Help me choose one of these ATi Cards...
 

Hi there, after much consideration (see this thread) I've decided to get off the nVidia bandwagon and jump aboard the ATi boat of bliss. It's no question that right now ATi's high end card's are outmatching nVidia in terms of performance, quality and speed so it brings me to this decision, which ATi card should Mr.Deflok buy? After much searching I've found these prices for this cards, all in the 9800 series.


ATI Original Radeon 9800 128MB 3.3ns DDR 256bits (325/580Mhz) w TV/DVI
$613.00NZD ($300 USD approx)


ATI Original Radeon 9800PRO 128MB 2.8ns DDR 256bits (380/680Mhz) w TV/DVI
$800.00NZD ($400 USD approx)


ATI Original Radeon 9800PRO 256MB 2.8ns DDR-II 256bits (400/700Mhz) w TV/DVI
$1,019.25NZD ($500 USD approx)


V0020003 Creative RX9800 RRO 128Mb DDR/TV/DVI (resolutions up to 1024X768)
$764.00NZD ($375 USD approx)


HIS Excalibur ATi Original Radeon 9800 PRO 128MB
$888.75NZD ($450 USD approx)


Powercolor ATi Radeon 9800 AGP 8X, 128M DDR, DVI-I+S-Video Out
$721.00NZD ($325 USD approx)


Powercolor Radeon 9800 SE (380/680MHz), AGP 8X, 128M 256-bit DDR, CRT+DVI-I+S-Video Out
Video $527.63NZD ($275 USD approx)


Is the 256MB card really worth the price difference? I mean shit, that's a lot of money! Will I be basking in the heavenly beauties of 256 or is it something I will only notice this time next year? (by then of course I'll have bought a newer video card anyway)

I'm looking to be able to play HL2 on at least 1024x768 with 4xFSAA, will these cards cut it?

I'd like to hear what are your recommendations are based on value. Thanks in advance!

do NOT go for the 9800 SE. It sucks. It's not even as fast as a FX 5600. I do not know about the regular 9800 though.

So, if at all possible, get a 9800 Pro, it's much (MUCH) faster than the normal one.

As for the memory: 128 megs is good, 256 megs is over-the-top. Do you have a monitor that'd support 1600x1200 at a reasonable refresh rate? Only then would 256 megs even be needed.

Do NOT buy a PowerColor. Trust me, simply don't buy it. PowerColor is an untrustworthy company. They've actually put out factory overclocked 9500 Pros and retailed them as 9700's. I've heard of two of them dying on people as well.

I'd get a Radeon 9800 Pro 128 MB. That's easily the best for the money. Don't get the non-pro. If you want to get simply the best that can take massive AA and high resolutions, then get the 256 MB version. If you play games with no AA or at regular resolutions, then I'd go 128. As for which one to get, find a Radeon 9800 Pro 128 MB from either ATI or Sapphire. Those are the only ATI-card makers I trust.

-Lasereth

Get the true ATi 128 megger. I don't see a need for 256 megs, but hell if you got the cashish burning a hole in your pocket you may as well.

I would definately go with an ATI/Saphire 9800 pro 128.. I recently got one and am very pleased with it.

I would check out newegg for one.. good shipping and reliable customer service.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...ion=14-102-286

Thanks for the input might go for the 128er, are Gigacube, Gigabyte and Creative good brands for ATi cards? Being an nVidiot for so long I've kept ignorant to ATi brands, thanks.

I'd still only go ATI or Sapphire if you're gonna buy an ATI chipset card.

-Lasereth

As someone who deals with these cards for a living (for professional use, not selling them at a computer store*), I can tell you the 256MB version is not worth the extra money. The games that will actually *need* that amount of memory will be so generally demanding that the VPU itself will become a bottleneck. The 128 9800 Pro made by ATI (or Sapphire, they're identical) is an excellent choice.

You'll also find that it has superior pixel and vertex shading than the nVidia cards, plus 100% Direct X 9 compliance. That means no hardware shortcuts to get higher benchmarks (although both companies have been guilty of driver cheats).

The fourth option looks like it's made by Creative Labs, which is a trustworthy brand with a long history, at least here in the States. I don't know what that max res of 1024x768 is all about--the average card these days can do twice that. It must be up to 1024x768 at a specific refresh rate, like 100Hz. Do you have a link for that one? I would personally choose that one of the bunch, unless it really did have some odd resolution issue.

*No offense to those who work at computer stores, that was just for clarification

Re: Help me choose one of these ATi Cards...
 

definitely the better of the cards and i've seen in some benchmarks where the 256 actually does worse for wear in most benchmarks due to the placement of the extra 128MB of memory, or so i've heard. But, if you are planning to play doom3 or halflife 2, the 256mb card is the winner.

By the way, I know you said you were hopping off the nvidia bandwagon, but the GFFX 5900 DOES outperform the 9800 if you use the latest driver download.

Re: Re: Help me choose one of these ATi Cards...
 

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See below post.

I think the 1024 thing is in reference to it's TV/DVI capabilities which isn't too bad as most are 640x480 (I believe).
http://www.nodes.co.nz/catalog/produ...roducts_id=520

EDIT
After looking at some reviews of the 5900 Ultra I'm thinking about going for it, mainly because of it's results in the DooM3 Benchmarks at www.TomsHardware.com.

The FX cards are cheaper than the ATi's down here in New Zealand so I think I'd be best to go with that.

In any case I'm feeling very confused.

I've made my mind up, GeForce FX 5900 128MB, just ordered it, comes in tomorrow! :D