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Well, my Godfather is coming from the US this weekend. And he wants to bring me a piece of kit for my PC. So I think about it, and really, (unless you want to set me straight on this one) the graphics card is the weakest link in my set-up.
Have a look:
P4 3.2 Ghz (I know, I know... AMD next time, I promise :D)
1GB RAM PC2700 - 3 sticks (2x 256, 1x 512) (Soon replaced by 2x 512 PC3200 in Dual Channel)
ATi Radeon 9600XT
Abit IC7-G Motherboard
Creative Blaster Live! 5.1 (Oh well.)
DVD Drive (Samsung)
CD-R Drive (Generic)
Tagan 480W PSU
Coolermaster Aero 4 Lite CPU Cooler
2x 120mm Fan (1x in; 1x out)
So yeah. Considering it's from the US, I can spend around $300 (£155) on it, with the lurvely exchange rate ($1 = £0.52).
Obviously, my mobo has only an 8x AGP slot (only?!? Wasn't like that 6 months ago!), so PCI-E is a no brainer, so I'm thinking nVidia's 6800...
NVidia or ATi? I know at the very top of the scale, the ATi's X800XT PE is near untouchable, I've seen the results, but at my range, does it's 9800 (+ extension) beat the 6800?
Have a look:
P4 3.2 Ghz (I know, I know... AMD next time, I promise :D)
1GB RAM PC2700 - 3 sticks (2x 256, 1x 512) (Soon replaced by 2x 512 PC3200 in Dual Channel)
ATi Radeon 9600XT
Abit IC7-G Motherboard
Creative Blaster Live! 5.1 (Oh well.)
DVD Drive (Samsung)
CD-R Drive (Generic)
Tagan 480W PSU
Coolermaster Aero 4 Lite CPU Cooler
2x 120mm Fan (1x in; 1x out)
So yeah. Considering it's from the US, I can spend around $300 (£155) on it, with the lurvely exchange rate ($1 = £0.52).
Obviously, my mobo has only an 8x AGP slot (only?!? Wasn't like that 6 months ago!), so PCI-E is a no brainer, so I'm thinking nVidia's 6800...
NVidia or ATi? I know at the very top of the scale, the ATi's X800XT PE is near untouchable, I've seen the results, but at my range, does it's 9800 (+ extension) beat the 6800?
Aubie wrote:
> Go for a X800 XL. Unlike the PRO version, they have the fully Monty of
> 16 parallel pipelines meaning it has approximately 4 times to pixel
> processing power of your 9600.
>
> Currently, you can pick up a PCI-E version for about £215. The
> AGP version are now starting to trickle in.
Haven't been able to find one yet...
> Go for a X800 XL. Unlike the PRO version, they have the fully Monty of
> 16 parallel pipelines meaning it has approximately 4 times to pixel
> processing power of your 9600.
>
> Currently, you can pick up a PCI-E version for about £215. The
> AGP version are now starting to trickle in.
Haven't been able to find one yet...
I got mine for around £375 on launch in Hong Kong including delivery.
The availability of the X800 XT/XT PE is due to the yield problems with the core. When you do find one, they are way over the MRSP. In fact, I bet you could get a X850 for about the same price.
This is due to the fact that the X850 and X800 XL have a newer redesigned core, that ATi should be able to maintain production of.
You can, however flash a X800 PRO Vivo into a fully fledged X800 XT PE, but that's deviating slightly. :)
This is due to the fact that the X850 and X800 XL have a newer redesigned core, that ATi should be able to maintain production of.
You can, however flash a X800 PRO Vivo into a fully fledged X800 XT PE, but that's deviating slightly. :)
Yeah, ATI cards in general have better picture quality, if you are looking at the top end (I have an X800 XT PE) then I would definitley go ATI. There is more to come out of the Catalyst drivers yet and despite Nvidia's biggest selling point being the completely useless (bar possibly 1-2 games) Shader 3.0 technology and the fact they boast higher frame rates (yet seemingly poorer picture quality) if you actually read bench tests the X800XT PE running the Catalyst 5.1 drivers comes out on top the majority of the time.
They are hard cards to get hold of though, I got my Sapphire X800XT PE upon launch in Hong Kong have only seen very very few available since then.
They are hard cards to get hold of though, I got my Sapphire X800XT PE upon launch in Hong Kong have only seen very very few available since then.
Go for a X800 XL. Unlike the PRO version, they have the fully Monty of 16 parallel pipelines meaning it has approximately 4 times to pixel processing power of your 9600.
Currently, you can pick up a PCI-E version for about £215. The AGP version are now starting to trickle in.
Very good cards, nice price. Defiantly beats the 6800 for bang for buck.
Coin wrote:
> NVidia or ATi? I know at the very top of the scale, the ATi's X800XT
> PE is near untouchable, I've seen the results, but at my range, does
> it's 9800 (+ extension) beat the 6800?
No, the 6800 will beat the 9800 in practically everything.
Currently, you can pick up a PCI-E version for about £215. The AGP version are now starting to trickle in.
Very good cards, nice price. Defiantly beats the 6800 for bang for buck.
Coin wrote:
> NVidia or ATi? I know at the very top of the scale, the ATi's X800XT
> PE is near untouchable, I've seen the results, but at my range, does
> it's 9800 (+ extension) beat the 6800?
No, the 6800 will beat the 9800 in practically everything.
Well, my Godfather is coming from the US this weekend. And he wants to bring me a piece of kit for my PC. So I think about it, and really, (unless you want to set me straight on this one) the graphics card is the weakest link in my set-up.
Have a look:
P4 3.2 Ghz (I know, I know... AMD next time, I promise :D)
1GB RAM PC2700 - 3 sticks (2x 256, 1x 512) (Soon replaced by 2x 512 PC3200 in Dual Channel)
ATi Radeon 9600XT
Abit IC7-G Motherboard
Creative Blaster Live! 5.1 (Oh well.)
DVD Drive (Samsung)
CD-R Drive (Generic)
Tagan 480W PSU
Coolermaster Aero 4 Lite CPU Cooler
2x 120mm Fan (1x in; 1x out)
So yeah. Considering it's from the US, I can spend around $300 (£155) on it, with the lurvely exchange rate ($1 = £0.52).
Obviously, my mobo has only an 8x AGP slot (only?!? Wasn't like that 6 months ago!), so PCI-E is a no brainer, so I'm thinking nVidia's 6800...
NVidia or ATi? I know at the very top of the scale, the ATi's X800XT PE is near untouchable, I've seen the results, but at my range, does it's 9800 (+ extension) beat the 6800?
Have a look:
P4 3.2 Ghz (I know, I know... AMD next time, I promise :D)
1GB RAM PC2700 - 3 sticks (2x 256, 1x 512) (Soon replaced by 2x 512 PC3200 in Dual Channel)
ATi Radeon 9600XT
Abit IC7-G Motherboard
Creative Blaster Live! 5.1 (Oh well.)
DVD Drive (Samsung)
CD-R Drive (Generic)
Tagan 480W PSU
Coolermaster Aero 4 Lite CPU Cooler
2x 120mm Fan (1x in; 1x out)
So yeah. Considering it's from the US, I can spend around $300 (£155) on it, with the lurvely exchange rate ($1 = £0.52).
Obviously, my mobo has only an 8x AGP slot (only?!? Wasn't like that 6 months ago!), so PCI-E is a no brainer, so I'm thinking nVidia's 6800...
NVidia or ATi? I know at the very top of the scale, the ATi's X800XT PE is near untouchable, I've seen the results, but at my range, does it's 9800 (+ extension) beat the 6800?