ur opinion

**broar94** · September 10th, 2004, 10:34 AM

HI! i am looking for a good value graphics card which can last for abt 2 years at least ( i aint looking at some Unreal 3 engine ) . i can afford to get 9800PRO or the regular 6800 ( imported from U.S ) . but the basic fact is , I dont game much as I used to on my old p3 ( that was 2-3 years back ) . I use more of internet nowadays . my PSU is only 300W . i have locked down to two cards .

1)Powercolor 9600PRO 256MB ( Core Speed : 400MHZ and Mem. speed : 200MHZ x 2 ) http://www.power-color.com/R96-D3G.htm

2)Powercolor 9550 256MB ( Core Speed : 250MHZ and Mem. speed the same as above ) http://www.power-color.com/R96-LD3.htm

9600 is abt 181$ and 9550 is abt 140$ . among these two , it should give very good FPS in Far Cry , Doom 3 and Half Life 2 , all in high 1024x res ( maybe or may not with AF AA enabled ) .

please spend some time reading this and make sure you post your most welcomed opinion on those two cards .

Thanks in advance ...

**nwo75200** · September 10th, 2004, 10:40 AM

What!? a 9600pro going high in D3 and FC? Hardly possible... maybe if the rest of your rig is a killa

Why don't you just get a 9800PRO 256

?

If you really want to get one of those two cards... then definitely get the 9600PRO, the 9550 can be compared to a regular 9600 and the 9600SE...so go PRO

EDIT: None of those cards will last you 2 years, except maybe the 9800PRO 256

**bombledmonk** · September 10th, 2004, 10:47 AM

I agree with NWO. Niether of those will play anything new @ 1024 very well. Are those US prices?

**broar94** · September 10th, 2004, 10:48 AM

Originally Posted by nwo75200

What!? a 9600pro going high in D3 and FC? Hardly possible... maybe if the rest of your rig is a killa

Why don't you just get a 9800PRO 256

?

If you really want to get one of those two cards... then definitely get the 9600PRO, the 9550 can be compared to a regular 9600 and the 9600SE...so go PRO

EDIT: None of those cards will last you 2 years, except maybe the 9800PRO 256

rest of my system specs are
P4 2.8GHZ ( 533MHZ )
256x2 RAM ( dual mem. channel - PC2700 )
80GB HDD
DVD ROM and a cd writer .

**nwo75200** · September 10th, 2004, 10:49 AM

Originally Posted by bombledmonk

I agree with NWO. Niether of those will play anything new @ 1024 very well. Are those US prices?

I highly doubt those are US prices, as far as I know he lives in Asia, and the prices he listed aren't US prices, but it seems that the prices are in US $$

**washe** · September 10th, 2004, 10:49 AM

More future proof the 9800 would be the best bet.

**broar94** · September 10th, 2004, 10:50 AM

Originally Posted by bombledmonk

I agree with NWO. Niether of those will play anything new @ 1024 very well. Are those US prices?

yes ( converted from indian rupees so exact value cant be determined )

**nwo75200** · September 10th, 2004, 10:51 AM

Originally Posted by broar94

rest of my system specs are
P4 2.8GHZ ( 533MHZ )
256x2 RAM ( dual mem. channel - PC2700 )
80GB HDD
DVD ROM and a cd writer .

hmm.... well, no way you can run 1024 high in D3 and FC with anything below a 9700PRO

I'm not saying that your rig sucks, but if it was a p4 3GHz 800MHz FSB with a gig of ddr400 RAM, then you would have a good chance of getting D3 and FC to run on high with a 9600PRO

how much would a 9800PRO 256 cost?

**broar94** · September 10th, 2004, 10:56 AM

Originally Posted by nwo75200

how much would a 9800PRO 256 cost?

here , it is abt 275$ ( almost the same compared to U.S ) . washe - that 9550 is non- pro .

**nwo75200** · September 10th, 2004, 10:59 AM

Originally Posted by broar94

here , it is abt 275$ ( almost the same compared to U.S ) . washe - that 9550 is non- pro .

what about a 128MB version of the 9800PRO, $275 is a lot, I bet that the 6800s are around $300 over there... How about waiting for the 6600GT

**broar94** · September 10th, 2004, 11:06 AM

Geforce 6800GT ( Gainward 256MB ) is abt insane 597$ over here . this particular dealer doesnt have 128mb 9800 card . actually i am looking at 256 as Doom 3 will benefit from the extra ram . so no 128 here

. well i cant wait long . more over , i have to tell you guys that i have only 300W PSU . i doubt 9800 will run smoothly in that as all geforce are power hungry .

**nwo75200** · September 10th, 2004, 11:19 AM

Originally Posted by broar94

Geforce 6800GT ( Gainward 256MB ) is abt insane 597$ over here . this particular dealer doesnt have 128mb 9800 card . actually i am looking at 256 as Doom 3 will benefit from the extra ram . so no 128 here

. well i cant wait long . more over , i have to tell you guys that i have only 300W PSU . i doubt 9800 will run smoothly in that as all geforce are power hungry .

if you have a good 300W then you should hav eno problems running the 9800PRO on it... Look around, see how much a 128MB 256bit 9800PRO is, trust me, the difference in PREFORMANCE is minimal, plus IMO the extra 128MB is not worth the 50 bucks!

again... you can take my advice and get a 9800PRO 128MB or get a 9600PRO 256

its up to you

**broar94** · September 10th, 2004, 11:32 AM

Originally Posted by nwo75200

if you have a good 300W then you should hav eno problems running the 9800PRO on it... Look around, see how much a 128MB 256bit 9800PRO is, trust me, the difference in PREFORMANCE is minimal, plus IMO the extra 128MB is not worth the 50 bucks!

again... you can take my advice and get a 9800PRO 128MB or get a 9600PRO 256

its up to you

but it seems Doom 3 benefit from the extra 128mb right? ( if it is 256mb card ) . and also I dont want to overclock if you wanted to know that also

. my PSU brand name is iBox so nobody around here knows wether the PSU is good or not . so far , it has failed once ( maybe due to electric disturbances and stuff ) and got it replaced .

**broar94** · September 10th, 2004, 11:34 AM

and also , 9800 users have problems installing their cards ( the first time ) . one user has also said his system ( along with radeon 9800 and high-end specs ) works 24/7 on his 235w PSU works fine unless he is lying .

**nwo75200** · September 10th, 2004, 11:35 AM

Originally Posted by broar94

but it seems Doom 3 benefit from the extra 128mb right? ( if it is 256mb card ) . and also I dont want to overclock if you wanted to know that also

. my PSU brand name is iBox so nobody around here knows wether the PSU is good or not . so far , it has failed once ( maybe due to electric disturbances and stuff ) and got it replaced .

Yes, games like D3 and FC should benefit from the extra RAM, but its not too useful when the card is weak (like the 9550) and you would get better preformance with a better card with less RAM, that's the bottom line.

I have never heard of that brand, so I can't say anything...

**elmers** · September 10th, 2004, 11:36 AM

Speaking from experience 9600xt which is faster than a pro will suck even at 640x480 with everything turned off in advanced. Far cry will run nicely at 800x600.

**nwo75200** · September 10th, 2004, 11:37 AM

Originally Posted by broar94

and also , 9800 users have problems installing their cards ( the first time ) . one user has also said his system ( along with radeon 9800 and high-end specs ) works 24/7 on his 235w PSU works fine unless he is lying .

It could be true, I ran a mid end system that was fully loaded on a 200W, and if that 235 is true power, it can usually give another 50W or more of extra power

elmers YGPM

**broar94** · September 10th, 2004, 11:41 AM

Originally Posted by elmers

Speaking from experience 9600xt which is faster than a pro will suck even at 640x480 with everything turned off in advanced. Far cry will run nicely at 800x600.

Far Cry will run nicely on radeon 9600 ( 800 res ) whereas it sucks on 640 res ( on the same card ) ? unless your talking abt 9800 card

**butch81385** · September 10th, 2004, 11:42 AM

i have a 9600 AIW. i play far cry on med-high at 1024x768 and have no complaints. i will use fraps later today to give you FPS. thats one thing i noticed about the people around here. if you want something a little cheaper they will not be happy until you drop $500

**nwo75200** · September 10th, 2004, 11:44 AM

Originally Posted by butch81385

i have a 9600 AIW. i play far cry on med-high at 1024x768 and have no complaints. i will use fraps later today to give you FPS. thats one thing i noticed about the people around here. if you want something a little cheaper they will not be happy until you drop $500

Anything below a 9800PRO is not future-proof, and its not a good idea to get these days if you plan to play UT3, HL2 and all other goodies with good quality

If you're on a really tight budget and you're an occasional gamer, then what I said before... nothing below a 9600PRO