Need help choosing a video card....

[Crigo]

The last days ive been reading a lot of forums etc trying to find out what video card to get. I have now decided that its either gonna be a 9700 Pro or a FX5900 Ultra.

So......what should i get? The FX is about $150 more than the 9700 Pro, is the price difference worth it?

I read one thread talking well about the FX5900 card here and i then thought i should go with that dispite the price differens. Then i read on other forums that the difference between the image qualities of the two cards is very small.

To be honest im very confused by this choice. FX or 9700?

//C

 

[Mem]

I would go with the 9800NP if you are on a tighter budget ,if not then the 9800 Pro would be a very good choice.

 

[Lonyo]

I would get a 9800 non-pro, as they are usually slightly less than a 9700Pro, and can sometimes be overclocked to 9800Pro speeds, which will match the FX5900.
The 9800 non-pro is on par with the 9700Pro at stock speeds, so even if you don't overclock it's a great card

The extra $150 will not get you all that much more performance, probably 5-15%. If you get a 9800 non-pro and are successful in overclocking, you would be at the top end of speeds.

What card do you have at the moment, and when do you plan on buying your new card? There are 2 new cards coming out in September/October time from both ATi and nVidia which will probably drop current prices, but you pobably wouldn't want to wait.
Whichever card you do get, it'll be able to handle all existing games, and deal with future games too, so you shouldn't worry too much.
Personally though, I would get the 9800 non-pro, as the extra performance is never worth the extra $$$ (manufacturers always put a hefty premium on the top end products)

 

[Crigo]

I recently had a GeF 2 mx but now that i have built myself a new computer i also need a new video card.

How about the image quality? Are there big differenses between the 9800 Pro and the best Nvidia cards?

So far i have always had nvidia cards so i no nothing about ATi.

 

[Lonyo]

Some people say ATi has better image quality, others say that they are equal.

With the fx5900U, there can be issues with revision 1 cards which have a wavy line issue sometimes, but the revision 2 boards don't have that problem. Nort sure how you might check, and it doesn;t affect everyone, but TBH, the price premium isn't worth it IMO.

 

[Mem]

How about the image quality? Are there big differenses between the 9800 Pro and the best Nvidia cards?

You`ll probably get different answers to this,but IMHO having both a Leadtek GF2 Ti and Sapphire 9700NP the difference is not that big in image quality,sure with the 9700 I can crank up the AA & AF settings where`s the GF2 Ti will have no chance, at desktop the difference is small,however I think Nvdia have closed the gap on image quality compared to their old days to the point that in the real world most people will find it hard to tell the difference.

Also there`s lots of different brands out there for both ATi and Nvidia and in theory the IQ quality between brands of the same video chipset should be the same but in the real world we know that`s not always true.

 

[Regs]

I think Nvdia have closed the gap on image quality compared to their old days to the point that in the real world most people will find it hard to tell the difference.

I think so too. Judging by Anand review on the 5900 ultra, image quality has greatly improved along with big improvements on AA/AF.

Since the 5900 Ultra and the 9800 pro are very close range in performance differences, I would buy the 9800 pro just on the fact it doesn't take up twice the space of the Ultra with its huge heat sink & fan.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: Regs

I think Nvdia have closed the gap on image quality compared to their old days to the point that in the real world most people will find it hard to tell the difference.

I think so too. Judging by Anand review on the 5900 ultra, image quality has greatly improved along with big improvements on AA/AF.

Since the 5900 Ultra and the 9800 pro are very close range in performance differences, I would buy the 9800 pro just on the fact it doesn't take up twice the space of the Ultra with its huge heat sink & fan.

heck, some AIB have 1 slot solutions