Upgrading my Radeon 64MB VIVO...

[technician]

I think it's time to upgrade my Radeon 64MB ViVO, games are starting to take more of a toll on my CPU than the graphics card, as it should be. I running a gaming site, so I need to be able to take screenshots/vids off consoles, etc., so I was looking at the upcoming Radeon 9800 Pro All-In-Wonder. Am I going to see a big enough improvement in graphics performance/features/quality to justify upgrading? The card I've got now has done me well the past year or so, so I've been really happy. I just don't want to be spending that amount of money for something that won't give me a *big* notice boost in performance.

 

[rbV5]

It will be a "big" boost in performance and features. I have both the 64 VIVO and AIW 9700, the AIW 9800 will only widen the gap more.

 

[nRollo]

"so I was looking at the upcoming Radeon 9800 Pro All-In-Wonder. Am I going to see a big enough improvement in graphics performance/features/quality to justify upgrading? "
You're kidding, right? The difference in the performance of these two cards would be huge, night/day.

 

[technician]

Originally posted by: Rollo
You're kidding, right? The difference in the performance of these two cards would be huge, night/day.

I wanted to be sure that it was a noticeable enought performance increase. I burned myself out being on the bleeding edge of hardware, heck, I upgraded at least once a month. Too much money for little to no noticeable increases in performance. Now I'm just waiting for a big enough leap before throwing the cash at it.

Do you all think it would be better to hold off on the 9800 AIW and just get a 9800 Pro, then a seperate a/v capture card (since I wouldn't be using the tuner at all, just for capturing screenshots and videos on consoles)? If so, what cards would you suggest?

 

[rbV5]

Do you all think it would be better to hold off on the 9800 AIW and just get a 9800 Pro, then a seperate a/v capture card

Not unless you need dual head. The AIW is only $50 more than the pro. You wont find a tuner for $50 that matches the AIW feature set...it'll be worth more than $50 more than the pro model down the road when you sell it.