Radeon 9700 Pro or Nvidia Ti4600

[rvg16]

Hi all, this is my first post.

Im getting a new computer soon,
Intel P4 3.0C Ghz
Intel Made 865 motherboard
512 DDR400
120GB Seagate 7200rpm harddrive
ATI Radeon 9700 Pro

Now here is my problem, my current video card is the Nvidia Ti4600, and since they are so neck-to-neck I was wondering if its worth getting?
And also, whats a better card than the 9700 Pro, but something that isnt too hard to find please...

Thanks for your help guys

 

[FearoftheNight]

If you already have that card stick with it for a while. Then consider upgrading at NV40 or R400. 4600 should run everything fine.

Btw...welcome to the forums.

 

[rvg16]

Thanks

Hows the Radeon 9800 256? And when are those cards coming out?

 

[Rogozhin]

the 9700 is MUCH faster and cleaner than a 4600.

get it.

rogo

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: Rogozhin
the 9700 is MUCH faster and cleaner than a 4600.

get it.

rogo

i second that notion

 

[Corporate Thug]

double post

 

[T9D]

..

 

[gururu]

wait to see whats out when half-life 2 is released

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: gururu
wait to see whats out when half-life 2 is released

i secound that, 4600 will last you untill the big 2 come out (HL2/Doom3) then you can pick up a raddy 9700 pro for less than $150.

 

[FearoftheNight]

and do not get the 256mb version of anything its a waste

 

[ugh]

Originally posted by: FearoftheNight
and do not get the 256mb version of anything its a waste

So 128MB is the current "sweet spot" for vid cards?

 

[touchmyichi]

The 9700 pro is a dream, I love this thing.

 

[oldfart]

and since they are so neck-to-neck I was wondering if its worth getting?

As others have said, they are FAR from neck and neck. The 4600 is still a very good card as long as you dont use much AA/AF.

 

[classy]

Originally posted by: oldfart

and since they are so neck-to-neck I was wondering if its worth getting?

As others have said, they are FAR from neck and neck. The 4600 is still a very good card as long as you dont use much AA/AF.

You hit it right on the head. If I had a 4600 I wouldn't buy a new card.

 

[oldfart]

I did. My 9700P smokes my 4600, but I like to run 6xAA/16xAF. Not even remotely possible with a 4600. But if you run without filtering, the 4600 is still a great card.

 

[OneOfTheseDays]

you will only notice a significant increase if you use AA and AF. I say hold off on the 9700 and wait for prices to come down even further.

 

[Rogozhin]

Hm

I just looked at a few comparisions of the 9700 and 4600 and it looked like the 9700 was between 30-65% faster than a 4600 running NO AA and NO AF

Seeing that you can find 9700 pros for about $235 on pricewatch I would pick one up and use it until the r360 comes out.

Rogo

 

[BFG10K]

and since they are so neck-to-neck I was wondering if its worth getting?

What's neck and neck? A Ti4600 and 9700 Pro? You must be kidding me.

A 9700 Pro is 50%-200% faster than a Ti4600 across the board in GPU limited situations and an upgrade from a Ti4600 to a 9700 Pro is very noticeable.

It is most definitely worth getting the 9700 Pro.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

First off what games do you play? Games will determine what would be the best thing to do easily. I'm currently running off of an 8500 and I know that its working just fine for me, a 4600 I know would only make things better. Going from a 4600 to a 9700 pretty much would only allow you to turn up some of the memory hogging options such as FSAA and AF which DEFINATELY isn't absolutely needed, its a luxury to have if anything at all. Otherwise keep the 4600 and wait unless you are getting poor performance with how you are running things today.

 

[Rogozhin]

I have to go with bfg here.

are you guys even looking at reviews of the 9700vs4600?

look here at anands or hardocp or beyond3d and the 4600 is MUCH slower even with no AA and AF and it gets much worse when you turn up the resolutions!

regardless of the games.

rogo

 

[rvg16]

thanks for all your help guys...
im going to go with the 9700 pro, it also works for me because my current comp will atleast still have a vid card.

 

[Ferocious]

A no brainer really.

Get the 9700 Pro.

 

[Yoyoson]

Isn't it worth it to go with the brand that has better drivers, if they are equal in speed?

In fact, even if the ATI card IS slighty better, wouldn't you rather have a card that is compatible with current and future games, and won't crap out on you, than one that runs really really fast, but which takes up all your gameplay time with driver-tinkering?

I really don't know how the ATI drivers are nowadays, but I know they didnt have the happiest track record..

 

[oldfart]

The 9700P isn't "slightly better". It blows away the 4600. I've owned both.

I really don't know how the ATI drivers are nowadays

Then why are you commenting on them?

 

[bluemax]

While the 4600 is still a plenty-fast card and you don't **NEED** to upgrade, you might want to consider this option...

Ti4200's prices are dropping like a brick.
You MIGHT want to consider selling your TI4600 while it still holds decent value, and use that money towards a 9700 Pro (or even 9800?) so it wouldn't cost you much.

You WOULD see the difference in quality and speed.

The trick is selling off your 4600 NOW for a decent amount. You might want to try local newspapers, etc, where the buyers might not realize how much things have dropped. Show 'em how much cheaper it is than buying it new from Future Shop and I'm sure it'll go.


That's if you're willing to make the effort. I'd strongly consider it. If you can't get enough money for it though, keep it and keep using it until you NEED to upgrade, because it's a darn fine card you have there.