4 she had before, but she doesn't play 'heavy' games that I do (rig pigs).

Since you have a beefy CPU, I'd say wait. That card will hold you fine.

 

[matt426malm]

I'd say wait your 9500 pro is fine for now. Upgrade later the 9800 pro will be cheaper then.

 

[Turkish]

do not upgrade before Spring!

All the video card companies are gonna come up with new cards just in time for Half-Life 2 and Doom 3, so 9800 Pro the newest Gforce's prices will go down significantly. Wait is my word.

 

[Wuffsunie]

I agree with everyone else. Unless you can get a 9800 dirt cheap, wait till the next generation cards are out next year.

 

[bernse]

Well, I think I'll probably be sitting on it until spring.
Thanks

 

[Lifer]

my thread gets moved to networking but this doesn't get moved to video? :|:|

 

[HonkeyDonk]

look at it this way:

Right now your card can handle most games as you said (w/ the exception of LOMAC, what game is that?). Why bother to spend $250+ (assuming you get pro) when it won't help your gaming much and by the time your card can't handle the games, there will be even better cards out.

Thus, u could buy the 9800Pro at that time for lots less.

 

[bernse]

LOMAC = Lock On Modern Air Combat.

An absolute brute of a flightsim.

Points taken all, I probably will wait until Spring now. But, I am somewhat suprised by the even split!

 

[slydecix]

9500pro... isn't that soft-moddable to 9700pro performance?

 

[waylman]

A 9800 is certainly a notable improvement over the 9500. I would say go for it. If you wait, there's going to be something better at the time and you'll want that.

 

[sep]

I looked hard for a retail 9500 Pro before I bit the bullet and got a used 9800 Pro retail. I didn't want anything less nor did I want a buggy 9700 Pro. Me vote...hang in there! Overclock, update bios or something to keep you going. Eitherway you'll be able to get a 9800XT or pro for alot less once the new products come out (if too high).

-JC

 

[matrixwalker]

The Radeon 9500 pro is essentially an underclocked 9700 pro, and the 9800 pro is essentially an overclocked 9700 pro. you could prolly easily overclock a 9500 pro to 9800 pro speeds. im still using an 8500 128MB, and it is just now starting to show its age but still very capable. Your 9500 pro won't even be showing its age for quite a few more months.

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: matrixwalker
The Radeon 9500 pro is essentially an underclocked 9700 pro, and the 9800 pro is essentially an overclocked 9700 pro. you could prolly easily overclock a 9500 pro to 9800 pro speeds. im still using an 8500 128MB, and it is just now starting to show its age but still very capable. Your 9500 pro won't even be showing its age for quite a few more months.

ummm, no. the 9500 pro has 4 pipelines and the 9700/9700 pro/9800/9800 pro have 8 pipelines so even with overclocking you are not going to match the performance of a 9700 pro or 9800 pro

however, a 9500 pro should be more than sufficent to hold you over til the next generation of cards come out

 

[Snufalufagus]

Sorry Shady, the 9500Pro is a R300 core. It is an underclocked 9700(R300) that has a 128 bit memory controller instead of a 256 bit controller. The regular 9500NP has 4 pipes crippled. I had a 9500Pro and it wa a great card. I sold it to a friend for $100 and purchased a 9800NP for $199. I went with the 9800NP so I can play UT2004(please don't suck) at good fps when it comes out.