Slightly Confused...

[nimirra]

Hi,

Im currently running a P4 2.6gig 800Mhz FSB processor with 1gig of dual-channel 400Mhz FSB ram and a Radeon 8500 le video card from Hercules.

My problem is, my video card is my last piece I really need to upgrade, but I dont want to drop a huge chunk of money on a video card that will be half price the price is 3 months. From what I gather the Radeon 9700 series are far superior to my current card, and decent in price range.

I'd just like to get someones opinion on my findings. Or maybe even a suggestion on a card. Thanks in advance for replying.

 

[foofoo]

hi,
in my opinion, the radeon 9700 pro is pretty much the sweet spot for the price/performance ratio right now. i'd get the 9700 pro.
good luck

 

[nimirra]

Thanks for the advice, any particular manufacturer better than the rest? Ive seen Sapphire, and Hercules and the stock cards from ATi themselves...

 

[nimirra]

Double post.... oops

 

[Confused]

Originally posted by: nimirra
Thanks for the advice, any particular manufacturer better than the rest? Ive seen Sapphire, and Hercules and the stock cards from ATi themselves...

Generally the ATI own, or ones that are "Built By ATI" will be better than the "Powered By ATI" ones


Welcome to Anandtech forums Hope you enjoy your time here! That's a very nice setup you've got!


Confused

 

[Budmantom]

You might want to look at the 9800np, don't worry about the drastic price change ati did away with that the 9700pro has not dropped more than $50 in 6months.

 

[farscape]

I also concur on the 9800NP. Core is optimized from the 9700 series and runs a bit cooler. I just dropped one in my system ($243 - newegg), and is an awesome card.

 

[us3rnotfound]

get a GeForce FX 5600 Ultra. The 256 mb of video RAM is king!

 

[xSkyDrAx]

256 is of really no use right now. If your going Nvidia, look on over to the 5900NU which could be had for 200-220. It's an excellent buy. 9800np and 9700 Pro are also good buys.

And yes I am aware I have 256, but that is a mistake on my part AFTER the purchase and I'm too lazy to return it. It runs my games fine and I have no complaint really.

 

[nimirra]

Thanks for all the helpful replies! I was looking at a benchmark for the Radeon 9800 256MB and 128MB cards and really the extra onboard memory isnt THAT helpful in the short or long runs. It seems the GPU and the memory timings are more key at this point. 256MB is overkill I think..

 

[Budmantom]

Originally posted by: nimirra
Thanks for all the helpful replies! I was looking at a benchmark for the Radeon 9800 256MB and 128MB cards and really the extra onboard memory isnt THAT helpful in the short or long runs. It seems the GPU and the memory timings are more key at this point. 256MB is overkill I think..

All thing being equal I would go for the 256mb, but the price is a deterrent.