Time to upgrade? I'm a bit rusty

[TheCur]

I currently have a 9800GX2 in my rig and looking at a ATI 4870 512Mb b/c of the price point they are at right now.

Is this card an uprgade? downgrade? sidegrade?

Computer is below...

 

[unrealsword]

Your 3dmarks score will take a dive but the overall gaming experience will be MUCH smoother. I went from an 9800gx2 to a gtx280 and the difference was night and day (and at areas where I got fps drops were crystal smooth). I have an hd4870x2 now though but that's become I'm a new graphics card whore.

 

[cannondale06]

I currently have a 9800GX2 in my rig and looking at a ATI 4870 512Mb b/c of the price point they are at right now.

Is this card an uprgade? downgrade? sidegrade?

Computer is below...

thats certainly not an upgrade. some game may play smoother as already mentioned but performance will be worse. in your situation I would wait 3 or 4 weeks for the revised 55nm version of the GTX cards. then you should be able to get a 65 nm GTX280 for much cheaper if price is a concern.