Which one to buy?

[wufam007]

After searching and reading reviews for an hour now I still can't make up my mind. I'm upgrading my vid card and looking to spend a max of $250. After looking at the ATI and Nvidia offerings I'm really not sure which is best for the money...so how can I best blow off my money?

[snodogg21]

i would go for either a sapphire or BBA ATI 9800 pro, but on somethin like this there will be many opinions.

[wufam007]

I did notice the sapphire card on Newegg and it was pretty tempting, I just want to make sure that i'm getting the best option at the moment for the money

[iceblue]

It won't be the best option unless we know the specs of the computer you are planning to put it in.

[wufam007]

8X AGP
768 PC333
XP 1800
gygabyte KT 400
about to get a serial ATA HD

I guess that covers it

[iceblue]

This (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?description=14-125-129) or this (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?description=14-130-178) would work nicely.

[wufam007]

Hey Iceblue I noticed neither of those cards are at the top of my spending range, do you think its not necessary to spend more?

[iceblue]

Unless you have a 2Ghz+ processor, you won't harness the full potential of the card. What video card are you currently using?

[wufam007]

currently a 440mx, i should have mentioned that i will be upgrading my processor in the next few months as well...not sure yet, but I have to see what my board will support, so with this in mind the CPU will soon be over Ghz

The 2800 is what i have in mind

[Benssax]

Get the MSI 5900XT 128bit card off newegg it less than 200 bucks and kicks the 9600pro and 5700 :t
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-127-119&depa=0 (out of stock)

I like the MSI due to VIVO option

or



http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-128-181&depa=0

[iceblue]

Oops.. can't believe I forgot to mention that. The 5900 XT is another excellent option.

[wufam007]

I checked it out Benssax and it seems they are out of stock...any other ideas...so is the 5900xt or the ati 9800pro?

[Benssax]

Check out the gainward I listed. NO VIVO option though.

[Benssax]

This will give you an Idea on how fast each card is. http://www.tomshardware.com/graphic/20031229/vga-charts-03.html

[wufam007]

Ok Benssax from the scores I see it seems the 9800 Pro is the top dog in my price range followed by the 5900 series...I think I'm leaning towards the 9800 unless there is some sort of advantage to sticking with Nvidia that i'm not aware of, also what is this Vivo option?

[snodogg21]

or you could wait till you have a few more bucks and throw a barton 2500 in there with a 9800 pro, you already have fast enough memory. just a thought. that combo would be quite fast.:t

[snodogg21]

and vivo is video in/ video out, most new cards have the video out part. unless you need to capture video through your graphics card you do not need vivo.

[iceblue]

The advantage with the 5900 series is they overclock very well and non-Ultras and XTs can be flashed to 5950 Ultras and overclocked even higher. For an example of what kind of effect overclocking has on these cards, this (http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.html?i=1955&p=1) will help.

[wufam007]

well snodogg I already decided to order a CPU along with the vid card...With the overclocking potential of the 5900 and they are a bit cheaper I think i'll go that way...I didn't think this would be such a hard decision, I have been using Nvidia since Geforce2 and it's hard for me to break that trend...I guess my final answer is going to be the Leadtek 5900XT :D

I'd like to thank everyone that helped me out today!! ;)