Which Video Card for $100-$200?

[0ptimist]

I am inclined towards 9800Pro and 9700Pro, have to decide between these two.
How good is the 9800 Pro at ATACOM.com?

What about this 9800 Pro that is slower coz it's 128bit instead of 256 bit.

I am inclined towards buying this 9700 Pro for $188.
Is the ATACOM's 9800Pro better than this 9700 Pro? I have no idea but I think the newegg's 9700 Pro is better coz I have usually seen newegg selling the best priced stuff (other than the rebate deals at officemax, office depot etc)

Any suggestions?

 

[Maskirovka]

newegg has 9800pro's for $210 and less. just spend the extra few bucks and get one of them. i don't think the 128-bit ones are worth a crap. for another $30 or so you can get the real thing that has double the RAM bandwidth...the 128bit's are just a rip off, imo.

same thing with the 9700 pro...it's going on 2 years old and you could have a 9800 pro for just a bit more. a much better buy, imo.

 

[Delorian]

9800 Pro 128-bit = Not a true 9800 Pro, half the memory interface and 325/580 vs 380/680

This is a good 9800 Pro for $205

Or go with the 9800 SE for $152 which can possibly (about 80% chance) be softmodded to a 9800 Pro

POWERCOLOR 256-bit 9800 SE $152

9800 Pro 256-bit (or powercolor 9800 SE softmodded)- generally 5K+ 3dmarks (03 version) around $200

9800 Pro 128-bit - generally around 4K 3dmarks (03 version) - $188

POWERCOLOR 256-bit 9800 SE - 3500+ 3dmarks (03 version) w/o softmodding $152

Value wise that specific 9800 SE is the best choice, Performance wise the 9800 Pro 256-bit is best (sure shot if you don't want to gamble), the 128-bit and 9700 Pro are not worth the money for the performance levels.

Personally I have one of the 9800 SE's clocked just as fast as a 9800 Pro with no artifacts or problems whatsoever, saved over $50 too!

do your research before buying!

 

[Pete]

You have a few good choices for a new 9800P:

1. ~$210 Sapphire/Powercolor/MSI 9800P 128MB 256-bit @ NewEgg
2. $225 Sapphire 9800P w/HL2 voucher @ Allstarshop
3. $215 + S&H (w/$50 security deposit) for an ATi 9800P w/longer warranty @ ATi.com (Trade-Up program)

A ~$188 9700P is about as good a deal as a ~$208 9800P. A 10% more expensive 9800P is generally >10% faster than a 9700P, so the 9700P will be about the same bang/buck. You may be able to OC a 9800P further, though.

 

[Schadenfroh]

best bangs for buck is

9800 pro for 210

4200 128mb for 80

 

[Avalon]

Best bang for the buck for the daring and the adventurous folk is to buy a powercolor 9800 SE C3 model for roughly $152 on newegg and softmod it's 4 locked pipes open.

 

[0ptimist]

Thank you all, you guys are great, I read the other thread about overclocking as well, I think I'll go for 9800SE. I hope the gamble pays off.
What stuff is required for the softmod? I read people talking about Omega drivers, where do I find them?

 

[RSanders]

Go to www.omegacorner.com and then download the latest drivers. When you go to install the drivers, it will have 3 options. Regular Drivers :: Softmod (9500-9700) :: Softmod (9800SE to 9800pro)

If you get the $136 Sapphire 9800SE.. You can only go to about 9800Non-Pro speeds and you can overclock that some.

 

[0ptimist]

Thanks!

 

[Avalon]

I wouldn't recommend getting the $136 Sapphire card. If that fails to softmod, you're looking at a card that's going to be equivalent to a 9600 pro in terms of performance. Even if it does, you've only got a 9800 non pro, unless you're ok with that or would be overclocking the crazyness out of it. It often comes with 3.3ns hynix memory that typically won't run at pro speeds. At least if you go with the Powercolor and the softmod doesn't work without artifacts, you'll have something that performs a bit better than a 9600XT in some cases.

 

[0ptimist]

Yeah, I read that the Powercolor has higher rate of success, and has faster memory, I'll buy this one. Thanks.

 

[Avalon]

Good luck
Let us know how the softmod goes if you could. I'm going to be getting the same exact card in a week.

 

[Zebo]

100-200??? That's a HUGE range I could pick a best for the bang buck for every $10 in that range That said I give 3 bang for the bucks 100, 150, 200.

$100- 9600NP (that does'nt mean LE/SE/CE or some other such junk) Overclock to pro/xt.
$150- PowerColor 9800se (the 256 bitversion) Softmod to to pro/xt
$200- Sapphire 9800 pro (again 256) OC to XT

 

[0ptimist]

Well I wasn't sure how much I want to spend, now I have a budget in my mind, which is tighter than what I had originally thought about.
What are the chances of modding a 9600NP to a Pro/XT successfully?
Is this one good for that mod?
Sapphire 9600 Retail for $96

I downgraded from $200 to $150, now thinking about $100 coz I have to save some. Can you please point to a source of info about modding the 9600 nonPro? Again, what about the success rate?

 

[LTC8K6]

NV 5900XT for $170 is also a good deal. It should overclock nicely.

I don't think you mod 9600's, just overclock them.

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: 0ptimist
Well I wasn't sure how much I want to spend, now I have a budget in my mind, which is tighter than what I had originally thought about.
What are the chances of modding a 9600NP to a Pro/XT successfully?
Is this one good for that mod?
Sapphire 9600 Retail for $96

I downgraded from $200 to $150, now thinking about $100 coz I have to save some. Can you please point to a source of info about modding the 9600 nonPro? Again, what about the success rate?

There is no MOD, you just overclcok it to pro levels. Search here or google. I've never seen it fail being "optimist" you sould get XT with some active cooling on there.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
NV 5900XT for $170 is also a good deal. It should overclock nicely.

 

[GeneralGrievous]

downgraded from $200 to $150, now thinking about $100 coz I have to save some. Can you please point to a source of info about modding the 9600 nonPro? Again, what about the success rate?

Then just wait until you have more cash. The $100 cards pale in comparison to the $150 cards, which pale in comparison to the $200 cards.

At a minimum anyone buying new today should get that softmoddable 9800 se if you are interested in gaming.

 

[0ptimist]

Then just wait until you have more cash.

Well I'll have more cash in a couple of months but in the meantime I want at least something to play on, I currently have a 5hitty built-in VGA.

 

[MichaelZ]

grab a 4200 to hold u out a few months. who knows, maybe by then you've got enough for a X800 Pro or something

 

[Marsumane]

Originally posted by: GeneralGrievous

downgraded from $200 to $150, now thinking about $100 coz I have to save some. Can you please point to a source of info about modding the 9600 nonPro? Again, what about the success rate?

Then just wait until you have more cash. The $100 cards pale in comparison to the $150 cards, which pale in comparison to the $200 cards.

At a minimum anyone buying new today should get that softmoddable 9800 se if you are interested in gaming.

Persaonlly i wouldnt reccomend buying the 9800SE due to the failure being determined on if you unlock 4 pipes or not. Thats a much bigger risk then getting a worse oc. It is an all or nothing gamble and if it DOESNT pay off, its not worth the money due to it being compared to an oced 9600.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: Pete
You have a few good choices for a new 9800P:

1. ~$210 Sapphire/Powercolor/MSI 9800P 128MB 256-bit @ NewEgg
2. $225 Sapphire 9800P w/HL2 voucher @ Allstarshop
3. $215 + S&H (w/$50 security deposit) for an ATi 9800P w/longer warranty @ ATi.com (Trade-Up program)

A ~$188 9700P is about as good a deal as a ~$208 9800P. A 10% more expensive 9800P is generally >10% faster than a 9700P, so the 9700P will be about the same bang/buck. You may be able to OC a 9800P further, though.

This sounds pretty good to me.

 

[NiKeFiDO]

Check out www.pricewatch.com and go the 9800 pro in the vid card section...I believe they are around $170 with free fedex saver shipping.

 

[ZoNtO]

9800 Pro would definitely be the best choice for ~200 bucks price range. I'm gonna try and sell my 9700 and return a couple things and get an X800 Pro for 325 at my work and then hardmod it to an XT! Good luck man!

 

[0ptimist]

Change of plan, I was going to buy 9800SE until yesterday, now the pendulum has swung toward 9800Pro again let's see, I'll order in the morning.