BEST VIDEO CARD for the $$?

[jmoore2001]

OK, I've got my choices narrowed down. Please tell me which one you pick and why.

[shawshank62]

It is either gonna be the 5900 or the 9700 pro. They both perform extremly well in different areas. I'm sure that you will get crap like "ATI rapes the 5900" but that is just simply not true. They both have their strenghts and weaknesses.

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...131-199&depa=0
Reseller Ratings:
http://www.resellerratings.com/selle...seller_id=2121

http://www.buyxtremegear.com/bfg5900128.html
Reseller Ratings:
http://www.resellerratings.com/selle...seller_id=2753

You will end up paying almost $50 more for the ATI, when the differences are hardly noticable. And the best part aboug the link to the 5900 i posted is that it comes with a lifetime warranty (which i have had to use once on my ti4200, and they were great (BFG TECH)). And the 5900 easily overclocks to the 5950 on stock.

[jmoore2001]

i saw a video review saying that the 5700 Ultra was better than the 5900, one reason because it has DDR II ram...does that make a difference?

[Sixpac_XP]

ATI is a much better card then any Nvidia card out there. just make sure you have the good drivers... so many to choose from.

[f1oored]

I would go with the ATI because ATI rapes the 5900.

See...


please do not hot link images

groundZero3

[Omardeth]

if your talking value i would have to say 5900

for the money this is a great card . i just put one in my father in laws pc i built for him and it is very nice . beats my sons 9600xt . read the reviews on newegg . they all say it is nice and it overclocks good . some say to 480/850 thats 5900 ultra speeds . and all for 188 $

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...130-179&depa=0

[f1oored]

Well to be serious... I would probably go with the 9700 Pro because I like video games and I'm looking forward to HL2. HL2 didn't run very well on the Nvidia cards, per Toms Hardware

"The ATI cards lead the pack. Most impressive is that the Radeon 9600 Pro beats the FX 5900 Ultra. The FX5600 needs to be run in DX 8.1 mode to get scores over 25 FPS."

If HL2 is anything like HL1 was, then it will probably be the new standard for video games. You want a card that will play well on the standard. If you aren't concerned with gaming then none of this really matters.

[Omardeth]

where does the 9600pro beat out the fx5900 ultra ? fx5600 yes , but the fx5900?

[f1oored]

Simmer down now! Just simmer down. That is a quote off of Tom's Hardware. Half Life 2 doesn't like Nvidia

[Omardeth]

well that game isn't even final yet so you have to take that comment with a grain of salt now don't you ?

seems that this guide from there shows the fx5900 ultra beats the 9600 pro pretty handly .

http://www6.tomshardware.com/graphic...229/index.html

[f1oored]

You take it with a grain of salt if you like. I trust Tom and his hardware and I don't want to be that guy who buys the card that the future of gaming doesn't like. The safe bet is the ATI card. I would hate to drop 200 bucks then find out Tom was right when HL2 comes out

[Omardeth]

you do that then its your money . hl2 has been talked about for a very long time . it might not ever hit the market . the way i see it buy for now , not the future . to much can change in the future . and i am sure it will run on a nvidia based chipset . maybe not as fast as and ati but lets face it over 100 fps ( and it is more like 50fps ) you can't tell the difference anyway .

[f1oored]

Buy for now. Don't plan ahead. Just buy again when the future gets here. As Yoda would say... "Sound advice this is not, mmmm"

[Omardeth]

first off we gotta look at reality . a ti4200 will and does run everything that is out there right now . it is a 2 year old platform if not older . and it still performs very well . every thing is playable . shoot my son was playing halo on a gf2 mx up till a month ago and it was playable .

buy within you budget now , there will always be better later . if your a real gamer you upgrade at the least every year anyway .
so ya buy for now , worry about later later . there is no real planing ahead in pc's . there is always something better comming down the pipe .

[Darthgary]

I voted 9700 Pro, they are both in the same boat as far as performance but I am very suspicious of FX cards.

[tony_j15]

jmoore: You would get the 9700 Pro. Reasons?

1) I own one and you should do everything I do
2) I for one still have some nagging doubts about the FX series architecture. They seem to do alright, but how will they perform a year or so from now when all games are DX9? ATI's 8 true pipes seems a lot better bet than nVidia's 4x2.
Either way, you are going to have a good card.

[jmoore2001]

well why are the chipclock and memoryclock speeds way faster on the nvidia's if ati is much better? im looking at the tomshardware vga charts.

anyway, do you think ati's prices will be dropping soon like the nvidias are being predicted to?

[Omardeth]

yes they both should be droping soon . they both have new gpus to be comming out soon .

[jmoore2001]

do you know how soon? i'm wondering if i should get it now or get it in a month? 2 months?

i almost dont want to wait because i need a good video card now!

[Omardeth]

well if you wait the prices always go down , but if you wait there is also something new always around the bend . so your damned if ya do and damned if ya don't .