[chris64]

Ok guys i have a big 21 inch sony monitor and i like to play games at least 1280 1024 with always just 2x AA and sometimes 2x AF. Im usin the A64 below in my sig.

Now do u think its worth it to get a X800 (any version) over my seriously overclocked 9800 pro runnin at 450/380? I love my 9800 pro and its like old faithful to me and i still consider it to be a serious card for games. For a while games were choking bad and i almost bought a new card but i went A64 instead and that gave me a serious boost in games, my 01 score went from around 19000 to 24902 . I didnt think this score was possible with a 9800 pro.

ALso im still on AGP and im not considering buyin a pci e board cause thats just to much money right now so its agp all the way for a while.

So do u think i should wait a year and buy a pci e board and a better card then, or spend some money now around 300 max and get a x800 or a 6800gt.
Will there be that much of a difference in games? Ive read soem reviews and saw that the 9800 pro isnt that far behind when u dont go above 1280/1024 or over 2x aa/af. "YES" it would be nice to play games at 1600/1200 with aa/af maxed out but do u guys think its worth it? Keep in mind that my 9800 is clocked pretty high, thanks for helping me off the fence guys

[fabulouscoops]

I have a 9800 pro flashed to XT and get around 22000 in 3DMark01 (see sig) It is seriously overclocked as well. I am currently happy with its performance in Far Cry, HL2 and Doom3 which are the most demanding games out there right now. For me, I am not upgrading until I can go to PCI-e even though the X800XL looks very tempting. So my advice is wait and put the money towards a system upgrade by the end of the year.

[Sucka]

The latest generation cards really shine when you kick up resolution and aa/af, so to answer your question, yes i think it's worth the upgrade. You can probably clear ~150 for a 9800 pro now days, and XT PE's are going for ~400 and somtimes less. 6800 GT's are going for around ~320. Easy choice in my eyes. I dumped my 9800 pro and XT as soon as these cards came out last year

[chris64]

its a hard desicion with pci e out, i just got this board and didnt plan on upgarding mobo's again, although i can sell this board and make that part of the new purchase. It a tough decision

[HousERaT]

I would stick with the 9800pro until you start seeing less than desireable performance with new games your purchase.

[Silversinksam]

What I would do is to keep your eyes open for a good deal, many members here found a PNY deal where they bought a 6800 Ultra for $249.99
Since you are not in a hurry since the 9800 you have is able to keep you gaming and what not. My advise is to just be patient until you find a really good deal on a X800Pro or similar card that justifies upgrading from what you have now.

I had a 9800Pro and only recently upgraded since I found a really good deal on the card I now have. You almost have 100 posts and perhaps when you have 100 posts, you will find a AGP card in our Classified section. Many people are going PCI-E, so it's a good time to buy if you need an AGP card like your situation.

[Cadmium77]

Originally Posted by chris64

its a hard desicion with pci e out, i just got this board and didnt plan on upgarding mobo's again, although i can sell this board and make that part of the new purchase. It a tough decision

You're making the same decision as me; buy in now cheap with AGP or wait and go with the new PCI EXpress.


The Asus PCI X board was raved about when it came out but turned out to be a bit of a bust. The new NVidia Nforce4 is far superior and I hear ATI has come out with one too; I suspect it will be more compatible with whichever ATI GPU card you get.

Also the ATI X850 is out with marginally better performance, and I'm hearing a pretty reliable rumour that a new ATI card is due out in the next few months and it'll be 5x faster than the x850 and SLI capable. That's just a rumour so far.

The PCI X with 939 socket is what I want; it's the future for at least 5 years. Even if I go with the AMD 3500 I'll want to upgrade to a quadcore FX57 soon after...

[CrArC]

Just ask yourself if you're happy with the performance of your card as it is. Does it run well? Is it stable? Are you having to constantly fiddle? You may as well stick with it if you feel that there are no outstanding problems like annoyingly low framerates.

About the AF/FSAA... it's not really a big problem if you don't run with them. Indeed I usualy run with neither, perhaps AF turned onto 2-8x if it's a game like HL2 where the issue is more prominent. Higher resolutions make FSAA less neccessary anyway

On the other hand, a cheapo upgrade: Geforce 6 6600/GT and OC that, it will thrash a 9800Pro/XT quite happily.

[chris64]

in a way the only game that gives me trouble is doom 3 i game that i have beaten already and am now playing the expansion, so i ask myself is it worth it for one game? HL2 played like butter wityh everything maxed out.

[chris64]

damm wish i coulda got that 6800 ultra for 249 and pny, and yes silver sink sam, was wondering when u can get to the classifieds, always been hearing about them and never could find the listing. I have a some stuff that i would like to get rid of (hard drive,waterblock.etc.etc) thanks

[IrishAssassin]

Keep the 9800pro for now, and just wait and get a whole new system .

[Highlander]

Problem is to make the upgrade "sensible" and give some degree of futureproofing you'd need to move to PCI-E as well... Another AGP card really doesnt seem to make sense anymore IMHO...
Stick with the 9800pro now, but if you spot a great deal on an AGP or PCI-E card decide then...
Sticking with the 9800 for a little while longer yet, its running games very nicely, systems good and stable. Dont really notice much difference between it and housemates 6800GT tbh, he runs 1280, but doesnt bother with AA/AF which seems a waste...

[bobmanfoo]

i'd sell the 9800pro, buy a decent cheap pci-e board if you are on a budget (msi neo4-f goes for 90$ shipped) and get a x800pro or x800xl, high clocks or 16pipes, like Sucka said this generation of cards really shine with high res and eye candy, and since you have a 21" sony i don't see why you wouldn't upgrade to take advantage of the high resolutions, i see plenty of people with kickass hardware but don't have the monitor to fully exploit and enjoy it....

[mx-6*]

I also have a Pro and am not even considering upgrading until I need to. Why spend 400 bucks now when a better card will be available when you need it for less than 400?