9600xt or other????

[JH68]

I have been thinking on upgrading my video card. I have thought about the asus 9600 xt. For the people that already have bought one, what do you think of them? B/c now im still using geforce3. I was also thinking about going with the 9800xt. But i was just wondering how good the 9600xt was doing for people. Its either spend little and upgrade later for the games in 2004 or spend alot and hope it handles well with games in the future. So what do yall think?



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[MDE]

A better bang-for-your buck card (over the 9600XT) would be the 9600 Pro. Look at the 9700 Pro, 9800, and 9800 Pro too, and you could save a LOT of money compared to the 9800XT and get similar performance. Also, look at the GeForce FX 5900 (non ultra) you can find them for $200 or less and they will eat a 9600 for lunch.

 

[JH68]

yea i am torn on what to do. im not to impressed with nvidia right now. its just i like the features that asus is offering with the ati series. So i was thinking either spend alitttle and upgrade later if it cant handle games like doom 3 and other complexed games or just get 9800xt and upgrade much later down the road.



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[Corporate Thug]

you can get a new 5900 or a used 9700 pro from the FS/Ft for $200 ish. both are great cards

 

[JH68]

well i dont really want to go with a used card. i guess is it worth now to try to save money on a card or buy a high preformer?


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[AtomSmasher]

I just went thru this & ended up spending the $$$ for a 9800XT. Originally bought the BB $299 9800 Pro deal a couple of weeks ago but after 2 weeks the video started cutting out & corrupting. The stock heatsink on the Pro is pretty cheezy & was detaching. Crummy plastic push pins were defective. I took it back to BB & paid the difference for the 9800XT. Lots of $$$ but only having to pay the delta after 2 weeks kind of softened the blow.

Even though the 9800 Pro had great performance I didn't like the heatsink & how it ran really hot. The XT's cooling solution is very nice, + you get 256Mb on board. If you've got the money you won't be dissapointed. Search some groups & read the reviews on the 9800XT. Those that don't have one say its overpriced but everyone that posts that actually has one really likes it & says it was worth it. After I saw the cooling on the Pro & how hot it ran I don't think I'd get one instead of the XT. If you want to save some money get one of the Nvidia FX5900nu's. You can pick one up for <$200. Not quite as high end as the Ultra's but for the $$$ it can't be beat.

 

[PaperclipGod]

Originally posted by: JH68
well i dont really want to go with a used card. i guess is it worth now to try to save money on a card or buy a high preformer?


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Rig

Just FYI, buying used on these forums isn't like buying used at a flea market. Just about everyone who uses the FS/T forum is pretty knowledgable and the hardware youre buying has been well treated.

But, regardless, buying a midrange card or the "best of the best" is really only a decision you can make. What are you upgrading from? If you're using a really old card, i'd say go for a 9800XT (thats what i did). But if you've already got something decent - say a Ti4x00 - then get a 9600 Pro or something similar and hang on for a few more months. The new offerings from ATI and nVidia will be here early next year.

 

[JH68]

I would be upgrading from a geforce3.



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[jar5tyle]

I'd get a 9600 Pro, built by ATI. Mine easily overclocks past 9600XT speeds

GF3 to a 9600 Pro, pretty good choice I'd think

How much do you really want to dish out right now?

 

[JammingJay]

I'd vote for a 5900 nu. They are about the same price now a days and you'd get better performance for that dollar range. If not, just picking up a Radeon 9600pro for slightly less performance isn't a bad idea either.

 

[Pete]

$150 + tax: CompUSA ATi Radeon 9600P w/HL2, starting tomorrow.
$180 shipped: Connect3D Radeon 9600XT (w/HL2 according to C3D's website) on a couple of sites
$210-230 shipped/AR: FX 5900 (XFX @ Buy.com AR $60, eVGA @ NewEgg shipped, BFG @ BB AR $50, PNY @ CUSA[?] AR $50)

The 9600's are better deals because of HL2, IMO, but the 5900 should be a faster card at higher res. Your call.

Edit: Two recent reviews with comparative benches of all three cards: Digit-Life & NordicHardware. The differences are smaller than I thought they would be on some games.

 

[modedepe]

Either a 5900nu or a 9600 pro are very good for the price. 9600xt or 9800xt don't really have perform well enough to offset the price jump imo.

 

[JH68]

how long will the 9600 series last me before i will need to upgrade again?
would a asus 9600xt for $197 be a good buy?

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[Pete]

Only you can decide. Look around for benchmarks and see which cards have the framerates you want at the settings you prefer (res, AA, AF).

 

[PaperclipGod]

Originally posted by: JH68
how long will the 9600 series last me before i will need to upgrade again?
would a asus 9600xt for $197 be a good buy?

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Rig

What do you use your rig for? Gaming? What kind of games? Are your current games slow on your GF3? Are you buying this card to use with HL2, or are you going to upgrade again when it's released? There's a lot of factors.

 

[JH68]

Gaming. Sim city 4, call of duty, war craft III, C&C generals. Also for half live 2. i like the first person shooters. i was wondering if it can handle games for awhile or do i need to go with a bigger upgrade


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[clicknext]

Originally posted by: JH68
Gaming. Sim city 4, call of duty, war craft III, C&C generals. Also for half live 2. i like the first person shooters. i was wondering if it can handle games for awhile or do i need to go with a bigger upgrade


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Rig

Yeah, it'll handle games fine for about a year I'd say. Half-Life 2 should be no problem especially since they're including it with this card.

 

[JBT]

I'd go for the 5900 nu better buy over the 9600XT woulb be a better upgrade IMO but anything would be good just depends how much u want to spend.
The 9600 pro would be good if u can find it for around 140 since u can get XT speeds. As for HL2 couon for the XT it says please allow 8-10 weeks for delivery!!!screw that

 

[mrchen]

I would Defintly get the 9600XT cause its a super buy, look at the bench marks on tomshardware!!!
If you have the money, get the 9800XT its a huge performance difference. BENCHMARKS