Torn between choosing 9500 Pro or 4800TI *Update 5/7/03*

[merlocka]

I'm still back in the Geforce3 and 8500 era (cause I'm cheap) but I can't let these get by...

-It has Dx9 support, yes, there is no game using it right now but they're out soon and if you have Ti4600. Well...it's just too bad because 9500 Pro will burn Ti4600 since its optimized for dx9.

Rollo explained this already. VGA cards aren't future proof. Buying a card for "tomorrows" games is a bad plan since "tomorrow" there will be better and cheaper cards which are available.

-9500 Pro has AGP 8x support. Ti4600 doesn't and the lowest priced Ti4600 with is around 220 bucks which is a lot more expensive then a 9500 Pro and if you might as well just get a 9700 instead.

AGP 8x support is generally meaningless. Performance imprevements are in the order of 1-2%. Besides, he talked about getting the 4800 which is AGP8x

-All 9500 Pro are pretty much the same, not all Ti4600 are the same. Different manufacture uses different settings and in order to compete well with 9500 Pro. Well, you need a higher priced Ti4600 around ~230 and that is without 8x support in most cases.

Err, see above. The 4200's are actually the best bet and those are in the 100-125 range.

-9500 Pro has superior image quality then Ti4600.

Probably depends on the specific manufacturer, but I couldn't say because I haven't compared a 9500 Pro with a Geforce4 on the same monitor. Have you?

-9500 Pro has more pipeline then Ti4600

# of pipelines is just architecture. Performance/price is what matters.

-9500 Pro drivers are constantly improving and you're worried about stability and compability well there are unofficial drivers which does a even better job then official ATi driver. ie Omega driver.

I trust BFG10K on this one. He generally calls it like it is and he seems pretty happy with the state of ATI drivers on the 9700. Then again, I've personally been pretty happy with nVidia drivers.



I dont think anyone argues with the benchmarks. With AF and AA, both the 9500 and 9700 are excellent cards for the $. If the high image quality which AA and AF provide isn't a high priority to you, the GF4 is still a very good solution. Stable and very high performing at default settings.

 

[Marvelous]

But if you play 1600 x 1200 without FSAA or AF the GF4 is as fast as the 9500 Pro. Personally, I can't tell a big difference using FSAA at 1600 x 1200. So I just went with the GF4 for tried and true game compatibility in everything.

What about aniso? 9500 can use aniso at 1600x1200. GF4 can't.

 

[grabadude]

bump for the final update (hopefully)

 

[Intelman07]

In todays market if you want a good lasting card ATI is the way to go (at this time). I do hope nVidia will have a decent card out soon. (FX was a failure in my opinion) The problems you had worries me alot. I am in the market for a new video card as well.

 

[Dack76]

Don't get either right now....wait till the 9800 pro or 5900 FX(or whatever they are going to call it) comes out at a "decent" price....I don't believe any games even use DX9 right now.....So wait till you purchase makes a decent jump in preformance in the games you playing....who cares what it "could" look like if your games can't use the options the card has.

 

[Rogozhin]

Well

My perspective is relevant here.

When the 8500 first came out I bought it. Then when the geforce 4 showed up on the scene I purchased two of them. One was a msi g4 Ti4400, the other was a gainward g4 ti4200 64mb. At the time I had another system I was building for a family member (close specs to my rig) xp 1600+, k7s5a, 98se, and 512 mb pc2100 in both.

I found that the AF was not even close to as good (I used the same monitor to compare all three cards) on g4s. It seems to blur the textures-most aparent on nascar 2003 papy. DVD playback wasn't quite as good on the g4s.

my preference for IQ settings then was 8x quality AF, and 2x AA. With these settings on the radeon and 4x af 2x aa on the g4s the performance was about even (8500 was highly clocked LE model). I fooled around oc'ing the 4400 but it didn't like it.

In the end I sold both the g4s (when they were going for much more) on ebay for what I bought them for and kept the 8500.

Now I'm running 9700 non pro sapphire and there is no way I'd purchase a g4 over this 9700 non pro, and a 9500 pro is near that performance level.

The only time I've had driver conflicts with ati was when the 8500 first came out. Some dx7 games wouldn't run correctly.

My nvidia drivers haven't had much problems but since I haven't run a nvidia card within the last year I don't know what the state of their drivers are firsthand.

ROgo

 

[Zanfib]

For Potential Rolling Line fixes:

See the thread at Rage3D: http://www.rage3d.com/board/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33672888
(sorry I couldn't get the link to work)


I tried numerous things and so far only this has helped:
Go into Display Properties --> Advanced --> Displays
Then click on your monitor, and go to the Adjustments tab
Try changing the image size (both horizontal and vertical), some settings will go nuts with the rolling lines, others will be barely noticeable.
I know it sounds like a load of crap but so far it has reduced the rolling lines to a minimum. It might not work for anyone else, after all the DVI/DB adaptor fix everyone talks about did nothing.

I agree it is totally unacceptable for ATi to release such a crap product and for that reason I'd say go with the Geforce.
BUT, if you want the Ati buy from a place that will let you return it, RMA to ATi costs money and often you get a card back that is just as screwed up.

Maybe look at the Radeon 9600 Pro, it has only 4-pipes but it has a new chip at 130 nm and depending on what you do it might be fine (TomsHardware has a good review of the 9600 Pro versus the 9500 Pro) but again buy from a place that allows easy returns.

Anyways there's my two cents.

-Z

 

[TypeM]

Grabadude, did you just uninstall the drivers and then load the card in? The ATI Catalyst set is known to not like other drivers EVER being in the OS. If you were to do a fresh reinstalling, I bet you wouldnt be having these problems. If that isnt an option, there is a full driver uninstall that is linked on Rage3D, and the program will remove EVERYTHING from your PC in regards to the previous card(s) you had. I think that would fix your problem. Good luck either way. For the record... I love ATI and NVIDIA. I own a 9000 Pro, 9500 Pro, 9700 Pro and am waiting for the GFX 5900 Ultra to make my next decision.

Mack

 

[grabadude]

Grabadude, did you just uninstall the drivers and then load the card in? The ATI Catalyst set is known to not like other drivers EVER being in the OS. If you were to do a fresh reinstalling, I bet you wouldnt be having these problems.

I formatted and reinstalled the OS clean

 

[Mem]

Try Driver Cleaner 1.4 from here ,you only other options are reformat and clean install of OS,you can try your FIC in 9500 Pro in another PC to see if it`s faulty ,as for the rolling lines issue I hear using the DVI/analogue adaptor clears it up for some people.

Nobody will argue that the 9500 Pro is the better card for performance etc,as for drivers well Nvidia is still top dog here,I always find it amazing that I can install any game without any problems with my Nvidia card (talking 3 years now).

In the end you`ve to decide what`s more important best drivers(Nvidia) or better models for price and performance ,which at the moment is ATi.

Don`t forget you`ve the new ATi CATs 3.4s drivers out soon as well.

I would really think about a clean install to see if that fixes your problem,but do try Driver Cleaner 1.4 at the very least.
Your only other option if you want a DX9 card but not ATi is to go with the FX 5600 Ultra models,but they will cost you more and won`t be as fast with AA/AF enabled etc.

Remember a good quality PSU is important as well.

 

[grabadude]

Originally posted by: Mem
Try Driver Cleaner 1.4 from here ,you only other options are reformat and clean install of OS,you can try your FIC in 9500 Pro in another PC to see if it`s faulty ,as for the rolling lines issue I hear using the DVI/analogue adaptor clears it up for some people.

Nobody will argue that the 9500 Pro is the better card for performance etc,as for drivers well Nvidia is still top dog here,I always find it amazing that I can install any game without any problems with my Nvidia card (talking 3 years now).

In the end you`ve to decide what`s more important best drivers(Nvidia) or better models for price and performance ,which at the moment is ATi.

Don`t forget you`ve the new ATi CATs 3.4s drivers out soon as well.

I would really think about a clean install to see if that fixes your problem,but do try Driver Cleaner 1.4 at the very least.
Your only other option if you want a DX9 card but not ATi is to go with the FX 5600 Ultra models,but they will cost you more and won`t be as fast with AA/AF enabled etc.

Remember a good quality PSU is important as well.

I sent the FIC card back, apparently the memory was bad. Ordered Albatron TI4600, screw ATI :|

 

[TypeM]

That sucks. I hate to hear it. I have four techs that are running ATI made 9500 Pros without a problem. I hope you dont hate ATI forever. They do have great cards like NVIDIA, and I feel are on par with them. I must say however... I cant wait to see the NV35!!!

Mack

 

[Chrisdragon]

Get the TI4800 and overclock it