5900SE/5900XT/9700 Pro

[Citrono]

I'm so lost right now on which card to choose. When I think I'm definitely sold on one of them, I read another review and get completely different results. I'm only looking to spend under $200 before shipping/tax. The GIGABYTE 5900XT shows that it now comes with Call Of Duty, Raven Shield, Tomb Raider and Arx Fatalis on their website under events (anyone know how often they update their site?) and if this is still true, I'd really be leaning toward this card. Also, I've never really cared that much to use AA/AF but I do love my digital vibrance so I do keep that in mind when choosing ATI.

 

[Dman877]

Sounds like a 5900XT is what you want then... it won't perform as fast as the 9700 Pro at stock but they oc well and that gaming bundle is nice.

Also, the 9800 Pro has been sold at 200$ off and on over the last few months, you can add that to your list, just wait for a deal.

 

[Todd33]

I like my 9800 pro, but really like the Nvidia drivers. I'd get the 5900XT w/ CoD (great game) and OC it.

 

[biostud]

Originally posted by: Dman877
Sounds like a 5900XT is what you want then... it won't perform as fast as the 9700 Pro at stock but they oc well and that gaming bundle is nice.

Also, the 9800 Pro has been sold at 200$ off and on over the last few months, you can add that to your list, just wait for a deal.

I tried a FX 5900XT and it was barely o/c 'able, so don't expect it to be a good o/c.

 

[CaiNaM]

Originally posted by: biostud666

Originally posted by: Dman877
Sounds like a 5900XT is what you want then... it won't perform as fast as the 9700 Pro at stock but they oc well and that gaming bundle is nice.

Also, the 9800 Pro has been sold at 200$ off and on over the last few months, you can add that to your list, just wait for a deal.

I tried a FX 5900XT and it was barely o/c 'able, so don't expect it to be a good o/c.

this is the first post i've read from anyone saying their 5900xx didn't overclock well...... unless a bunch of others had similar experiences, i'd write this off as an exception rather than a rule.

to the original poster, if you will get use from those games, I think that's easily your best value right there.. that's definately the way i'd lean, tho you won't go wrong if get the ati either.

 

[Citrono]

If I got the 5900XT I would be OCing it but if I got the 9700 Pro how well would that overclock IF I was to . I'm still trying to figure out if I should just get an ATI, because of how well they handle higher AA/AF settings and that should rule out my digital vibrance settings.

 

[BlvdKing]

My 5900XT overclocks like a mofo.

 

[CaiNaM]

Originally posted by: Citrono
If I got the 5900XT I would be OCing it but if I got the 9700 Pro how well would that overclock IF I was to . I'm still trying to figure out if I should just get an ATI, because of how well they handle higher AA/AF settings and that should rule out my digital vibrance settings.

from my experience (and from what i've read) typically ati's do not overclock very well, tho there are exceptions. this would be very YMMV.

current drivers i would say nv af is slightly better, ati aa is slightly better. and overall performance impact less noticeable with ati, however with the additional clock/bandwidth the nv provides, that's not always the case. PS2.0 shader support is definately better with the 97/9800pro.

regardless of which card you choose, you'll have a very good card, so I would be motivated by what price I could get the card for more than anything.

if i don't want to hassle with OC, i'd just get the 97/9800pro if i could find it at a price i liked.

 

[Citrono]

Would getting a refurbished card from NewEgg be safe because I can get a 9700 Pro or 9800 Pro for pretty cheap . I also found this http://www.techspot.com/tweaks/radeon/radeon-2.shtml (Bump Mapping) which is suppose to be the closest thing that ATI can get to having digital vibrance. Has anyone used this feature?

 

[rbV5]

Refurbs are a risk, but I've got several from Newegg with goood luck each time. Bumpmapping has nothing to do with Digital Vibrance btw. The closest thing I've seen (other than the color controls in the control panel) is by using custom smartshaders to simulate the effect in OpenGL games (Custom smartshaders only run in Opengl IIRC) IMHO, Digital Vibrance is a decent but unnecissary feature. I use DV on my budget gamer, and don't miss it with my other rigs that don't support it. To me AF and to a lessor extent AA are far more important for IQ than DV. If its that important, the 5900 cards aren't a bad choice you know

 

[Citrono]

Well, do you know where I can read more about the custom smartshaders? I really just want DV for Counter Strike right now but other games are great with just AA/AF.

 

[CaiNaM]

there is not "digital vibrance" for ati, and the smartshaders is a bit different.. you can read all about it in this lenghty discussion here

i prefer the color on my nv, but you get used to it and not notice it so much (at least i did). it all kind of depends on the game as well, as farcry seems to have better color on my radeon... go figure..

 

[rbV5]

you can read all about it in this lenghty discussion here

Yikes

 

[Acanthus]

Originally posted by: CaiNaM

Originally posted by: Citrono
If I got the 5900XT I would be OCing it but if I got the 9700 Pro how well would that overclock IF I was to . I'm still trying to figure out if I should just get an ATI, because of how well they handle higher AA/AF settings and that should rule out my digital vibrance settings.

from my experience (and from what i've read) typically ati's do not overclock very well, tho there are exceptions. this would be very YMMV.

current drivers i would say nv af is slightly better, ati aa is slightly better. and overall performance impact less noticeable with ati, however with the additional clock/bandwidth the nv provides, that's not always the case. PS2.0 shader support is definately better with the 97/9800pro.

regardless of which card you choose, you'll have a very good card, so I would be motivated by what price I could get the card for more than anything.

if i don't want to hassle with OC, i'd just get the 97/9800pro if i could find it at a price i liked.

I couldnt have said it better.

 

[Citrono]

Well, would anyone know how updated GIGABYTE's site is? That bundle could be a deciding factor since I really want to get CoD .

 

[nemesismk2]

Originally posted by: biostud666

Originally posted by: Dman877
Sounds like a 5900XT is what you want then... it won't perform as fast as the 9700 Pro at stock but they oc well and that gaming bundle is nice.

Also, the 9800 Pro has been sold at 200$ off and on over the last few months, you can add that to your list, just wait for a deal.

I tried a FX 5900XT and it was barely o/c 'able, so don't expect it to be a good o/c.

My MSI 5900 XT overclocked very well but really the overclocking ability of any video card depends on which brand and how lucky you are!

 

[CaiNaM]

Originally posted by: Citrono
Well, would anyone know how updated GIGABYTE's site is? That bundle could be a deciding factor since I really want to get CoD .

take some time and find someone selling the card. they will list what is bundled.

 

[mcurphy]

Originally posted by: Citrono
Well, would anyone know how updated GIGABYTE's site is? That bundle could be a deciding factor since I really want to get CoD .

From looking at the bundled software pictures on Newegg, link, there is not a copy of Call Of Duty included. Also, there is one customer review where the buyer complained that he too saw COD advertised on GB's website but did not receive it with his order.

 

[lordtyranus2]

ATI has the better cards this generation IMO.....pick a 9700 or 9800 pro, but better to hold off until next generation.

 

[lordtyranus2]

ATI has the better cards this generation IMO.....pick a 9700 or 9800 pro, but better to hold off until next generation.

 

[Citrono]

Yeah, I guess I'm going to get a 9800P (Sapphire RADEON 9800 PRO ATLANTIS 128MB DDR AGP8X TVO/DVI (Lite Retail)) for $208 off allstarshop.com. I hope they're reliable but if not, they're an hour away .

 

[Acanthus]

Originally posted by: Citrono
Yeah, I guess I'm going to get a 9800P (Sapphire RADEON 9800 PRO ATLANTIS 128MB DDR AGP8X TVO/DVI (Lite Retail)) for $208 off allstarshop.com. I hope they're reliable but if not, they're an hour away .

Lite is a warning word, unless the clockspeeds are specified i would look elsewhere.

 

[someone16]

I think lite just mean retail packageing bare drivers, no games.

 

[Pete]

Could be, but Lite on the 9600 Pro meant 400MHz rather than 600MHz memory, so it's best to be sure.

 

[Citrono]

I checked out what the "Lite" referred to on the Sapphire site before I bought it .

"Full retail indicates that the package contains the entire bundle including the Game software bundle and utilities. The Lite retail versions do not come bundled with the software bundle and are packaged with the neccessities needed to enjoy the pinnacle in performance from Sapphire alone."