Radeon 9800: now or not?

[Ender]

Should I go ahead and buy the Radeon 9800? Right now I have a Geforce 3 Ti 500. I realize how much the performance will increase, maybe 2-3x, but should I spend the cash for this card (Planning to get the $399 one)?

Or... should I wait for the Nvidia's next offering?

 

[AtomicDude512]

Originally posted by: Merkon
Should I go ahead and buy the Radeon 9800? Right now I have a Geforce 3 Ti 500. I realize how much the performance will increase, maybe 2-3x, but should I spend the cash for this card (Planning to get the $399 one)?

Or... should I wait for the Nvidia's next offering?

ATI, definantly. Dont bother waiting for nVidia, they are coughing on ATI's dust trail. Besides the ATI cards can hold ground with AA & AF where as the Nvidia cards stink with AF.

 

[SexyK]

Well, there are somewhat substantiated rumors of NV35 in july or earlier, with claims of it being ~2x the speed of the NV30. Might be worth the wait if you don't have a really pressing need right now.

 

[galperi1]

Originally posted by: SexyK
Well, there are somewhat substantiated rumors of NV35 in july or earlier, with claims of it being ~2x the speed of the NV30. Might be worth the wait if you don't have a really pressing need right now.

And the NV30 was supposed to the "dawn of cinematic computing". But we all know that it cannot run it's touted 128 bit precision anywhere near close to a Radeon 9700's performance. Let's also remember the NV30 was announced in November 2002. It was supposed to be available by the end of the year, and then by the end of February. Well, it's March 18 and it is NOT retail and you can barely find one online if you tried.

You really believe anything Nvidia has to say about their upcoming products??

The old saying goes: Actions speak louder than words.

And so far, Nvidia has done a lot of talking and taken NO action

 

[GTaudiophile]

Originally posted by: SexyK
Well, there are somewhat substantiated rumors of NV35 in july or earlier, with claims of it being ~2x the speed of the NV30. Might be worth the wait if you don't have a really pressing need right now.

Well, if you're going to wait for NV35 in July, you might as well wait for R400 in August

 

[SexyK]

Originally posted by: galperi1

Originally posted by: SexyK
Well, there are somewhat substantiated rumors of NV35 in july or earlier, with claims of it being ~2x the speed of the NV30. Might be worth the wait if you don't have a really pressing need right now.

And the NV30 was supposed to the "dawn of cinematic computing". But we all know that it cannot run it's touted 128 bit precision anywhere near close to a Radeon 9700's performance. Let's also remember the NV30 was announced in November 2002. It was supposed to be available by the end of the year, and then by the end of February. Well, it's March 18 and it is NOT retail and you can barely find one online if you tried.

You really believe anything Nvidia has to say about their upcoming products??

The old saying goes: Actions speak louder than words.

And so far, Nvidia has done a lot of talking and taken NO action

Come on, thats a bit unfair. nVidia invented the six month product cycle, and is pretty much soley responsible for getting 3d graphics to where they are today. I think it's a bit disappointing how short a memory some people around here have, considering ATI would probably still be working on the successor to the RagePRO if it weren't for nVidia pushing the envelope ALONE for almost two years. I'll give them another shot. Thanks.

 

[chizow]

Do you have a game atm that doesn't run acceptably on your Ti500? There will be a significant performance increase with the 9700pro depending on what games you run and at what resolution. As mentioned AA and AF will show further performance differences at higher resolutions, but you have to ask yourself if you'll use the features. The 9800pro will definitely give you the ability to run at a higher resolution in games that choke a Ti500, but the fact it is only a marginal refresh of the R300 (and any core revisions are still unconfirmed) makes you wonder if it is worth the $100 premium over the 9700pro. If you can hold out a few months it might not be a bad idea, as I've got a feeling NV35 will be everything the NV30 was supposed to be and then some.

Chiz

 

[bluemax]

Hey Chiz, the preview sites were pretty specific that there were changes to the core that enhances the AA/AF routines by ~30%. Add to that the core/ram speed boost and you have a very nice refresh... more than just a simple clock boost.

 

[Lonyo]

Originally posted by: bluemax
Hey Chiz, the preview sites were pretty specific that there were changes to the core that enhances the AA/AF routines by ~30%. Add to that the core/ram speed boost and you have a very nice refresh... more than just a simple clock boost.

Pah, as if anyone woul dbelieve that crappy anandtech.com site

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: bluemax
Hey Chiz, the preview sites were pretty specific that there were changes to the core that enhances the AA/AF routines by ~30%. Add to that the core/ram speed boost and you have a very nice refresh... more than just a simple clock boost.

I'm not totally convinced with the latest word from R3d about a 9700 softmod to 9800 and the hints ATi has dropped about the 3.3's benefitting from improvements "discovered" in the 9800 source path. I was pretty convinced from those previews that there were core enhancements, but I re-read them and noted the optimizations they speak of could very well be done in software. Take away the significant AA and AF improvements found on the 9800 over the 9700 and what do you have? An overclocked 9700pro (as non-AA and AF results scaled much more linearly). Lastly, I checked all the major review sites again and found no reference to transistor count. The most glaring omission was from Rage3D themselves, where there was a very conspicuous blank in the 9800pro box whereas the rest of the R300 and RV350 family had their total transistors listed.

Chiz

 

[BentValve]

Originally posted by: chizow

Originally posted by: bluemax
Hey Chiz, the preview sites were pretty specific that there were changes to the core that enhances the AA/AF routines by ~30%. Add to that the core/ram speed boost and you have a very nice refresh... more than just a simple clock boost.

I'm not totally convinced with the latest word from R3d about a 9700 softmod to 9800 and the hints ATi has dropped about the 3.3's benefitting from improvements "discovered" in the 9800 source path. I was pretty convinced from those previews that there were core enhancements, but I re-read them and noted the optimizations they speak of could very well be done in software. Take away the significant AA and AF improvements found on the 9800 over the 9700 and what do you have? An overclocked 9700pro (as non-AA and AF results scaled much more linearly). Lastly, I checked all the major review sites again and found no reference to transistor count. The most glaring omission was from Rage3D themselves, where there was a very conspicuous blank in the 9800pro box whereas the rest of the R300 and RV350 family had their total transistors listed.

Chiz

Even if it is just a 9700 Core , its only $100 more and it probably lacks some of the 9700 problems. Also the 9800 is the last of the .15
cores so its going to be mature as well. The R400 is going to be ATIs first dive into the .13 core for a high end card.
I am buying a 9800 because I do not want an FX and I want a card now.
I will not be upgrading again unil "NV45 and R450" (or whatever the next that gen of .13 chips are called)

 

[XBoxLPU]

I really want a 9800 but I am waiting to see the 256mb versions....

 

[SexyK]

.... and I want a card now.

Can you get a 9800Pro right now? news to me if you can.

 

[NeBaWONG]

buy an X-box and mod it.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

I'd wait for Nvidia's next release which might give ATI a chance to lower their prices if they want even more attention.

 

[ZimZum]

Originally posted by: NeBaWONG
buy an X-box and mod it.

Although its head and shoulders above the other consoles. A top of the line Gaming PC will still blow an XBox out of the water.
But for $200 it cant be beat.

 

[Jadow]

it sure is expensive, you're paying a premium for that speed. While its the best card, it definitely isn't at the price sweet spot.

 

[Vash341]

Well if i were you i would wait for the radion 9800pro to come out and then the priceo n the 9700 will go way down. Both of them will be great cards but i think that the 9700 will be a much better buy. However, if your really set on the 9800 wait for the 9800 with 256mb then the price of the 9800 probly go down a bit.