Which graphic card?

[Phos4]

Ok, got the bundle now:

Mainboard : Socket 754, ASUS K8V, K8T800 Chipset, 8x AGP, 5 x PCI, 5 x PCI, 4 x USB 2.0, G-LAN, AC97 5.1 Sound, S-ATA 150, UDMA 133, Raid
CPU : AMD Athlon 64 3200+
CPU Cooler : arctic Silencer 64
Memory : 512MB PC-400 DDR-RAM

and the rest too.

Which graphic card would be better :

ATI 9600XT ?
ATI 9800 Pro ?
NV FX5900XT ?

Ur oppinions, please.

Greetz Phos4

[Rafal Dudek]

nice bundle, now all you need is a new sound card and a good video card. With this system I would suggest the 9800 Pro that you listed but I would go with something better either the ATi x800 or nVidia 6800

=]

[Phos4]

Whoooooooooooooooow! Too expensive! I already paied 479, 00 € for the bundle, and i dont want to spand more than 700 € total.
Ati 9800 Pro... Is that a good "game card" ? I play 3d Shooters mostly...

[RHooks]

Yes.

[Mr. Natural]

Chalk up a vote here for the 9800 pro. Excellent card and a great price now.

[DanTheManPR]

9800pro :thumbup

the 9800XT is a lot more expensive and provides little gain in power.

[Mr. Natural]

By the way stay away from the Sapphire 9800 pro. There is a big stink going on right now. Sapphire is in trouble for selling 9800 pro's with only a 128 bit bus. They're basically a 9600 card under guise.

[Gaim Mastr]

I've been checking into this lately myself.

The FX 5900 XT is the dog of the "5900" family.

The FX 5900 is better than the FX 5900 XT. And the FX 5900 Ultra is even slightly better.

The Radeon 9800Pro and the FX 5900 Ultra are VERY close cards. However, the Radeon has a few things going for it that make it my card of choice. First, the image quality is slightly better. Second, it doesn't take up the first PCI slot, like the 5900 Ultra does. And while both cards go back and forth between which offers the best FPS, the 9800 Pro tends to win that battle more often than the 5900 Ultra.


Thanks for the info on the Sapphire cards, Mr.N !!
I was actually thinking of picking that exact same card up from them. :eek:


As for the ATi X800 or nVidia 6800 cards go, I would skip on them entirely. Primarily because of the soon to arrive PCI Express cards and mainboards.

For a lot less, you can get GREAT performance on any and all games with the 9800 Pro, with all settings turned up to max. If you want the absolute best, it'd be better to wait a few more months when PCI Express comes out and beats the now 400MHz data transfer rate of AGP 8X. With faster data transfer rates, PCI Express will make cards perform better within computer systems.

[Mr. Natural]

Sapphire has responded to the scandal which can be read in it's entirety here. (http://www.sapphiretech.com/press/128-bit-9800.pdf) (PDF format)
Since the roll-out of the SAPPHIRE 128-bit version of RADEON 9800 PRO core into the channel it has been brought to our attention that this model is being met with some confusion and for this we would like to extend our sincere apologies. Keeping with our level of interaction within the community, Sapphire is moving to alleviate said confusion by renaming the 128-bit version to the SAPPHIRE RADEON 9800 ATLANTIS and we are instructing each of our retail partners to clearly and prominently list the 128-bit specification. Further to this end, the SAPPHIRE RADEON 9800 ATLANTIS 128-bit products boxes will now be labeled with an oversized 128-bit sticker on the boxes face as well.

[DanTheManPR]

Uh-oh... One of my friends just built a new comp, and I recommended that card. I'm not sure if he got it, but I think he did. damnit.

[Phos4]

Got a GF 4 Ti 4200 now. Is the 9800 Pro a lot better?

Which brand would you recommend on the 9800 Pro?

Greetz Phos4

[RHooks]

Yes. My 9800 Pro replaced a Ti 4200 and there's a big difference. I went with the ATI card. It's a few more bucks than the generic ones.

[Mr. Natural]

I replaced my ti4600 with a 9800 pro and a big difference.
I think you'll be ok with a Sapphire, just make sure it has a 256 bit bus (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-268&depa=1) as opposed to the 128 bit bus.
Hercules used to be highly regarded by enthusiasts, but I didn't see any listed at Newegg. They still have ATI brand though and that's what I have. Works well.

[Gaim Mastr]

The Ti4200 is not made to handle DX9, but the 9800 Pros are. This means better image quality. Not to mention the much faster speed of the 9800.