Radeon 9800 Pro OR X800 Pro AGP

[paopao]

I upgraded my PC a few months back with dell SC400, 2.8G and 1G RAM. My old Ti4200 is not catching up, so I need an upgrade.

Since I only have AGP, my options are limited. Do I go 9800 Pro and hopefully flash it to XT, or spend an extra 250 for X800 Pro? BTW, I don't play a lot of recent FPS games - make me dizzy all the time.

Any kind suggestions?

 

[RussianSensation]

If you play occasionally and don't want to spend too much money, get 6600GT for $200.
If you play a bit more often and plan to keep this videocard for longer than say 2 years, get 6800GT for $335. The cards you listed are both slower than these 2 respectively.

It sounds like if you dont play a lot of FPS, 6600GT would be just fine.

 

[Munky]

Or, if you're not an nvidia fanboi, get a radeon x800 (regular) for about $200, or an x800XL for $300, if you can find them for the agp slot. Both of thos are faster than their similar products from nvidia.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: munky
Or, if you're not an nvidia fanboi, get a radeon x800 (regular) for about $200, or an x800XL for $300, if you can find them for the agp slot. Both of thos are faster than their similar products from nvidia.

If your referring to RussianSensation as a nv fanboi, he is everything but a nv fan.
He has a ATI Radeon 8500 in his rig. So don't jump to conclusions based on someones recommendation. It would appear you were the fanboi here. Although your recommendations for cards are sound, you lose points for using the fanboi word.
Chillax.

 

[Munky]

Heheh, I'm glad he's not a fanboi, and neither am I, but I do have my reasons for going with Ati. It was funny though, how the OP asked advice on 2 ati cards, and got an answer about 2 nv cards instead.

 

[Malladine]

the 6600gt and x800 series are both superior to the 9800 pro and a much better buy.

IMO the 6600gt is the better choice at around $215. Only 30 more than the 9800pro and faster than the 9800xt in most cases. ATI doesn't really have a serious competitor in this range as the vanilla x800 are difficult to find in agp (i can't find a single one as I write this).

On the fanboi thing, I don't particularly favour either "side". Whichever is better at the time as far as i'm concerned. I'm currently considering the x800xl as my next upgrade if i go pcie. If agp, perhaps the 6800 standard or 6600gt.

 

[Munky]

Yeah, if you can't find a x800, the 6600gt is the best card for the money. I did, however, get a new 9800p for $160, and flashed it to XT specs, so check out the FS/FT forum, they might have something.

 

[carlosd]

Get the 6600 GT, anyway you will be CPU limited with an X800 or 6800 videocard.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: munky
Heheh, I'm glad he's not a fanboi, and neither am I, but I do have my reasons for going with Ati. It was funny though, how the OP asked advice on 2 ati cards, and got an answer about 2 nv cards instead.

I'm sure you have your reasons for going with ATI. I myself have a X800XTPE on it's way to me this week. Why? I wanted to give it a try.

OP. If you can swing 300.00 bucks, the X800XL is not a bad buy if you had PCI-E.
However, since you are "restricted" with AGP only, a 6600GT, 6800nu, X800pro would do nicely but the X800pro is still a bit over priced. I don't know if ATI is offering AGP X700's or not, but if they did, that wouldn't be a bad solution either. It all depends on how much you want to spend. What is your cap?

 

[paopao]

Thanks! Been using nVidia all the while and wanted to try ATI. But seems 6600GT is the choice as most of you recommended. I will check the FAQ, but any quick hints on which brand/where to get this card?

 

[imported_Noob]

Get the X800 Pro. But make sure it is a VIVO Edition so you can easily flash it to XT speeds.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: Noob
Get the X800 Pro. But make sure it is a VIVO Edition so you can easily flash it to XT speeds.

Nah, I'm going to have to disagree on the X800pro. Still too overpriced for its performance. There are other cards out there that would be a better bang for buck ratio.
No offense to the X800pro you have in your box of course.
If he was going to spend that much money on a X800pro, he might as well get the 6800GT. Same price, better performance in most titles cept MAYBE FarCry. I actually hope ATI stops making the X800pro in its current state. 13u low-K is not cheap to make and it reflects in the price tag. Too bad that X800XL at 11u isn't AGP. That would have stormed the market.

 

[DavidoFoo]

I say go for the AGP X800 Pro ViVo so you can flash it to an XT PE

In response to keysplayr - you seriously think a 6800gt can outperform a X800 XT PE?

 

[hans030390]

get a 6600gt. $185, performs ~20% better than a 9800xt. OR, you could get a 6800nu and possible unlock the pipelines and OC it to a 6800gt. or you could get a 6800gt to be safe

those are all great performers, and unlike the x800 cards, support shader model 3.0 (a must for future games) and it sounds like this will be an upgrade needed for a few years (as agp will die soon)

 

[BW86]

Like most people are saying, go with the 6600GT.

 

[keeleysam]

Originally posted by: paopao
Thanks! Been using nVidia all the while and wanted to try ATI. But seems 6600GT is the choice as most of you recommended. I will check the FAQ, but any quick hints on which brand/where to get this card?

Go for the MSI. I has VIVO, a HUGE software bundle (15 CDS!), and has a nice big copper heatsink for tremendous overclocking.

 

[imported_Noob]

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003

Originally posted by: Noob
Get the X800 Pro. But make sure it is a VIVO Edition so you can easily flash it to XT speeds.

Nah, I'm going to have to disagree on the X800pro. Still too overpriced for its performance. There are other cards out there that would be a better bang for buck ratio.
No offense to the X800pro you have in your box of course.
If he was going to spend that much money on a X800pro, he might as well get the 6800GT. Same price, better performance in most titles cept MAYBE FarCry. I actually hope ATI stops making the X800pro in its current state. 13u low-K is not cheap to make and it reflects in the price tag. Too bad that X800XL at 11u isn't AGP. That would have stormed the market.

Non taken. I got it for $250.

 

[NightTrain]

Originally posted by: carlosd
Get the 6600 GT, anyway you will be CPU limited with an X800 or 6800 videocard.

I'm going to hafta agree here. I was running a P4 2.4 when Tribes Vengeance came out a few months ago and I bought several different cards trying to determine the best match. It went kinda like this: 5900 Ultra -> 9700 Pro -> 9800 XT -> x800 Pro -> 9800 Pro. I couldn't really tell any major differences with any of them at the resolutions I was running so I sold them all and kept the 9700 Pro. I have a 2.8 now and a 9800 Pro and it's a nice fit. Go to the ForSale forum and help out someone looking to move a 9800 Pro for around $130-$140. You will save some cash and like the card more because of it