New to ATI - What driver should I choose for a Sapphire 9700?

[cockeyed]

I'll be helping my nephew install a Sapphire 9700 card in a new machine (Abit BH7) in a few days. I've been reading up on the 9700 and as of now, I'am not settled on what would be the best driver to use. I haven't seen the card yet so I don't know what version it ships with. It will be used with Win98se and DX9. I see many people saying the Catalyst 3.1 is the one to use, but the 3.2 version seems to have many fixes included. What driver would be best for game compatability and the least amount of grief?

 

[JZilla]

3.2...unless he likes to play Counter Strike/Day Of Defeat/Natural Selection/Team Fortress or any other Half Life mod, in that case 3.1 might suit better, 3.2 freezes the machine when hitting escape in HL. On the other hand, he could just type quit in the console and use the 3.2

If your are real lucky, the 3.3 will be launched by the time your are installing it.

Btw your nephew is really lucky to be getting a 9700.

 

[cockeyed]

Thanks for the help! My nephew is 13, and has been getting my old machines since he was 5. I'am pretty settled with my P4 system now, so he might not get a replacement for his (my old) P3-700, Ti200 system any time soon. I convinced his father that he needs a new one; this is what we will build.

P4-2.4b, Abit BH7, Sapphire 9700, 512mb Crucial PC2700, Enermax case, WD 80gb special edition HDD, Lite-on CDRW, Lite-on DVD + high speed internet connection.

I just might try the 3.2's with DX9 and see how it goes. From what I've read, DX9 gets installed 1st, then video driver, then control panel. I hope it goes well, since I initially was going to use a Ti4200 (my card), but wanted something with DX9 support and better AA-AF performance.

 

[bedrocked]

hopefully it isn't built yet or are you just replacing the video card, if ur replacing it make sure you remove all references to the old cards drivers/soft even if it is nvidia. hope your nephew likes the 9700, i sure do

 

[cockeyed]

The parts arrive Friday from newegg; we build it Saturday. Starting from scratch, so no old drivers to worry about. If the 9700 is as good as people say, I just might bite the bullet and buy one, although my GW Golden Sample ti4200 128mb does a pretty good job.

 

[Rogozhin]

I would make a restore point before installing the video card drivers. The cat 3.3s are coming out within the next two weeks so that would make it worth it to make the restore point.

I always go this order.

OS
DX 9.0a
chipset drivers
video card drivers
control pannel
sound card drivers
etc.

I would run 3.2s. Stable and fast in almost all games.

If you have questions go to rage3d.com

I am also running a sapphire 9700, but it's a non pro.

Does your nephew have a non pro or pro?

If it's non pro, does it have black pcb or red pcb?

Also rage3dtweak is a great tool to have in your system. check it out at rage3d.com

Rogo

 

[Keysplayr]

I just bought the same card.
I have a 2.8 GHz P4, 1.5 GB of DDR, ASUS P4S533 Mobo,
I just installed the Sapphire 9700 using the Cat 3.2 drivers and control panel. So far so good. No problems except for
Unreal Tournament (NOT 2003).

Keys

 

[cockeyed]

Rogozhin -
The Sapphire 9700 I ordered is the non-pro version. As for the pcb color, I have not received the card yet, so I can only assume that it will be red with the black ATI fan as pictured on newegg's site. I copied your install order for reference when I set it up ; thanks. I have been reading the forums at rage3D, they have a lot of good info re: ATI cards. From what I hear you guys saying, I think it is a go with the 3.2's.

 

[MrPabulum]

I recommend installing the 3.1 set. The 3.2s had the Counterstrike problem, as well as a few BF1942 issues. The system restore point is a good idea. The Cat 3.3 looks to be a great set.

 

[psy44]

Originally posted by: cockeyed
Thanks for the help! My nephew is 13, and has been getting my old machines since he was 5. I'am pretty settled with my P4 system now, so he might not get a replacement for his (my old) P3-700, Ti200 system any time soon. I convinced his father that he needs a new one; this is what we will build.

P4-2.4b, Abit BH7, Sapphire 9700, 512mb Crucial PC2700, Enermax case, WD 80gb special edition HDD, Lite-on CDRW, Lite-on DVD + high speed internet connection.

That first system isn't all that bad, for the past 4 years I used a 200 mhz compaq w/ 14" monitor and no upgrades. I now have almost the exact same system you're building now and I like mine a lot w/ 3.2's wait a month or so and the 3.3's will be out...

 

[coomarlin]

I was wondering the same question. I am building my new system on Monday and I'll have a 9700 Pro. It's been a long time since I've used an ATI card and was curious about drivers. I can't wait to get this system running. What kind of performance will I get with the following hardware:

Athlon 3000+ Barton
1 GB Corsair XMS DDR3200
ASUS A7N8X Deluxe Mainboard
73GB Fujitsu 15,000rpm U320 SCSI hard disk ($630 Ouch!)
Radeon 9700 Pro
Antec SX1040BII Case with 400W powersupply
Samsung 48x24x48x CDRW w/16X DVD combo
Viewsonic 191B LCD flatpanel display

I was going to get a DVD burner, but after blowing all of that extra money on the 15000 RPM harddrive it would've been over budget. You know the bad part about this? I'm not going to be gaming on ths machine. It's a work PC that will be used for manipulating CAD drawings. Maybe I can sneak BF1942 on it and play later at night when everyone's gone

 

[cockeyed]

coomarlin
Man, that is a monster machine you're building; better bolt it to the floor! Anything will 3000+, SCSI and 9700pro in the specs has got to be top performance. The Flat Panel display is icing on the cake. Good luck with it!

 

[coomarlin]

Yeah I'm sure I'll be happy with the performance. I think that harddrive will rip