5900XT or 9600XT: A little tricky to choose...

[Half-death]

Situation:

Spending a little less than 6 months (around 5?) at my uncle's place and using his computer. The computer is a Pentium 4 2.0GHz with 512mb of ram and a GeForce 2 MX. Now, I can't wait half a year until I get to play Doom 3 and Half-Life 2 (I'm sure everyone understands me on this one ) Considering I'll have to pay for the upgrade of the graphics card and leaving it here, I don't want to spend too much.

I have two choices:

1) Geforce FX 5900 XT . . . $192 (USD)

2) Gigabyte Radeon 9600 XT . . . $149 (USD)

Please note that the prices above are converted from Korean currency. The graphics card in Korea are a bit overpriced. And I have no way to get it any cheaper than that. So please consider the options that "I" have at hand.

Incase you mention the Radeon 9800 Pro, it is out of my league. The price is $257. I can't afford that.

Now, I want to play both Doom 3 and Half-Life 2 with decent setting. I'm sure Doom 3 will run better on the Geforce, but I also heard the Radeon is good enough as well. Plus, it is cheaper. And perhaps it'll have the same performance with the Geforce when playing HL2? I'm not sure if they give away HL2 coupons for the Radeon in Korea, but if it does, I'm sure that would entice me even more to get the 9600 XT.

I'd greatly appreciate any help here. What would be the best choice?
My apologies on the long post and cluttering the forum with yet another graphics thread.

 

[bosox188]

You could've put this in your other thread. Anyway, I thought of something else. Can you find any 9700's where you are? Because they have a 9700 non pro here for $150. If you can find one of those in your price range, get it. It's much better than the 9600xt or 5900xt, and it's very close to a 9800.

 

[Half-death]

I promise i won't make anymore threads like this after this upgrade! (Actually, won't make another one like this after this one... will be posting on other people's thread mostly)... Just felt the urge to make everything separate and specific for the upgrade. Dunno why... Just this once? pretty pleassss? *ahem*

anyway, the 9700 pro / non pro is not available here unfortunately. It really sux to buy hardware here i tell ya. The above are my only choice.

 

[bosox188]

Well... I dunno. It's basically like this: 5900xt for Doom 3, 9600xt for Half-Life 2. Now which to choose? Let me go check some benchmarks, I'll figure this one out. *Edit* Ok well the 5900xt beat the 9600xt in just about every benchmark, but some of those were kinda old, Like UT2003, but they did have Halo benches. No Far Cry though. Right now I'm gonna say 5900xt because it is a higher end card than the 9600xt and I think it'll be ok to last you half a year. But let's wait to see what anybody else says.

 

[Half-death]

First of all, you are one of the most helpful forum goers I've ever met. No intention of complimenting... just the truth... hehe...

Well, yeah, it is quite tricky isn't it? I'm just so lost what to do. I was supposed to upgrade today morning but couldn't cuz of decision. Alrightey then, I'll wait for more replies. As of right now, I have a vote on the 5900 XT... k k .

Should've been easier to decide if there was a benchmark on Farcry.

 

[Play4Fun]

If u wish to play HL2 then buy the R9600XT cuz u'll get a decent fps and also a HL2 coupon (probably, cuz its XT)!
But, if u really want to play D3 that much then get that G5900FX

Edit:I thing u can get a R9800PRO for only 200$!

 

[Half-death]

Your suggestions suggest i pick ONE game to play! Waaagghhh!!!
I can't pick one... I need a card that plays both of them well overall. I'm sure one is better than the other for each game... but there's got to be one that has less loss than the other when playing the OTHER game... u know? like better for both OVERALL...

also, i can't find 9800 PRO that cheap here... seriously. this is hardware hell over here.

 

[Play4Fun]

Then just wait for ppl that own a R9600XT or a G5900FX to post here!

 

[SidewinderX]

Ok. The 9600XT is a good card. BUT, I'd say go with the 5900XT, because outta nvidia's FX line, it is the best value for the performance. Most reviews show that it is a suburb overclocker, and it has a higher level core than the 9600XT. You'll probably get similar FPS in HL2 with the new cards, but you'll probalby get better ones in D3 with the 5900XT.

I also doubt that you'll get an hl2 coupon, unless it's an "old" batch of cards. AFAIK, they have stopped doing that.

 

[bosox188]

Yeah you won't get the coupon now, that was a while ago. Get a 5900xt. And if you can get one made by BFG, that's the best choice. They overclock it a little and they have a lifetime warranty. But I don't know if the BFG ones are more expensive over there, but if you can get one that's the best.

http://www.bfgtech.com/5900XT.html

 

[Half-death]

What and how much do they overclock the card? The memory clockspeed? The core clockspeed?

If i'm not mistaken the stock speed for this card is 390Mhz core / 700 Mhz (350Mhz x 2) memory.

 

[sHm0zY]

Id say the 9600 XT i think its great. it should be awesome for hl2 =) and thats the only game i care about lol

 

[thehunter1320]

the 9600 XT, can run doom 3 fine and will run HL2 better than that geforce

 

[Johan_Tayn]

The GeForce 5900XT is the best budget card out there. I mean, look at it, guys! The 9600XT has been out for months and the 5900XT just came out! Of course it's gonna be better.

 

[bosox188]

What and how much do they overclock the card? The memory clockspeed? The core clockspeed?

If i'm not mistaken the stock speed for this card is 390Mhz core / 700 Mhz (350Mhz x 2) memory.

The normal clocks are 390/700, BFG's are 430/735. They don't overclock by much, but it's really just a bonus the reason to get one of those is because they are probably the best Nvidia cards made, they are excellent cards with good cooling and a lifetime warranty, that's who I'm buying from when I get my 6800 (But first I gotta get my mobo working).

 

[Half-death]

As much as I'd like to have a decision made (and this thread dead for the sake of others), the task is quite difficult with a half/half reply. Some suggest Geforce and others suggest ATI.

One even said the the 9600 XT will run better than the 5900 XT despite having 4 pipelines less. (and being 128-bit). And 9600 XT running Doom 3 fine was also mentioned.

The Ati card is that much cheaper. I know I have the budget to upgrade either, but saving money if it is unnecessary to spend is also a good thing.

Man, if only someone would know how well both cards will run HL2.

 

[bosox188]

Tell me your pc's specs. If everything else besides the video card is ok, then I think a 5900xt. A 9600xt will be a 5900xt in Half-Life 2 benchmarks, but the 5900xt will beat it in almost every other game.

 

[Half-death]

P4 2.0Ghz
512mb 2100 ram
80gb 7200rpm harddrive
Geforce 2 MX

I wonder how much difference one gets from Doom 3 using 5900 XT over 9600 XT.
Bosox, what do you mean by "9600xt will be a 5900xt in HL"?

do you mean the 9600 XT will be fast as the 5900 XT or... do you mean they will switch places and 9600 XT will be actually better than 5900 XT?

 

[TheInfamousMobb]

Dude, I have the 9600xt (from Asus, I think there Chinese, or Jap) that card is fine from Doom 3, you will probbaly only get like 5-10 fps more with the 5900xt at the same settings, but the 9600xt is definately better for Half Life 2.

 

[Half-death]

I think I have made my decision, although I still got a 3 to 4 days before making the ultimate decision.

Hope this will help others in similar situation as I in upgrading their video cards.

The 5900 XT has a great performance/price ratio. It outruns the 9600 XT in most benchmark testings. Especially for Doom 3, it the benchmark obviously favors this card. However! I've heard the real world performance for this game is quite forgiving and 9600 XT can play on a nice setting as well.

5900 XT has that advantage. Speed.

On the other hand, we have the 9600 XT. Quite cheaper than the 5900 XT, it is said in a review that it'll outrun the 5900 XT in HL2 since the game as the game uses the full Directx render path. You see what I'm trying to say? Doom 3 performs good enough on both cards, but HL2 seems to lean alot toward the 9600 XT. No one would know this for sure til the game is out tho. Lastly, 9600 XT has a far better image quality (not the case in Doom 3 tho).

I don't think my system is much of a bottleneck for either cards. I guess, 9600 XT is the better choice.

 

[Asus]

The 9600XT is an awesome choice because it is quick and has great image quality with no issue with DX9 games.

The 5900XT is in a slightly different class than the 9600XT as it is quicker yet the FX series have been known for their handicap in DX9 games and some image quality issues.

A 9800Pro would be the ultimate pick, at just under 200$ it can play much faster than the 5900XT with the awesome image quality that the 9600XT displays in all games.

DX8 based game - Look at the bottom for Filter settings during benchmark.
Heavy DX9 game

 

[Half-death]

To Infamous mob,

can you play on medium quality at 1024 x 768 resolution for Doom 3?
I was thinking of playing on that setting if I get the 5900 XT. If that is possible on the 9600 XT, that'll be cool.

I'll probably get the Gigabyte brand if I'm going ATI.

 

[sHm0zY]

that depends on your ram and cpu i can do it with my specs in my sig

 

[lans]

9600XT, easily.

It's the better direct x 9 card, and basically it can run D3 and HL2 (most probably) slightly better than the 5900XT.

Although, I suggest getting a cheaper 9800 pro, almost the same price as a 9600XT these days.

 

[Half-death]

It can run D3 and HL2 slight better? Ummm... I don't know about HL2 (you're probably right about it) but Doom 3 definitely runs better on the 5900 XT. If what you are saying is true, I wouldn't have any difficulty choosing

Hmmm...

 

[bosox188]

I wonder how much difference one gets from Doom 3 using 5900 XT over 9600 XT.
Bosox, what do you mean by "9600xt will be a 5900xt in HL"?

do you mean the 9600 XT will be fast as the 5900 XT or... do you mean they will switch places and 9600 XT will be actually better than 5900 XT?

Sorry I meant a 9600xt will BEAT a 5900xt in Half-Life 2. The rest of your computer looks ok, your processor is a little low, but it's ok. So yeah in the directx 9 games the 9600xt will beat a 5900xt. So I guess if you want to play some of the directx 9 games coming out, a 9600xt is a better choice. Oh yeah and the 5900xt will run Doom 3 better than a 9600xt but that's about it.