which is faster ...

[Smagma]

these 128 bit cards , both 5700 Ultra
DDRII at 900 and GDDR3 at 950 (Cores are both 475)

or

these 256 bit cards, several 5900(XT/SE)'s
DDR at 700 with cores at 390

Any of which, would easily beat my 5600 non ultra, oc'd to 390/650

I am guessing the 256 bit, but don't want to assume. Might they be close in performance ?

Smagma :t

[Yoshi]

Hands down the 5900's, but look at a 9800Pro instead, they are now $170 on Newegg and beat both cards.

[Midknyte]

The 5900XT is way better than the 5700s. But Yoshi-san is correct. The 9800Pro is a better buy.

[chriswhitelaw]

anything Nvidia makes is better then ATI hands down without a doubt. always stay with Nvidia.

[Smagma]

looks like one of the Sapphire cards is a definate possability :cool: or would you suggest one of the others ?

Smagma :t

[chriswhitelaw]

go with what you think is best a majority of people on here support ATI, there closet ATI lovers here.

[Yoshi]

The Sapphires are great, closest thing to BBA. Also we are all ATi lovers because ATi makes the better ATM. And pleazse don't just say anything Nvidia makes is better then ATi as it has no facts supporting it and with the 9xxx series we saw what ATI did to Nvidia.

[Smagma]

Actually, I have noticed that most people here like ATI.
I've had both ATI and Nvidia, I like both, sooooo... it's probably going to come down to price.

Smagma :t

[Yoshi]

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-369&depa=0

ATi 9800 Pro made by Sapphire for $172

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-145-072&depa=0

CHAINTECH nVIDIA GeForce FX5900XT for $174

Also the 9800 Pro is a much better card.

[Rugor]

A 9800 Pro beats the tail off a 5900XT. Most consider it better than a 5900 Ultra and that's two steps up from the 5900XT.

Lately ATI has had a better product, so the people who used to recommend a Gf4Ti over an 8500 switched to recommending an R300 based card over a GeForce FX. The current generation makes it tough to call-- so people are falling back on what they like better.

Still, both have made good cards and bad.

[Midknyte]

The ATI 9800Pro benches faster AND has better image quality than the 5900XT.

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.html?i=1955

http://www.tomshardware.com/graphic/20031229/index.html

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/mainstream-roundup.html

[widget2003]

agreed ive been a nVidia user for the past 3 years and i recently bought a GeXcube 9600XT Xtreme card and im very very happy with it a very fast card with very nice image quality so my advice is definalty the 9800 Pro but yeah the 5900XT would definalty beat the 5700ultra even with the DDR3 memory:t

[Rugor]

It's funny but I don't remember the same issues about favoritism coming up when people would ask which was better of the Radeon 8500 and 9000, and we said the Ti4200 was a better choice.

Of the options given I would go 9800 Pro, 5900XT, and 5700 Ultra in that order; but all three are pretty decent performance jumps.

[Midknyte]

I'm not partial to either brand. It's all about the numbers for me. :D You need to look at multiple tests, since there have been "tweaks" just to get higher scores. :eek: :rolleyes:

[Smagma]

Given the prices, it will be between the 9800 pro and 5900XT
I will also look at the mod info here on how to convert the 5900 to an ultra

Smagma :t

I'm outa here, gotta go make my rent money. :D

[Cyan]

I've got both cards, A-I-W ATI and Nvidia, I try to stick with Nvidia because I like their drivers more.

[Yoshi]

Originally posted by Smagma
Given the prices, it will be between the 9800 pro and 5900XT
I will also look at the mod info here on how to convert the 5900 to an ultra

Smagma :t

I'm outa here, gotta go make my rent money. :D

Get the 9800 PRo, it is cheaper and much better, also you can't convert a 5900XT to a 5900 Ultra, different architecture

[Midknyte]

The 5900xt uses slower ram, so flashing to the 5900 bios would screw you up. Trust me on that one. :rolleyes: Not that I know for personal experience. ahem.

I still think the 9800Pro is the best bang for the buck, now more than ever. good frame rates and nice picture quality.

[Smagma]

I will probably go with the 9800 cause I haven't had an ATI for a while.

in the sticky it looked like the leadtek XT was do-able but others had problems. I believe I would just OC it w/o any bios flash and call it good, but like I said I'll probably go for the 9800

Didn't I see that some of those "Sapphire" 9800 NPs could be flashed to pros ? :D

Smagma :t

[Bigjakkstaffa]

Any 9800 with Samsung RAM can be flashed to 9800 Pro, as i did with mine:

http://www.sysopt.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=145610

Only thing is, the 9800 NP, non-SE is no longer availiable to buy new AFAIK, and given the fact that prices have fallen so much for the 9800 Pro in recent months, its easier to go with a standard 9800 Pro, which represents the best "value for money" card at present

--Jakk:t