Which card to get?

[DKlein]

I'm building or upgrading my system (haven't decided which yet) and I want to get the best graphics card I'll need for the next year or so. Will a 9800 Pro or XT be able to handle new games at 1280x1024x32 with all the eye candy and 45-60 FPS. If not which one will?

 

[SneakyStuff]

definately not games to come out in the next year, MABYE doom3, HL2 prolly, but you'll be wanting either an x800 pro, or a 6800 GT for longetivity.

 

[Killrose]

It's a vicious cyle, you will allway's be needing the latest and greatest to play new and upcomming game titles at high resolutions and all eye candy on.

It all depends on what you can live with.

 

[Schadenfroh]

considering the only one you can buy is the 9800pro/xt...............

 

[GeneralGrievous]

I am sure 1280x1024 will be easily possible with the 9800s.

 

[DKlein]

A pretty wide array of opinions here, anyone else?

 

[LongCoolMother]

Originally posted by: DKlein
A pretty wide array of opinions here, anyone else?

i have a 9800xt. it will definately not play the new games with all the eye candy on. its all about what you can live with. the 9800xt struggles in far cry with all the eye candy on. not even considering anti aliasing and anisotrophic filtering.

thats not to say the 9800xt cant play the games beautifully and smoothly. it just means if you want to play newer games with full detail and acceptable FPS, then dont count on it.

 

[Kadarin]

I need to replace my aging GeForce 3, and I think I'll be waiting for the next gen cards to be out in significant volume, rather than going for a 9800pro.

 

[Chebago]

far cry is its own monster though, I don't think Doom3 or HL2 will be nearly as intensive as Far Cry. I've never had a problem with any game with all settings on high at 1280x1024 except Far Cry on my 9800pro. I think it will definitely last for a year or so until the prices on new cards drop, IMO.

 

[Lonyo]

X800Pro, since it seems it will probably be $360 and since you're only running 1280x1024 you don't need the XT, that would be overkill.
The Pro can run almost anything you throw at it 1280x1024 with 4xAA/4xAF I think.
Or the 6800GT depending on its pricing when it comes into retail channels.
It might be hard to find an X800Pro, but they should be more widely around soon.

It's better to shoot above what you need than find oyurself limited in the future (sinc eyou have an LCD I assume, you won't be able to turn down the res to increase frame rates, and the 9800 cards are beginning to struggle slightly)

 

[Luthien]

I would get the 6800GT for $399.99 when it is available at that price which is what it is supposed to hit when it is widely available. You may have to wait another month or more though for that price.

 

[PrayForDeath]

Don't even think about the 9800XT since it costs more than a X800Pro ATM.
What's your budget? If it was around 200$ then the 9800Pro is waiting for you, and if it was around 400$ I would recommend waiting until the GT comes out, compare it with the X800 Pro, then choose the best performer between those two cards, that's my opinion.

 

[AnnoyedGrunt]

I agree with PrayForDeath.

For $200, the 9800pro is a good deal.
For more than $300, I'd just wait for the X800pro or 6800GT and try to get one when they reach ~$350.

Not sure what 9800XT's are going for now, but if they are anywhere over $250, then I wouldn't bother. They are barely faster than 9800pro, and are much slower than the X800 or 6800, and are therefore not worth the extra price IMO.

-D'oh!

 

[Pete]

I'd get in on one of the many $440 X800XT offers going around. Other than that, I probably would wait for a 6800GT or, if you need a new card now, a X800P.

A 9800P is a good compromise at $200, but benchmarks suggest that you'll have to lower your sights to 1024x768 without much or any AA and AF to attain 60fps in newer games like Far Cry, Doom 3, and Half-Life 2.

A 9800XT is a waste of money. Pick up the doubly faster X800 or 6800 for about the same money.

 

[DKlein]

Alright, I'll steer clear of the 9800 XT (it was too expensive anyway considering the x800 Pro prices). I'm not sure what my budget is yet, as the video card is only half the problem; I also need to figure out whether a 2.5-6GHz XP-M is gonna cut it with the new games or if I'm going to need to go up to a 2.4-5GHz 64. If I stick with the XP-M I'll have a significant budget, enough for a 6800 Ultra. If I have to go with the 64-bit, I'll have a lot smaller budget, which will mean a 9800 Pro, or *maybe* a 6800 GT. Before I head on over to the CPU forum, does anyone have any say on those processors?

 

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: AnnoyedGrunt
I agree with PrayForDeath.

I do too.. I never considered a 9800XT... the Pro version is FAR more cost effective... if you want to wait a little while, you can easily hold out for a while with a 9800 pro... they are still good cards, just not as good as the newest generation... but that's fine, cause the new gen cards are 3x as much

 

[PrayForDeath]

cause the new gen cards are 3x as much

Not exactly!
Anyway, DKlein, you'd better go with a 2.5-2.6Ghz XP and a GT or an X800 Pro rather than a ~2.5 64 with a 9800 Pro, games are hungry for graphics more than superfast processors. You could buy a motherboard that supports XP and 64 so you could upgrade your CPU in the future.

 

[DKlein]

In the case I'd want to upgrade my CPU to a 64 later, I think I'd just upgrade the motherboard too when the time comes. It would save me some money plus I'd want to wait for the 754/939 boards to get their kinks worked out first. In the meantime my NF7-S would be fine I think.

 

[Soulkeeper]

i'm waiting for the 6800 cards to come out
i hear bfg will be making like 3 different versions, that could be worth a look or three

 

[zodder]

I'm going to wait until the dust settles on all these new cards. My 9800 Pro is great for anything right now, except for Far Cry with all the eye candy.

 

[blaze20]

zodder u running the 128 or the 256 mb version cause My cuzin is averaging 70-80 fps with all the eye candy with the 256

 

[ptw]

I'm pondering a similar question as the original poster.

Get a 9800 Pro now and upgrade to an x800 Pro/XT later when the prices are more reasonable? (say $300 Cdn in 1.5 years)

Or just go straight to the x800 Pro now?

Buying a 9800 Pro now ($300 Cdn) and then an x800 Pro later (when it's ~$300 Cdn) is actually about the same price as buying an x800 Pro now (~$600) and I get a card with which I can pretty much max-out graphics settings without worry. But the advantage of buying the 9800 now is that it should be more stable, the cash outlay is spread out instead of upfront, and I can get a PCI-X version of the x800 later instead of being stuck with an AGP longer-term.

What do you think? I am running an XP 3200+ on an nForce2 mobo with 1 GB of 400 Mhz DDR and a TI-4200. I don't play a lot of FPS, but the game I am playing right now (City of Heroes) sometimes has a LOT of characters on screen at the same time, and it makes my TI-4200 scream in agony.

 

[Pete]

I'd stick with your current XP-M and go for a newer card, which you can carry onto a new system down the line. In the meantime, you'll enjoy a faster, prettier image on all your games. If you find a X800P/XT or 6800GT/U for well under retail, I'd jump on it. If you're not happy with it, you'll almost certainly be able to sell it and come out at least even.

You can check Firingsquad's recent X800P Athlon scaling article to see how a X800P and 9800XT scale with a range of Athlon XPs and an A64.

Edit: this was in response to the OP, but I suppose it can apply to your Q, too, ptw. If you have the money, why not enjoy a X800P+ or 6800GT+ right now? Remember, the resale value will be higher when you decide to move on in a few years, so it's not a total loss. PEG sounds great, but it'd require a lot more upgrading on your part, which would probably not be worth it for the performance gain you'll see going from AGP to PEG.