help me pick a card

[LilBuddy]

can some of yall please help me find a new video card. i just bought unreal tournament 2004 and i think the graphics could be better with a new card. i have used my onboard gf4 mx440 on my epox 8rga+ and my radeon 7500 on the game, and i think the radeon runs it better.

what cards do yall think would run this game good and also future games comin out before too long? i don't mind overclocking much, as long as it isn't too difficult and can be done modestly.

thanks

[russm]

how much do you want to spend? right now radeon 9800 pros you can get for a really good price and there pretty much the best thing you can get. for around $210 you can get one shipped.
even look for some refurbished ones for around $150, other then that the 9700 pro is still good, and the 5900 is very good aswell, almost as much as the 9800, but a little cheaper, probly around $170. for cheaper cards, maybe a nvidia 5600, or a 9600 pro... they will get you for around $100. but seeing as how everyones making the switch to direct x 9, these direct x 8 cards arent gonna get you very far. so make the jump and get high nvidia fx series, or a ati 9700 or better. the 9700, 9800 are gonna handle direct x 9 much better then the nvidias, but it will cost you a slight bit more.

[Mr.Radar]

Get the Sapphire 9800 Pro for $210 at Newegg.com Absolute best value out there!

[LilBuddy]

what marks should i expect with the sapphire 9800 pro, and what should i expect from the powercolor 9800SE for $156.

are the nvidias even worth considering compared to the 9800's?

any 9600s around $200 any good?

[HiProfile]

I've been looking around at different ATI options myself, and from what I can see, the 9700 pro & 9800 non-pro give the best fps performance per dollar. The only problem is finding them - newegg's only 9700 pro is powercolor, but reviewers seem to have probs with those 9700 pro's; likewise, the only 9800np at newegg is a powercolor too...

To make things worse, people are saying new boards with BOTH agp and a 16x pci express slots will perform worse than those w/o agp...and I'm in desperate need to upgrade my video card (gf2 ti...grr, stop laughing!).

I want good performance (reason for avoiding 9600pro), reliability (not wanting used/refurb or powercolor), but don't want to spend TOO much if I only use this card for 12-18 months (lol, I've had this gh2 ti since the gf4's were announced...)

I'll probably settle for a 9800 pro tho...



edit: btw, I'm using the USA dollar for reference...I'd say a 9600SE for anything more than half the price of a 9800 pro is a rip-off...although ANY SE model is a rip-off (9600SE is half the nominal frames per second as a 9600 pro).

[rabdatrox]

Originally posted by LilBuddy
what marks should i expect with the sapphire 9800 pro, and what should i expect from the powercolor 9800SE for $156.

are the nvidias even worth considering compared to the 9800's?

any 9600s around $200 any good?

Absolutely don't get a 9800se unless it's a rare 256bit version and any 9600 over 165 is overpriced.

Your options from ATI are some form of a 9800/9700(non se) or possibly a well priced 9600xt.

Nvidia only look at the 5900xt/se or a 5900(non-ultra)

[LilBuddy]

which one out of these?

5900 SE: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-130-179&depa=0

9800 SE: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-131-236&depa=0


9800 pro: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-268&depa=0

the SE and the 5900SE are really more in my price range. would the 9800 SE turn into a pro pretty easily? that seems like it would be the most economical

[Sentential]

from what ive heard that SE will mod into a 98pro. Besides just look at the reviews. If I were gonna buy something it would be the SE.

[skitlets]

dangerious taking chances with softmod. odds are, the 9800se wont work. 5900 non-pro non-xt or se is a good bet. the xt is just a slightly underclocked version of the card, still good performers. about as good or a little better than the 9700pros. id say 9800 non-pros or the 5900's are good bang for your buck, and if u have a little more, go for the 9800 pro.

edit - 5900se better than 9800se. 9800se actually performs worse than 9600xt's in most situations.

[LilBuddy]

how much better will one of these cards do than my radeon 7500? will the difference in the games be huge?

[Goateh]

hell yes :D

You would notice alot smoother gameplay and soooo many more fps. Not to mention the Image quality will be alot sharper and clearer in most cases. Definately worth the upgrade :)

[ocicide]

Just a little FYI on newegg refurbs. My AIW9700p died and i needed a replacement immediatly, just happened to find a refurbed AIW 9800p on newegg for $220. Wasnt sure i wanted to roll the dice and go w/ a refurbed card, but needed one asap. Went with it and couldnt be happier, card came in perfect brand new condition, for that price you cant go wrong.