Radeon 9700 Pro to 9800 XT

jgbishop

Senior member
May 29, 2003
521
0
0
My PowerColor Radeon 9700 Pro is crap. It boots poorly every so often, with weird artifacts all over the screen. I'm thinking of replacing it. Is the 9800 XT a good jump from a 9700 Pro? I don't want to be on the bleeding edge - I just don't have that kind of money.

Suggestions?
 

Cawchy87

Diamond Member
Mar 8, 2004
5,104
2
81
get a 9800pro 256mb for 230 and flash it to xt. saves you A LOT of money.

And quite honestly, anything is an upgrade from a non fuctioning card
 

Childs

Lifer
Jul 9, 2000
11,313
7
81
You should wait about a month. There are new midrange cards expected to be released by both ATI and Nvidia.
 

DarkAmeba

Senior member
Jun 13, 2004
581
0
0
Originally posted by: Cawchy87
get a 9800pro 256mb for 230 and flash it to xt. saves you A LOT of money.

And quite honestly, anything is an upgrade from a non fuctioning card


Yup, I agree. Only because your card dosen't work well. Normally you'd be wasting your money.

I feel for you, my powercolor 9700 pro has quit working @ 1600x1200 for most of my games, games that ran fine at that resolution a few months ago. Forced me to upgrade to a 6800gt (if the GT ever ships, i should say :|)
 

Cawchy87

Diamond Member
Mar 8, 2004
5,104
2
81
Originally posted by: nick1985
for the price get a 6800. it blows the 9800 series away

If you can get your hands on one this is very true. However, if you can't put up with the 9700 any longer (barely works) then go with the 9800pro 256mb. If you can find one or wait a little longer, get a 6800 np.
 

elkinm

Platinum Member
Jun 9, 2001
2,146
0
71
There is no point in getting a 9800 card unless it really is enough for you. The extra cash you would need for a 6800 or a x800 class card will be well worth it.
 

fibes

Senior member
Jul 19, 2003
833
0
0
If your an ATI fan, I would go for the X800 series. BB has the X800 for the same price as a 9800XT. If your not brand loyal, I would choose the 6800GT or even the 6800 Ultra, if price is no object.
 

kylebisme

Diamond Member
Mar 25, 2000
9,396
0
0
i just rma'd my 9800xt and put my 9700pro back in my main rig, didn't really feel like i lost much.
 

tallman45

Golden Member
May 27, 2003
1,463
0
0
Originally posted by: Cawchy87
get a 9800pro 256mb for 230 and flash it to xt. saves you A LOT of money.

And quite honestly, anything is an upgrade from a non fuctioning card


Most if not all $230 9800Pro (256mb) are 128bit versions. They can be modded to a 256bit 9800XT ?
Or would one need to get the more expensive 9800Pro 256mb 256bit version ?
 

nRollo

Banned
Jan 11, 2002
10,460
0
0
The cheapest card you can buy that would seem like an upgrade to you is a 6800NU for $300.. Any 9800 you buy will seem the same as what you had, because it is the same as what you had.

If you want to stay with ATI you need $400 for a X800Pro to actually upgrade.
 

jgbishop

Senior member
May 29, 2003
521
0
0
Does anyone here have a 6800? I haven't had an NVIDIA card in some time, and I recall that one of their previous cards was really loud. How is this new 6800 in terms of noise? Also, what kind of power does it draw? My ATI card currently has a hookup on it for a lead directly from the power supply. Is the 6800 similar?
 

Goi

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 1999
6,766
7
91
Originally posted by: DarkKnight
Originally posted by: Childs
You should wait about a month. There are new midrange cards expected to be released by both ATI and Nvidia.

I doubt the midrange cards are gonna be any better than the X800/6800 series. At least ATI's X600 is simply a rehash of the 9600Pro/XT series. It will likely be slower than the 9700Pro he already had.
 

apoppin

Lifer
Mar 9, 2000
34,890
1
0
alienbabeltech.com
You need it Now?!

A 9800Pro 256/256MB > XT will gve a "jump" of ~15% perf inc for ~$235 (see Hot Deals/ ~$250 when you add the VGA cooler)

a 9800P128 > XT will give LESS than the 256MB "XT" even if you flash it - for ~$180 - but a bit more (~10% if you are lucky) over the 9700p)

OTOH, a 6800 will be very noticeable but will set you back ~$290 (with a copy of Far Cry you can e-bay) . . .

IS your 9700p out of warranty? It's pretty close to 3 years . . .

Can you UNDerclock your 9700p a bit to git rid of artifacts? If so - IF you CAN wait - prices will drop further. ;)

You might (even) consider a refurb or used card to get you by . . . ;)

Bad timing. :(

:roll:
 

nRollo

Banned
Jan 11, 2002
10,460
0
0
Originally posted by: jgbishop
Does anyone here have a 6800? I haven't had an NVIDIA card in some time, and I recall that one of their previous cards was really loud. How is this new 6800 in terms of noise? Also, what kind of power does it draw? My ATI card currently has a hookup on it for a lead directly from the power supply. Is the 6800 similar?

I have a 6800NU and a 6800GT, I can hear neither. You do need a power hook up.
 

RussianSensation

Elite Member
Sep 5, 2003
19,458
765
126
If you want a card now and dont want to wait, you can always get 6800 EVGA with a version of Far Cry for $290 on Newegg (so if you dont have far cry and play videogames it's like paying $250 for it)

Also other brand names come with different games like Prince of Persia and Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow.

how often do you play gameS? Maybe you dont need a fast card at all and can buy something for $50 to hold you over.
 

jgbishop

Senior member
May 29, 2003
521
0
0
Originally posted by: RussianSensation

Also Sell the 9700Pro.

I was planning on doing just that, helping to offset the price. Does the 6800 have all the latest shaders on board? One great thing about my 9700 Pro is the pixel shading effects I see in Far Cry. That game simply rocks with those effects, as does Doom 3.