Another what to buy thread

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crazyman7515

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Well i hate to post this. But im really having trouble. And since i can't search the forums its been hard trying to figure out what to buy.

Heres the deal, My limit is about 210 not including shipping. Now i know i can get a 9800pro for 223 but is it really worth it? and a copy of HL2 would be nice. Along with video in. Neither of those are needed buy i would like them. I was looking at the Asus 9600xt with video in and HL2. Plus from what ive heard they use memory rated up to 350mhz and its only clocked to 300, so wouldn't an overclock up to 350 be a gimme and then some?I was looking at FX 9000 but none of them seem to come with the HL2 slip. Now what kind of performance gains would have have with a FX 9000 or Radeon 9700pro over the 9600xt plus memory clock? Plus is the 9800pro gonna kill both the FX9000 and 9700pro? I plan on playin' all the half life games, madden 04, halo, and HL2 when it comes out. Im upgrading from a geforce 2 mx 400....yeah i know....but it plays madden, and half life fine.

thanks in advance
 
well, the 9600 has four pixel pipelines (pixel?) and the 9700-9800's have eight. I would be looking at the biggest bang for the buck, being an ATI fanboy I would not go to nVidia until benchmarks prove they have a clear advantage (at which point I'd be an Nvidia fanboy)

The 9800pro beats the 9700 by about 10% in most games/benchmarks so if they are at a similar price point get the 9800.

I'm pretty sure that the 9600 series should run the new games acceptably, but not with all the features crancked up, I don't know if any of the cards out today will perform well with everything turned up, but that's pure speculation on my part

BTW welcome to [H] enjoy your stay, don't mind the few trolls that inhabit our dark confines... and this thread gives a great rundown of how cards stack up

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=610676
 
Welcome to [H]. I think Raging summed it up quite nicely. A 9700-9800 would be your best bang for the buck espeically if you are going to be playing HL2. I think 9700pros are around $200 and 9800pros start at $230. Truthfully you're going to get performance in the same ballpark with either one, so it just depends on how much you really want to spend.

The 9600XT's are nice mainstream cards, but just kind of think of them as ti4200's with more efficient Anti Aliasing and dx9 support. If you only wanted to spend $150, I'd go for one of those. But for $200+, definitely get something with 8 (or even 4x2) pipes.
 
Get the best radeon you can afford...that newegg deal on the 9800PRO is supa-sexAy. So stop posting and go buy it! :p
 
As for the video-in, get a separate card, so you don't have to pay the video-in premium on every card you pick up down the line. You can find perfectly acceptable tuner/vidcap card for $50-ish.
 
yeah since none of the 9700 pros or 9800 pros that are in my ballpark have HL2 or the video in then im free to choose based on price and performance. What is the best bang for the buck brand wise for a 9700pro? and the 9800pro? I read somewhere that since videocards keep getting better its better to just buy a normal card and a seperate TV tuner so u only have to upgrade the videocard and not look for a new one with video in. the 9700 pro is 198 at gameve and the 9800pro is 228. so the price is twenty bucks difference. And on an other note has anyone heard of or tested the Powerlab 450watt power supply that gameve has for 20?

thanks guys
 
Even though I loved my 9800, I would have to say that the best bang for the buck right now, including oc potential, would be the BFG FX5900nu, $170. This is the card I think I will be buying soon. From what I understand the DX9 performance should fall somewhere between the 9600s and 9800s, while the DX8 performance is just about on par with the 9800s. If you are looking for a long term investment, I would go no less than the 9700 or even spring for the 9800 if I could. In my case, I will be stretching to get the 5900. Even so, in about a year, I belive I will be moving on to a PCI Express card.

e_t
 
well thats the first 5900 post...hmm...Does the 9700pro perform better than the 5900NU with 128megs ram? and on an average which do u think overclocks better?
 
From what I've seen the 9700pro has a slight advantage over the nu and runs pretty even with the u

The main issue with the 9700Pro and OCing is that you need to get the right RAM, 9700Pros came with both 3.3ns and 2.8ns ram, OCing is better on the 2.8ns, but by how much I'm not sure
 
The biggest reason to buy the 5900 is the price/performance ratio. If a 9700 is def in your budget, even if you get a crappy overclocker, should be the better option. The 9700 will most likely age better than the 5900, but that may not be an issue. If you see yourself upgrading again soon, I would still suggest the 5900. (I don't feel I can honestly suggest a 9600pro or XT when the price is so close to the 5900.) But again, for a longer term solution go for the 9700.
 
ok so now im down the the 9700pro or 9800pro...if i can afford the 9800pro i will get that..and if not than 9700pro here i come.
 
Yar...or you could wait outside an elementary school and steal all the kid's lunch money...(for a few weeks)...then you could get a 9800XT. :cool:
 
well i hate to disapoint u guys. but I decided to go with the BFG 5900NU and a raidmax 400watt powersupply. together these keep me under the 200 dollar budget. Plus i found a nice detailed review of the 9000 to 9050 flash giving instructions on cluboverclocker. Thanks for all you help, but I am going to order in like an hour, so unless u have a really good reason to not get the 5900 i think im stuck on it.
 
I don't think you will be dissapointed, but I would read through the threads here about trying the bios flash trick. It seems there is a significant risk that you might have a card that is fubar after that. Good luck.
 
Although the 5900 will not stand up to the 9700 & 9800 in HL2 (or DX9 in general), you have to remember that HL2 is a ways off yet. There is plenty of time for the engine to be tweaked. It's hard to say what the final numbers will look like.

e_t
 
Yes you may be true, but that trend pretty much stands in all PS2.0 games which are currently out. I was just pointing that out for him.
 
and i thank u very much as i am now looking at a 9700pro or 9800pro.....or the 9600pro AIW with HL2 coupon...the decisions..I just like the 5900 because its a huge step up from what i was at, and i could afford a new powersupply too. But looking at those number..idk. Do u think a zalman or thermaltake heatsink will fit on the 9600pro AIW?
 
OK lil mr schizo! :D lol

Although I own a allinwonder card, I would not buy one again, I would buy a stand alone tuner card for watching TV, that way when you upgrade it's cheaper.

I have a Zalman on my 9700 and I got my son a 9600pro for xmas - it looks like it would fit on his card, but I haven't removed the heatsink as he has no interest in OC'ing it (Kids now-a-days sheesh!)
 
Either way, I think you will be happy. As I have been saying, in general the 5900 is better than the 9600s. The 97/9800 are better than the 5900. I think I said it before, the 5900 should be looked at as an alternative the 9600, the 97/9800 will always be better than the 5900.

e_t
 
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