This doesn't happen to me very often when graphics cards are in question, but I must admit: I just can't figure out which of these two to get...
NV6800GT vs ATIX800PRO
Look at this:
1) They both cost 400$ (nominal price);
2) NV has 16 pipes vs ATI's 12, but ATI still renders with higher quality and equal if not greater speed, especialy when AA and AF are on;
3) NV supports PS3.0, but right now there is single game that runs them (Far Cry) and you need WINXP SP2 beta to get DX9c which enables them. As it is ATI is better for Far Cry, it's faster and has better quality;
4) NV with latest drivers beats ATI, but Valve claims that ATI is/will be much better for HL2 (and that is extremely important to me).
Note: I own 17" monitor and have no intention to replace it (in foreseeable future), so 1024*768 is what we're talking about here.
So, what am I to do? For the same price, in the long run, NV6800GT lookes like a better choice with DX 9c, PS 3.0 and 16 pipes, but ATI is holding really strong considering it has "only" 12 pipes and it still renders with superior quality, it's faster with AA and AF switched on AND it's officialy endorsed by Valve as HL2 prefered hardware... Damn...
Buy a used 9800 Pro for $150 and wait another year. See, not so hard. 
Buy a used 9800 Pro for $150 and wait another year. See, not so hard. :D
That is about the only thing I can''t possibly do. You see, I already have 9800PRO. 
"Flux" wrote:Buy a used 9800 Pro for $150 and wait another year. See, not so hard. :D
That is about the only thing I can''t possibly do. You see, I already have 9800PRO. :)
In that case, my suggestion is similar.....stick with the 9800 Pro as it will play HL2 great. Since you are not going to play higher than 1024x768 it definitely makes it the best choice for now. Unless you have money to burn? If so, it is too bad you just missed the 6800 GT sale at Best Buy for $300. It was a mess up on BB''s part but they honored the price at one card per customer. I see the new cards and get tempted as well but I know I can handle anything that gets thrown at my PC this year and by next year the two cards you are looking at will have had a large amount of sales and a few price drops.
So, if I was you and decided that I had to have a new card, I would get the 6800 GT this time around. Let us know what you decide and if you do get a card let''s see some before and after benchmarks.
I agree, stick with the 9800. I upgraded to the X800 from a TI4600 Ultra, and the difference was noticeable, but not outrageous. The 9800 well outperforms the 4600, so I think you should wait a bit to decide. If possible, get the 16 pipeline ATI one. Oh, and don''t be afraid of 1280x1024 on a 17"" if you can get a good refresh rate on your monitor. I lived with that for quite a while until I got a 19"" (Viewsonic A90f+, awesome monitor, $229 USD). (I was unable to find the 6800 GT actually for sale, so it was ATI for me.)
That said, the X800 Pro is an very fast card. Interestingly, it''s not listed as compatible with Far Cry or SC:PT. It runs with the latter but sometimes does not start up, and sometimes does not close down properly. But everything I''ve thrown at it on a 3200+ AMD system has run with everything I care about cranked up to highest. (I don''t usually do water at highest, for example, but I do world detail, textures and character detail, as well as 4x AA. Hmmm...Maybe I should try 8x...)
So if you do get one now, MWave has them in stock.
Thank''s guys. There''s certainly no money to burn here, but my comp pays for its upgrades via game reviews that I write so I try to keep up with technology sprint as much as possible.
I never bought best (read: most expensive) piece of hardware at any given moment, but I usualy settle with runner-up. Add to it the fact that I got my 9800 pretty cheap and I can sell it really good, and money is not exactly deciding factor any more. It''s a matter of principle for me not to by the most expensive part and that is why I set my sights on 6800GT and X800PRO. It''s just that they are so damn close that I just couldn''t sway either way.
But, I will listen to your primary advice for now, stick with 9800PRO and see some more tests in the next few months. I will almost certainly upgrade my graphic before the end of this year, I just don''t want to have to do it in less than a year after that. There is no rush after all...
I ordered a X800XT from gateway a week or so ago, when they had them listed at $435, and there was a 10% off coupon. Of course, I doubt I''ll ever get it. They seem to have a bad habit of taking lots of orders for things they don''t have in stock.
I debated about it for a while, considered all the possibilities. The 6800s are decent cards, for sure... but ATi has had the better product for the past couple of cycles. Of course, I''m somewhat curious as to how the ATi card will fare in my Nforce2 motherboard. Anyone have any thoughts on that?
My combo is Epox Nforce2 m/b and Radeon 9800PRO. I never experienced even a hint of a hiccup. Many of my friends have similar motherboard combinations (nForce2 with 9800, 9700, 9600, 9500 ""pure"" and soft-modded to 9700, even 8500) and I never heard any of them complain about that... So by all I know it''s a non-issue, you don''t have to worry.
I just picked up an X800 Pro (Karla wanted to upgrade so she got the ""old"" 9800 Pro) and there IS a decent difference between the two. Especially in Joint Ops. Personally, I upgraded because the opportunity came up and I want to be ready for the next wave of high-end games. If Karla hadn''t needed to upgrade I would have stuck with the 9800 Pro for a few months until HL2 came out and I saw how it ran.
What are the rest of your system specs dino?
Epox 8RDA+
Barton 2500+
Radeon 9800PRO
gig of Corsair
40 gig Maxtor, 30 gig IBM and DEAD 120gig Maxtor (died last night... dammit)
WIN XP
I too ordered the X800 XT Pro from gateway ($391 after shipping) but alas I am waiting for it to ship to me.
I just picked up an X800 Pro (Karla wanted to upgrade so she got the ""old"" 9800 Pro) and there IS a decent difference between the two. Especially in Joint Ops. Personally, I upgraded because the opportunity came up and I want to be ready for the next wave of high-end games. If Karla hadn''t needed to upgrade I would have stuck with the 9800 Pro for a few months until HL2 came out and I saw how it ran.
What are the rest of your system specs dino?
So you finally left us 9800 Pro peons, eh? 
So, did you get a good deal on it? If so, can you share the price?
Hey loverboy, you should have given Karla the good card and left yourself with the old card. That would have been the gallant thing to do. j/k
Shouldn''t we all be waiting for PCI express cards anyway?
Shouldn''t we all be waiting for PCI express cards anyway?
Not if you don''t want to upgrade to a very expensive motherboard.
Anybody want to get rid of your dusty old 9800 Pro''s? I''m still running a Ti4200 OC''d but now I think I''m starting to be left behind.
So, did you get a good deal on it? If so, can you share the price?
I got the Sapphire card with VIVO support for $619.00 Canadian. That''s about $465 US give or take. The card without VIVO support is $444 US.
www.cbit.ca is the site, they''re a local retailer and damn near the only place left in Winnipeg that still had them in stock. I believe Futureshop has them cheaper, closer to the Best Buy prices you''ll have in the states but they were totally out of stock. I don''t mind spending more to support locally owned business anyways.
Hey loverboy, you should have given Karla the good card and left yourself with the old card. That would have been the gallant thing to do. j/k
She wouldn''t appreciate the X800 Pro like I do! Her system is an Athlon XP 2200 so it''s not like she could really use the extra horse-power. It was funny, I tried to explain to her how the 9800 Pro is better than her old 9500 Pro and the bottom line for her was ""Runs better? No frame rate drops in the INN at Stormwind? Good"" and then her eyes glazed over so I backed away slowly.
I got the Sapphire card with VIVO support for $619.00 Canadian. That''s about $465 US give or take. The card without VIVO support is $444 US.
Cool and congrats. Did you do any comparison benchmarks yet to see what you gained over the 9800 Pro?
Epox 8RDA+
Barton 2500+
Radeon 9800PRO
gig of Corsair
40 gig Maxtor, 30 gig IBM and DEAD 120gig Maxtor (died last night... dammit)
WIN XP
given your system specs and the fact that you game at 1024X768 upgrading to a 6800GT or X800 Pro like others have said in the thread would be fairly pointless..
You''d be able to run at slightly higher FPS with AA/AF turned up higher so your overall gaming experience would improve but probably not a huge amount given the rest of your system specs.
Did you do any comparison benchmarks yet to see what you gained over the 9800 Pro?
I was going to and I forgot. I did run 3dmark with the new card though. I don''t overclock anything and I came in just under 10,000 total. I checked their site for comparisons and it''s in line with everyone else, give or take a few hundreds point.
Did you do any comparison benchmarks yet to see what you gained over the 9800 Pro?I was going to and I forgot. I did run 3dmark with the new card though. I don''t overclock anything and I came in just under 10,000 total. I checked their site for comparisons and it''s in line with everyone else, give or take a few hundreds point.
Very nice, I am jealous...for now.
I was going to and I forgot.
Ah, yes, the battle-cry of us Gamers with Jobs! 8)
For the overall gaming experience I would save my money and buy a better monitor.
Im working with a 9600Pro.......so all you guys with the 9800 need to give me a little sympathy...Waiting for the PCI upgrade....Going to be very sweet. Talk about rendering!
I got the Sapphire card with VIVO support for $619.00 Canadian. That''s about $465 US give or take. The card without VIVO support is $444 US.
The most my cheap ass ever paid for a video card was $300 CDN + tax. I would probably start taking a serious look at an upgrade, if MS hadn''t annouced the Xbox Next in 2005, plus with my HDTV fund my computer''s getting no love!
Seriously though, HL2 is going to look absolutely, drop dead gorgeous on that system. Complete envy
"el_dino" wrote:Epox 8RDA+
Barton 2500+
Radeon 9800PRO
gig of Corsair
40 gig Maxtor, 30 gig IBM and DEAD 120gig Maxtor (died last night... dammit)
WIN XPgiven your system specs and the fact that you game at 1024X768 upgrading to a 6800GT or X800 Pro like others have said in the thread would be fairly pointless..
You''d be able to run at slightly higher FPS with AA/AF turned up higher so your overall gaming experience would improve but probably not a huge amount given the rest of your system specs.
That certainly crossed my mind, but I kinda wanted to avoid ""everything and the kitchen sink"" upgrade which will be due next year. I plan to get AMD 64-bit system and that will hurt. It would be nice to take care of the graphics at some other point in time, because it is one of two most expensive components in any configuration. The way I see it, sooner is better.
I don''t fancy getting bigger monitor, the one I have now is very good (1024*768 on 100Hz, no problemo) and I''d rather have higher framerate and prettier picture on slightly smaller screen than vice versa. When I upgrade to bigger monitor, I''ll get 21"" or 22"", no fooling around. Right now, there is no way in hell that I can fit such monstrosity on my desk so monitor stays as it is.
I was uncertain that my system will be able to push the new card to the limit, and GG confirmed my doubt... Dang, I guess I''m stuck with what I have. Well, it could have been worse.
OK Valve, bring it on...
Just out of curiosity, is there any video clip I could see to get a ""wow!"" factor on how these new cards are? You can only see so much from the stats, but I''d love to see some clips in action. Those Bink HL2 videos that surfaced, you think those are running on the Nvidia card?
Those Bink HL2 videos that surfaced, you think those are running on the Nvidia card?
Those clips are running on ATI hardware.
Another question, would it be pointless to upgrade to an x800 if you''re only running a 2500+ and a gig of RAM? Or would the performance go up significantly with an Athlon 64..
Buy 2 6800GT. Then noone could touch you!
Buy 2 6800GT. Then noone could touch you!
Yeah, as long as he gets a new mboard with 2 PCI-E 16x slots.
Buy 2 6800GT. Then noone could touch you!Yeah, as long as he gets a new mboard with 2 PCI-E 16x slots. :)
Come on people, I only have two kidneys and human organs black market is in a slump these days...
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