What's the fuss about Radeon 9800 XT

[PaperclipGod]

Originally posted by: Pete
The XT is supposed to have a tweak or two in its pixel shaders, allowing it to perform faster than previous 9800's in PS-heavy benches, clock for clock.

ATi isn't ripping people off with the 9800XT. For the same price as the 9800P 256MB, they now offer a faster card with cooler memory and an excellent bundled game. What's not to like?

All of you arguing that's it's smarter to buy a 9800 and OC it to XT levels conveniently avoid the fact that OC'ing is not guaranteed and requires extra work on the user's part. Not everyone wants to put in the extra time.

not to mention the XT OC's EASILY to 440/380, with quite a few people getting it up to 460/400

 

[Mardeth]

Originally posted by: PaperclipGod
I got myself a 9800XT... and id say its worth it. Call it $450 since it will (eventually) include HL2. Regular BBA 9800 Pro's are going for ~$350, so its only $100 more for an extra 128 megs of ram and faster mem/core.

It's really not as expensive as everyones making it out to be.

No but if you had 9800Pro already it would make absolutely no sense. You could donate the money if its burning your pockets.

 

[Ackmed]

Originally posted by: modedepe

Originally posted by: Ackmed

Originally posted by: modedepe
The only difference is it's clocked a few mhz higher than a pro. I agree that it's not worth an extra $200 over the pro.

It also has 256meg, not 128megs. Thermal diode to read the core temps. Overdrive. New fan design that covers ram too. And HL2 for free.

As you can see, more than just "clocked a few mhz higher".

You can also get the 9800 pro with 256mb of ram, so I don't consider it to be adding much. Besides, I consider 256mb more than we need currently. I also believe sapphire is supposed to make a 128mb version of the 9800xt.

The temp monitoring is nice. I'm shocked that it hasn't been adopted for all cards. I find it fairly handy for monitoring temps on my cards.

And yes, it does have a nice new fan. Overall though, I don't think these ehancements are worth $200 more. I'll let you decide if a bump in clock speeds plus the other additions make it worth it to you though.

The 9800 Pro 256meg is NOT $200 cheaper than the 9800XT. Its hardly any cheaper than a 9800XT.

Free $50 game, 256ram not 128, new fan design, and overdrive.

 

[PaperclipGod]

Originally posted by: Mardeth

Originally posted by: PaperclipGod
I got myself a 9800XT... and id say its worth it. Call it $450 since it will (eventually) include HL2. Regular BBA 9800 Pro's are going for ~$350, so its only $100 more for an extra 128 megs of ram and faster mem/core.

It's really not as expensive as everyones making it out to be.

No but if you had 9800Pro already it would make absolutely no sense. You could donate the money if its burning your pockets.

I never said it was smart for someone with a 9800 Pro to upgrade to an XT. The entire argument here was people saying regardless of what youre upgrading from - the XT is over priced.

 

[Vonkhan]

I upgraded from a 9800Pro to an XT :beer:

smart? no ...

fun, yes!

 

[BFG10K]

Basically the card is the current king of 3D gaming.

However I think if you have a 9700 NP or faster it's not worth paying full price for to get a 9800XT. If you have something slower and you need an upgrade, go for it.