Advice needed: Upgrade from Sapphire 9800Pro 128MB

Advice needed: Upgrade from Sapphire 9800Pro 128MB (prices updated)

I want to up grade my video card to just the next step or so.
I've been reading my arse off here but have yet to come upon the options that I think are in front of me.

My current card is a Sapphire 9800 Pro Ultra, has the huge heat pipe cooling on it. It oc's easily to 452/371 with no artifacts. Haven't tried much else on it. No mods to it either. (been busy!)

A friend has an MX440 and is in dire need of a card, so he is willing to buy my card, freeing me to get a new one.

I'm thinking of something in the $250 - $330 range. $275-$300 would be perfect.
I need to stay AGP for now and it seems my choices are as follows:

1. Sapphire X800SE - 256MB $306 SE? is it worth it?
2. ASUS 6800GT - 128MB $319 I read that ASUS is making good cards!
3. PNY 6800GT - 256MBddr3 $328 Yes, 256mb!
4. XFX,eVGA,PNY,Gigabyte 6800 128MB - $260-$290
5. Leadtek 6800 128MB, 256bit - $276
6. BFG 6800 OC 128MB $300
WHERE'S THE X800 LOVE?
Please help me decide! I don't know a whole lot about video cards!
The main game I play today is DesertCombat, some HalfLife2. I expect to play BF2 when it comes out. **I'm unsure of how DX9 or AA come into play!!

I have two concerns:
1. AA problem for 6x00 nvidia's. Should I worry?
2. I'm used to big name's, the PNY, eVGA,XFX etc kinda concerns me. Is the picture quality and speed going to be as good as a bigger name?


Thanks everyone, I appreciate your help!

id get the 6800 gt w/256mb but that card is alittle more than just the next step

I wouldn't upgrade yet.....unless you're getting a good $$ on the 9800PRO sale...

but if you can't help yourself, the 6800GT
(not sure which brand)

The Radeon X800XL and X850XT are being ported to AGP soon. I would wait a little and grab one of these for a decent upgrade.

how long are we talkin here? less than a month? 3 months? I'm gettin' antsy.

I see an ATI all-in-wonder for $430 or so and an X800 XT for $450 or so, but that's too rich for my blood right now.

I'm in the same boat with my Sapphire 9800 Pro 128mb, HL2 runs at about 25-30fps @ 1024x768 with everything on high, including x4 AA and x8 AF, but can get a little jumpy.

My former beast is feeling the pain, i've been looking at the 6800GTs too, little pricey though....

I tried to get a release date from ATI on the x800xl but of course they aren't saying anything.

***I REALLY NEED TO KNOW WHEN THIS THINGS COMING OUT!!

I've got money burning a hole in my pocket and really don't want to wait for 2 months ya know. I'd rather have an ATI than an nVidia.

Oh, GUESS WHAT, did you know that at their site (ATI) they show the AGP x800xl for only $349! It's listed, it just says it's "not in stock".

http://shop.ati.com/searchresults.a...h_field=mfg_partno&search_criteria=100-435508

How about this one?
ATI Radeon X800 XT for $380

f1lite said:

How about this one?
ATI Radeon X800 XT for $380

Click to expand...

WOW THATS A GOOD BUY

I was in the same situation last week. Sold my 9800 Pro 128MB for 130€ (~175USD) and got an X800XT PE. Played around with it for a while, now its on its way back to the vendor. The whole thing just didnt "justify" its price of 430€. Currently I'm using my good old Matrox Mystique PCI card and thinking about the Albatron 6800 Ultra for 390€. Darn... sometimes I hate it when you have too many options.

Asus 6800GT seems good.

Hey F1LITE, dude, thanks for the link. It opened up my mind to the refurbished cards. I've actually purchased one from Newegg in the past and it was bad right out of the box (Chaintech) but, I was within the 15 day warranty and Newegg took care of it.

After a bunch of deliberation, I jumped on that X800XT card.

Two things made me pull the trigger, well, maybe 3 things.

1. There is no logical reason to believe that the AGP x800xl will be $300 when it comes out. $350 maybe,....for $30 more I get a better card, and I get it now.
2. VIVO spec, 1.6ns memory.
3. Some folks have had varied success in OC'ing their flashed x800 Pro's. It flashes well, pipes open up,...but then they mention instability at minor OC speeds, etc.

Thanks again, I can't wait to see how this single change affects the benchmarks!
(currently 6906 for PCMark03 using 9800Pro)

Cheers.

I'd say go PNY.
Your getting a 256mb, a very fast, non crippled card. It's at the extreme of your budget, but it is a GT and does have 256mb so it's gonna hold up to future games much better than the 128mb cards....and it really isn't too much more...10-15% at most

I'd wait to get the X800XL in the AGP format. This would be the next step up, still using ATI and the card seems to be from reviews, a nice performer for the money.

uh...he already picked one

Youre welcome. I've been drooling over that card for awhile now, but I'm waiting for AMR so I can go PCI-E. Looks like you got the last one too!

My current system Mobo and 9800Pro are both newegg refurbs, and have been up for almost a year and a half with no problems. My 9800Pro OCs nicely