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[xsarien]

FOR THOSE WHO'D LIKE TO SKIP MY USUAL VERBOSITY, SKIP TO THE BOTTOM, MY QUESTION IS THERE:

So somewhere in the span of the past six hours while I was sleeping, my video board decided to go to that giant rig in the sky.

I should've seen it coming, as it never did behave quite right in the two years that I had it, so I always knew it was just a matter of time. The short version of what's been happening since ca. April 2002 is this:

I installed a GeForce Ti 4600 from PNY into my system board, and within a few weeks I realized that sometimes I'd have to boot my computer twice to get Windows to actually load. The reason for this was due to video "garbage" being on the screen with the XP logo, and upon reset I'd - occasionally - get even more garbage on the message that said Windows wasn't shut down properly. Now, usually a few, firm figurative kicks would set everything straight. But this morning, as I was taking my machine out of standby mode, it just stopped cooperating completely.

I'm convinced this is a conspiracy, by the way...

Yesterday in the mail came some coupons for Circuit City that give me 15% off computer accessories and parts. I *was* going to blow it on a new hard drive (I still may get it, when all is said and done, ~$35 for 80GB isn't too shabby), but now it looks like I need a new video board as well.

I'm not big into PC games. To give you an idea of what I do play when the moment strikes me, think, well, Syberia, The Longest Journey (I just got those, acutually), and other relatively low-horsepower games. That said, I do take the occasional odd-turn in an FPS, if for anything else, to kill some time.



What I need: The 2004 equivalent to a GeForce Ti 4600, which spontaneously died on me. If it's slightly more powerful, that's fine, maybe I won't need to build a new computer *immediately* to take a brief look at Doom 3. It also needs to fit in an AGP 4X slot, and have a DVI out. That's about it. Cost is relative, I'll see what your suggestions can do, and then measure it against the price.

It also needs to be kinda available at Circuit City, Best Buy, CompUSA, etc. As much as I eschew buying this shit at retail, I don't really have a choice in this particular case. Thanks.

 

[Dagless M.D.]

The only card anyone needs to buy: 9800pro

 

[Bregor]

What I need: The 2004 equivalent to a GeForce Ti 4600.

9800 Pro

 

[Dagless M.D.]

Seriously, whenever anyone dosn't know what graphics card to get, they need the 9800pro

 

[xsarien]

Nice, quick replies. I love this place.

Follow-up: I ask only because probably within the next year or so, I'm going to be building a new PC all together, and that future machine's going to need some kind of low-level FireGL card because I want a dual LCD setup using DVI.

Is the 9600 that much of a step down in the interim for the modest amount of PC gaming that I do? How does either board compare to what I already have? (Had, rather. I should yank the card, stuff it in a bag full of shit, and send it off to PNY.)

 

[Bog]

The 9800 pro makes me angry, and here's why. When I bought my GF4 4600 about 18 months ago, it was $100 less than the 9800 pro and wasn't THAT much worse. Now, no one wants the 4600 anymore, yet everyone is still buying the 9800. Oh, and if I was to sell my 4600 on ebay or something and buy a new 9800... the difference would be about $100. No change in almost 2 years?! Die, 9800! Die!

 

[Mrbob]

The 9800 pro makes me angry, and here's why. When I bought my GF4 4600 about 18 months ago, it was $100 less than the 9800 pro and wasn't THAT much worse. Now, no one wants the 4600 anymore, yet everyone is still buying the 9800. Oh, and if I was to sell my 4600 on ebay or something and buy a new 9800... the difference would be about $100. No change in almost 2 years?! Die, 9800! Die!

The 9800Pro slaps around the 4600. I had a GFr TI 4200 O/C to 4600 speeds. I now have a 9800Pro and it is much faster. Not only is it much faster, but you can use direct 9 features and the games look much better. Maybe if you are playing an old game it does't look or run much different.

Is the 9600 that much of a step down in the interim for the modest amount of PC gaming that I do?

I dunno, if you were looking at the 9600 I'd just stick with your 4600.

 

[Shompola]

the 9600 PRO is also great and roughly 50% cheaper than 9800 PRO. If you don't game a lot and isn't interested in FSAA etc. and high res then the 9600 PRO imo is a great buy. It works just fine with far cry for example.

 

[Bog]

I was looking at the new generation of cards, such as the x800, but my LCD only does 1280x1024. What's the best card for that res?

 

[Mrbob]

I was looking at the new generation of cards, such as the x800, but my LCD only does 1280x1024. What's the best card for that res?

X800 Pro. 6800GT.

 

[Shompola]

The 9800Pro slaps around the 4600. I had a GFr TI 4200 O/C to 4600 speeds. I now have a 9800Pro and it is much faster. Not only is it much faster, but you can use direct 9 features and the games look much better. Maybe if you are playing an old game it does't look or run much different.



I dunno, if you were looking at the 9600 I'd just stick with your 4600.

Anything DX9 runs like shit on 4600 and 4800 cards. I know my brother has one.
My sisters 9600 PRO bitchslaps his 4800 in all new games.

 

[Mrbob]

Anything DX9 runs like shit on 4600 and 4800 cards. I know my brother has one.
My sisters 9600 PRO bitchslaps his 4800 in all new games.

Well, I highly doubt it bitchslaps the 4800. I could get 30+FPS average with Farcry on my 4200 @ 1024 X 768 on medium details. DX9 games don't run like shit on GF4TI series. They just don't look as good because you can't enable DX9 based shaders. It doesn't look bad though on DX9 games (I.E. Farcry). The 9600 PRO could average a slightly better frame rate on higher details but medium doesn't look bad. I just don't think the jump from a 4600 to 9600 PRO justifies the cost.

 

[Bog]

Sorry, one more question.

Will the x800 Pro perform well enough with a P4 2.53?

 

[Shompola]

ok sorry I thought the choice was between 4600 and 9600. I didnt know he had 4600.

 

[xsarien]

The 9800Pro slaps around the 4600. I had a GFr TI 4200 O/C to 4600 speeds. I now have a 9800Pro and it is much faster. Not only is it much faster, but you can use direct 9 features and the games look much better. Maybe if you are playing an old game it does't look or run much different.



I dunno, if you were looking at the 9600 I'd just stick with your 4600.

Well, my 4600 is dead. It's an ex-video board; it has left this mortal coil; it is pining for the fjords. [Insert more cliched Python shit here if you like.]

 

[Bog]

C'mon, P4 2.53 with an x800 Pro? Also, why are most places charging over the MSRP for the Pro?

 

[xsarien]

C'mon, P4 2.53 with an x800 Pro? Also, why are most places charging over the MSRP for the Pro?

Because the "S" in MSRP stands for "suggested."

 

[Bog]

Yes, and we all know how often we're charged more than the MSRP... oh yeah, almost never.

 

[Bregor]

It's supply and demand. The supply is very short, and the demand is high. Normally vendors sell a product at or below MSRP to increase sales. But in this case the demand is strong enough that they know they can overcharge and still sell all the cards they get.

 

[marsomega]

OK, people, stay away from the x800 pro. The demand is too high and the supply is absolutely low.

Best advice if you want an X800 PRO is to wait. ATI is launching the X800 GT which is a 16 pipe under clocked XT just like the 6800 GT, before the winter refresh of both ATI and Nvidia. Expect the X800 Pro to drop between 299.99-349. Bestbuy and CompUSA had a sale on all the next gen cards minus $50 just a few weeks ago. You will most definately see a 299.99 X800 Pro in September.

The 6800 non ultra/non GT is not worth it. At $299.99 the $170 9800 PRO is a steal. At 299.99 X800 Pro is the better deal. etc. etc.


Should of read this thread earlier.

Could of had a top quality BBA 9800 Pro at 170. Try pricewatch and make sure its 9800 PRO with a 256-bit BUS. If you have a 360 core, then flash the bios and clock that mofo to 9800 XT speeds. If not, its cool, it overclocks nicely. The deal expired today.

 

[Shompola]

how do you know if it's 360 core? can you check that thru windows?

 

[marsomega]

You owe me your souls....169.99 Radeon 9800 PRO

 

[Mrbob]

how do you know if it's 360 core? can you check that thru windows?

No.

You need to rip off the heatsink/fan. More than likely though new 9800PROS have the 360 core. But having the 350 core isn't necassarily a bad thing. You can usually overclock the 350 core models higher than the 360 core models.

I agree about waiting on the X800PRO. With the X800GT on the horizon the X800PRO is gonna plummet in price.

 

[xsarien]

So I went with the 9800 Pro, CompUSA was having a pretty good deal on them ($199 after a mail-in rebate.) So, thanks to the chorus of ATi fans, I guess.

Also picked up a WD 80GB hard drive on the (real) cheap at Best Buy. When those bastards have rebates, they don't fuck around. Given the new hardware, and the amount of times I reset Windows while it was in some kind of infinite loop during the boot process, I just wiped my machine clean and reinstalled everything, which is fine. I like to give this thing a hot, coffee enema at least once a year anyway.

But I think I've reinstalled enough stuff for one day, time for bed.

 

[marsomega]

So I went with the 9800 Pro, CompUSA was having a pretty good deal on them ($199 after a mail-in rebate.) So, thanks to the chorus of ATi fans, I guess.

You obviously didn't read my reply...

You owe me your souls....

169.99 Radeon 9800 PRO

 

[xsarien]

You obviously didn't read my reply...

If I didn't need the card replaced immediately, and by "immediately" I mean "today," I would've hit it.

 

[Chrono]

stupid question...

why is there like 5 or 6 different ATI 9800 pro cards? I just searched for it on newegg. I get the difference btwn the 256 MB and 128 MB but the other stuff.. so many different models. O__o

Also, why is the 256 MB ONLY about 40 dollars more expensive then the 128 MB one ($260 compared to $220) ? am I missing something here?


[chrono: buidling his first pc]

 

[Red Dolphin]

stupid question...

why is there like 5 or 6 different ATI 9800 pro cards? I just searched for it on newegg. I get the difference btwn the 256 MB and 128 MB but the other stuff.. so many different models. O__o

Also, why is the 256 MB ONLY about 40 dollars more expensive then the 128 MB one ($260 compared to $220) ? am I missing something here?


[chrono: buidling his first pc]

INARTTP (I need a reply to this post)

I too am looking to build my first PC (well I've built PCs before but never one for myself) and I'm unsure too why there are so many varieties of ATI 9800 pro cards..

 

[MrPing1000]

INARTTP (I need a reply to this post)

I too am looking to build my first PC (well I've built PCs before but never one for myself) and I'm unsure too why there are so many varieties of ATI 9800 pro cards..

All you need to know is STAY AWAY from the 128-bit MEMORY INTERFACE version. Regarding ram there is little difference between 128mb and 256mb, id go with the 128mb.... and I did

 

[Phoenix]

Can't find the 9800PRO for less than $197.xx.

 

[Red Dolphin]

(Note: all prices Australian)

* Ati Radeon PowerColor 9800 Pro 128M

Radeon 9800 Pro graphics chip, 128Mb onboard video memory, 1.5V, 8X AGP, S-Video TV-out, DVI out, Core speed: 324Mhz, Memory speed: 580Mhz.

$369.00

* Ati Radeon PowerColor 9800SE 128M

Radeon 9800SE graphics chip, 128Mb onboard video memory, 1.5V, 8X AGP, S-Video TV-out, DVI out, Core speed: 380Mhz, Memory speed: 680Mhz.

$370.00


Err...? For $1 extra I can get what seems to be a much better card then the Pro...


---------------------

* Ati Radeon GeXCube 9600 XT 256M

Radeon 9600XT graphics chip, 256Mb onboard video memory, 1.5V, 8X AGP, S-Video TV-out, DVI out, Core speed: 500Mhz, Memory speed: 600Mhz.

$275.00

* Ati Radeon GeXCube 9800 Pro 128M

Radeon 9800Pro graphics chip, 128Mb onboard DDR video memory, 1.5V, 8X AGP, S-Video TV-out, DVI out, Core speed: 380Mhz, Memory speed: 680Mhz.

$380.00


Am I not taking enough specs into account of does the first one seem like a much better deal??


-------------------------

* Ati Radeon Sapphire 9600XT 256M

Radeon 9600XT graphics chip, 256Mb onboard video DDR memory, 1.5V, 8X AGP, S-Video TV-out, DVI out, Core speed: 500Mhz, Memory speed: 600Mhz.

$319.00


Why is this one substantially more then the Ati Radeon GeXCube 9600 XT 256M?? ($275)


--------------------------

And finally... WTF? Why so much more expensive??

* Ati Radeon Gigabyte 9800 DDR Pro 128M

Radeon 9800 Pro graphics chip, 128Mb onboard video memory, 1.5V, 8X AGP, S-Video TV-out, DVI out, Core speed: 380Mhz, Memory speed: 680Mhz.

$572.00!




It's all so confusing ;p

Man this is why I've stuck with consoles so long!

http://www.computeronline.com.au/products.php?C_ID=8&S_ID=120

 

[Phoenix]

The thing that these snippets don't show is the number of shader pipelines that the card has. The more expensive cards have more pipelines which enable them to do more per cycle than the cheaper cards. That's why the cards that LOOK like they are a better deal and cheaper will perform much worse than the ones that are more expensive.

 

[MrPing1000]

red dolphin, its the chipset thats most important, for example the 9800se is vastly inferior to the 9800pro because it uses a different chip. The ones that are the same but with different brands sometimes differ in the software that comes with them (if any) and the cooling solution on the card. etc

 

[Red Dolphin]

Ah right. I've never bought a graphics card before. I've always had onboard or built in ones on the motherboard. What's considered the best RADEON 9800PRO? GeCube or Gigabyte probably?

 

[MrPing1000]

they are all pretty similar tbh, ive got a sapphire one, they actually made most of ati's own standard 9800pro boards as well

 

[Mrbob]

* Ati Radeon PowerColor 9800 Pro 128M

Radeon 9800 Pro graphics chip, 128Mb onboard video memory, 1.5V, 8X AGP, S-Video TV-out, DVI out, Core speed: 324Mhz, Memory speed: 580Mhz.

$369.00

* Ati Radeon PowerColor 9800SE 128M

Radeon 9800SE graphics chip, 128Mb onboard video memory, 1.5V, 8X AGP, S-Video TV-out, DVI out, Core speed: 380Mhz, Memory speed: 680Mhz.

Hmm, email these guys before you order. Something seems fishy here. 380 core and 680 mem is Radeon 9800PRO clock settings. 324core 580 Memory is 9800SE settings. It looks like they got them labeled backwards.

I clicked on that 9800PRO powercooler link and it popped up this:

http://www.tul.com.tw/global/productlist.aspx?folderid=1&cat1=12&cat2=1&cat3=9

It looks like a regular 9800PRO.

 

[Hitokage]

Ah right. I've never bought a graphics card before. I've always had onboard or built in ones on the motherboard. What's considered the best RADEON 9800PRO? GeCube or Gigabyte probably?

Too bad I had to sell mine because ATI can't write a linux driver worth a damn.

 

[ElyrionX]

The latest batches of the 9800 Pro graphics card from GeXCube and Sapphire have R360 cores. This means that for the price of a 9800 Pro, you are getting a much more powerful 9800XT graphics card. At least thats the case over here. Not sure what you guys are getting over there........

 

[MrPing1000]

Too bad I had to sell mine because ATI can't write a linux driver worth a damn.

the christian gfx card, its actually pretty good since it has an artic cooler on it already (i installed one on my sapphy)

 

[xsarien]

This thread bump has reminded me that I still haven't sent out the ATi rebate form. Yikes.

:: frantically looks for stamps ::

 

[Chrono]

Are all those different ATI models for 9800 pro made by ATI or different companies making their own "versions" of the basic ATI card chipset? [/n00b]

 

[Phoenix]

Are all those different ATI models for 9800 pro made by ATI or different companies making their own "versions" of the basic ATI card chipset? [/n00b]

Same thing as with the nVidia cards. ATI sends out a 'reference board' and people take the reference and add stuff to it and then mass produce it. Many times the boards vary VERY little from the reference board and are pretty much the reference with someone elses label on the box.

 

[Chrono]

Same thing as with the nVidia cards. ATI sends out a 'reference board' and people take the reference and add stuff to it and then mass produce it. Many times the boards vary VERY little from the reference board and are pretty much the reference with someone elses label on the box.

Ah, that makes things clearer. Thanks.