Upgrading from from a 9500PRO to a 9800PRO

[Whipped]

Games that I play now:
BF Vietnam
BF 1942
HL2
FarCry

Games that I will be playing:
BF 2
Serious Sam 2
AoE 3

Computer specs:
XP-M 2400+ @2.437 GHz
W.D. 7200 IDE 80 GHz H.D.
512MB 3200 Geil Value Ram (soon to add another stick of 512)
Shuttle Nforce 2 Mobo
Chieftec Dragon case
SuperFlower TTGI 350W PSU (22A @ the 12V rail)

Last time I checked, I received a score of 13700 on 3DMark2001 SE @ 10x7 with my 9500Pro. I can't recall my score from 3DMark2003 or AquaMark3. Do you think I will see any type of a performance gain? Do you think the 9800Pro will last me for about 1yr.? Right now, I play most of my games a 10x7, but I would like to increase the resoution a little more with some AA/AF on. Anyone input would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[otispunkmeyer]

there should be a decent increase..... 9800pro is a ful 105mhz faster on the core, and the core is a newer revision (R300 vs R350/60) plus the memory is faster and more importantly its on a 256bit memory bus, as compared to the 128bit bus on the 9500pro.

should be good in HL2 at 10x7, same with farcry. (could possibly get away with 12x9/10)

BF should be no problem
BF2 - well your comp meets the specs, but we all know the reccommended specs arent everything.

but to put it bluntly, with that card your going to be pretty much limited to 10x7 gaming in the future. and even now to an extent. the R3xx cards are damned good but i think for high end gaming they are starting to show their age.

a 6600GT might be a better choice. or even a 6800Nu / X800XL (in AGP form)

 

[imported_Kensai]

A fair bit, but not an insane amount.

 

[Lonyo]

Not really worth it.
A 6600GT would be better (although slightly more expensive) and since you are looking at AoE3, the SM3 support would be good as well.

9500 -> 9800 won't do that much, 9500 -> 6600 will only do slightly more in some games, but also give SM3 which will mean it should last longer.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

Originally posted by: Lonyo
Not really worth it.
A 6600GT would be better (although slightly more expensive) and since you are looking at AoE3, the SM3 support would be good as well.

9500 -> 9800 won't do that much, 9500 -> 6600 will only do slightly more in some games, but also give SM3 which will mean it should last longer.

thanks for backing my 6600gt suggestion up

thats kinda hit the nail on the head really, ok your gonna have to pony up the extra green for the 6600GT, but its going to be worth it in the long run. SM3 (dont bash me) is another plus point to the 6600GT

that would round off a nicely quick system you have there, a second stick of ram and your good to go

 

[apoppin]

it is a noticeable and significant upgrade

Hot Deals has the 9800p for $129 now (today).

Of course it is still a mid-range card that should serve you at 10x7 for maybe another year. You have to spend ~$20-$40 more for a 6600gt.

 

[Whipped]

Thanks for everyone's help! Nvidia is very tempting. I'm thinking of switching over to the dark side. I'm not to fond of ATI's drivers and I don't think my Nforce board likes my 9500Pro.
Decisions, Decisions, Decisions...which way should I go?

 

[CorCentral]

$20.-$40. more for a 6600gt is the way to go. You may be able to find a deal in the For Sale/Trade forum here on Anandtech.

 

[dug777]

it will be a big jump if the rest of your rig is up to scratch

i love my 9800 Pro

 

[Whipped]

Originally posted by: Whipped
Thanks for everyone's help! Nvidia is very tempting. I'm thinking of switching over to the dark side. I'm not to fond of ATI's drivers and I don't think my Nforce board likes my 9500Pro.
Decisions, Decisions, Decisions...which way should I go?

Has anyone else had any issues with combining ATI cards with Nforce boards?

 

[Whipped]

Will my 350W PSU / 22A be enough for a 6600GT?

 

[dug777]

Originally posted by: Whipped
Will my 350W PSU / 22A be enough for a 6600GT?

yeah

 

[Whipped]

Do you think there will be any problems with bottlenecking with a 32 bit XP processor? All the test reviews I have seen are with 64bit processors. Thanks!