Upgrading by Christmas...best mid-range card?

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10-31-2003, 04:27 AM
Jonas79

Quote:

Originally posted by Spaceman Spiff
Many, many thanks to all who have replied. :D

I've been seeing some rather good prices on Nvidia cards recently, and the last two links provided are perfect examples.
But I'm rather ignorant to Nvidia cards these days, haven't been in the loop for a year now.
How does the 5900 series compare to the Radeon 9600 XT or 9800np?

The 5900 is about as fast as the 9800np and quite a bit faster than a 9600XT. In OpenGL games, the 5900 is faster than the 9800np but in some games the 9800 beats its. The 9800np is faster in 3DMark also if that means anything to you.
10-31-2003, 04:39 AM
Spaceman Spiff

Quote:

Originally posted by Jonas79
The 5900 is about as fast as the 9800np and quite a bit faster than a 9600XT. In OpenGL games, the 5900 is faster than the 9800np but in some games the 9800 beats its. The 9800np is faster in 3DMark also if that means anything to you.

Thanks very much. :)

So then this is the order in which I should go after these cards?

1.) ATI 9800np
2.)Nvidia 5900
3.)ATI 9600XT

Is that right?

Sorry for all the questions, but since I dont upgrade very often, I really want to get the best bang for my buck. I'm willing to spend an extra $20-$30 to get a faster or "better" card.
10-31-2003, 04:46 AM
lonewolfroger

Quote:

Originally posted by Spaceman Spiff
Thanks very much. :)

So then this is the order in which I should go after these cards?

1.) ATI 9800np
2.)Nvidia 5900
3.)ATI 9600XT

Is that right?

Sorry for all the questions, but since I dont upgrade very often, I really want to get the best bang for my buck. I'm willing to spend an extra $20-$30 to get a faster or "better" card.

I would put the 5700Ultra at number 3 and the 9600XT at number 4.
10-31-2003, 04:48 AM
Spaceman Spiff

Oh, 1 more thing:

I'm seeing alot of ads for the "Radeon 9800 SE", and in paranthesis it says "non-pro". Is this "SE" line any different than regular "Non-pros", or is this something else entirely.:confused:

*tips hat to Ati for making their product line so well defined*:mad:
10-31-2003, 04:54 AM
lonewolfroger

Quote:

Originally posted by Spaceman Spiff
Oh, 1 more thing:

I'm seeing alot of ads for the "Radeon 9800 SE", and in paranthesis it says "non-pro". Is this "SE" line any different than regular "Non-pros", or is this something else entirely.:confused:

*tips hat to Ati for making their product line so well defined*:mad:

IMHO, stay as far away as you can from anything with a SE on the end of it, they are in no way shape or form can even come close to a 9800np and by them putting a np in there, IMO, they are trying to made people think it is , so they can sell them.:mad:
10-31-2003, 04:59 AM
Spaceman Spiff

Quote:

Originally posted by lonewolfroger
I would put the 5700Ultra at number 3 and the 9600XT at number 4.

Oh, ok. So what would go at #2?
10-31-2003, 05:00 AM
Jonas79

Quote:

Originally posted by Spaceman Spiff
Oh, 1 more thing:

I'm seeing alot of ads for the "Radeon 9800 SE", and in paranthesis it says "non-pro". Is this "SE" line any different than regular "Non-pros", or is this something else entirely.:confused:

*tips hat to Ati for making their product line so well defined*:mad:

Well, they cut the memory bandwith to half on the SE, and that means a big performance hit compared to the normal 9800np, so you should stay away from it. It's not good performance for the money. The price difference is too small to justify such a performance hit.
10-31-2003, 05:03 AM
Jonas79

Quote:

Originally posted by Spaceman Spiff
Oh, ok. So what would go at #2?

You got #1 and #2 right :) At least according to me, so

#1 9800 (not SE)
#2 fx5900

Some ppl might want to shift places. It depends which games you play.
10-31-2003, 05:04 AM
lonewolfroger

Quote:

Originally posted by Spaceman Spiff
Oh, ok. So what would go at #2?

I would line them up like this #1.9800np #2.5900nu #3. 5700U #4. 9600XT, although there will be a few that might disagree with me.
10-31-2003, 05:06 AM
lonewolfroger

Quote:

Originally posted by Jonas79
Well, they cut the memory bandwith to half on the SE, and that means a big performance hit compared to the normal 9800np, so you should stay away from it. It's not good performance for the money. The price difference is too small to justify such a performance hit.

The main thing, wrong with them is that they only have 4 pipelines, not eight like the 9800np.
10-31-2003, 05:17 AM
Jonas79

Quote:

Originally posted by lonewolfroger
The main thing, wrong with them is that they only have 4 pipelines, not eight like the 9800np.

Sorry, forgot that. Then it's about like a 9600 at a higher price :p
10-31-2003, 05:22 AM
lonewolfroger

Quote:

Originally posted by Jonas79
Sorry, forgot that. Then it's about like a 9600 at a higher price :p

Yes, the cheapest one is just like the 9600pro except it has the 9800 core and the higher priced one has everything that the 9800np has except it only has 4 pipelines, instead of eight.
10-31-2003, 05:55 AM
Jonas79

I just have to say that I hate the confusing naming of ATi cards. Even if you try to keep up, it's not an easy task knowing which is faster and which is slower. It's a damn shame and they should stop doing so and reconsider their naming. They have great cards otherwise and shouldn't need to confuse us.
10-31-2003, 05:59 AM
lonewolfroger

Quote:

Originally posted by Jonas79
I just have to say that I hate the confusing naming of ATi cards. Even if you try to keep up, it's not an easy task knowing which is faster and which is slower. It's a damn shame and they should stop doing so and reconsider their naming. They have great cards otherwise and shouldn't need to confuse us.

All, you have to remember is not to buy a video card with SE mentioned anywhere in its description.:D
10-31-2003, 06:05 AM
Jonas79

Quote:

Originally posted by lonewolfroger
All, you have to remember is not to buy a video card with SE mentioned anywhere in its description.:D

Or EZ as PowerColor (I think) has started to call them :p

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