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9700 NP --> ?

P

psychosonik

Gawd
Joined
May 29, 2002
Messages
737
I have a 9700 Non-Pro in my primary box that has served me incredibly well... almost the the point that it scares me. Now with all the new games coming out, Doom3, HL etc... I am pretty sure it's an "ignorance is bliss" sort of thing and I'm ready to upgrade. Under$250, preferabbly ATI, but I would be willing to try my first NV card. Any suggestions? Also, 256 MB... at the time I bought my card it was a joke and didn't improve any gaming experiences, is this still the case, do any new games really use that much Vid Ram?
 
Yep 256 is the golden standard now for High end GPUs but even as we speak 512mb cards are coming out to power some of todays (DOOM3 Ultra Quality) and tomorows games. I would suggest getting a either a X800 PCIe (X800XL counter Part) or a 6800NU.
If you pump 150 dollars more into your budget you can get a pretty X800XTAIW for 350 I think at NewEgg. Its all up to you though.
 
I don't know; if I was you I would wait. Next gen is (hopefully) right around the corner. How does the rest of your system look? Maybe you want to upgrade the rest of your system to prepare it for a next gen card. If your system isn't up to spec and you don't want to upgrade, then just go ahead with your idea and buy a great current gen card like the 6600gt (highly reconmended!) A little more cash will get you a 6800 nu which may or may not unlock and overclock to 6800gt speeds. In the case of the 6800 nu, the 128 mb frame buffer doesn't really slow the card much.
 
6600gt would be a decent upgrade. I enjoy my 6800nu froma 9600xt. I mean its a very small difference though since the 9600xt ran eevryting at 1024*768 easily. I got a good card (my 9600xt) that OCed like crazy. I gained liek 20fps with my OC. Now my 6800 is like not brekains a sweat running anything at this resolution and AA and AF are not needed. I run 2aa if that at all.
I say get a 6800gt later or wait.
Softmod your 9700 to pro and wait for next gen.
 
psychosonik said:
I have a 9700 Non-Pro in my primary box that has served me incredibly well... almost the the point that it scares me. Now with all the new games coming out, Doom3, HL etc... I am pretty sure it's an "ignorance is bliss" sort of thing and I'm ready to upgrade. Under$250, preferabbly ATI, but I would be willing to try my first NV card. Any suggestions? Also, 256 MB... at the time I bought my card it was a joke and didn't improve any gaming experiences, is this still the case, do any new games really use that much Vid Ram?
Click to expand...



256 has started to get embraced by many games, such as the ones you listed. 512 has a couple years before that sees wide spread acceptance. My first choice would be an X800XL, Its the exact same as an X800XT which is a high end card, save some lower clocks. If you can get one for 280 which shouldnt be hard, highly suggested. If you really must stay in your budget then i sadly must suggest a 6800NU aka vanilla. Those are about your budget and damn fine cards for performance. X800XL is a much nicer step, but you buy what you can. As far as waiting. Ignore it for this. It took Nvidia and ATI the better half the year to get out good cards for your price point under the new technology, and it took even longer for the retailers to actually sell the products at retail. So you'd find yourself waiting until christmas or ealy 2006 for a low/mid next gen at your price.

800XL, 6800NU, cant go wrong either way. Differences are 4 pixel pipes 1 vertex pipe and some higher clocks on the X800XL, you will notice it. But if it must be no more then 250, try for a 6800NU. Dont accept less.
 
You can get a Connect3d X800XL from monarch right now for $249 shipped. I found out about it in the hot deals forum here. I just got mine and it rules for the amazing price.
 
I also have a 9700 non-pro, and it's been fantastic. Personally, I'm waiting at least another 6 months - probably more (as you mentioned, it's kind of freaky how great the 9700 is holding up). ATI's more recent Catalyst drivers have apparently boosted performance of 256MB cards quite significantly - you'd certainly want 256MB on your next card.

The Radeon X800XL AGP and GeForce 6800GT AGP are equally good choices. I'd recommend whichever brand you prefer, or whichever has the better price. Or better yet, wait a couple months and see what the R520 and G70 are all about - the previous high end cards could get discounted at that point, too...
 
Thanks for all the help, I think I'll just stick it out to the next Gen... sticking with ATI...

peace...
 
psychosonik said:
Thanks for all the help, I think I'll just stick it out to the next Gen... sticking with ATI...

peace...
Click to expand...

P.S. If you need a boost for cheap, stick an Arctic Cooling ATI Silencer on it, flash the BIOS to a Radeon 9700 Pro, then use an OC utility like Rage3DTweaker to clock it to 9700 Pro levels. Should provide a 10% performance boost or so. My 9700 Pro did most current games just fine by the way; if you have a good CPU and enough RAM, there are only a few that might be a problem, and most will do great at 1024x768. HL2 plays great with a 9700-class card. Doom3 works okay at 1024x768 (medium quality), and Far Cry worked fine for me at 1024x768 as well.
 
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