9700 - to a 9800 128mb or 256mb?

[azz0r]

Ok my cards pretty decent, but Im not really getting a stable framerate in newer games (around 30 - 60 in Doom 3, 42 in css (with aa af up)).

Anyway, Ive found an Ebay auction and the guys willing to fit a really nice fan on, but Im wondering if its really worth it.

ATI RADEON 9800 Pro 128MB DDR AGP DVI TV-out is a decent card right? I will notice a nice performance jump?

 

[RoyaleWithCheese]

I thought about upgrading my 9700 pro to a 9800 pro, too. It depends on what you have to pay for it I guess, and if you sell your old 9700 pro. I think the performance gain will be about 10-12%

 

[azz0r]

Its only a standard 9700.

Ive overclocked it easily to a 400core and 320mem though, so Im not sure if the jumps worth it.

 

[ComradeBadger]

It might well not be worth it aaron mate ;(

The gain isn't huge.

 

[Gunner]

I don't honestly think it's a good idea to upgrade just to a 9800. Besides it's not like D3 or CS:S are unplayable at those framerates

 

[azz0r]

BAH. The guys trying to screw me over too...

The cost over all is £135 (card) + £15 (cooler) + £8 (postage) = £158 + £5.57 (paypal fee) so the total is £163.57



Hope this is ok, I will send you an invoice.

Why dont you just tack on a few more fees aswell dude

 

[Maxi]

IMO It would not be worth it.. I've got a 9700 pro and I get 65 fps in the VTS with aa on 4x and af on 16x. So i'm happy.

 

[azz0r]

Ive got a basic 9700, I get 41fps in the VTS with AA 2x and AF to 4x

Hes still saying £158.40 :s

 

[Maxi]

Turn aa to 4x and af to 16x and restart css, then run it again. You might get better performance.

 

[SAJ]

Skip the 9800 and jump to x800pro if you want a performance boost.
The price youve quoted is not exactly cheap for a second-hand 9800, can be had cheaper. You would probably be better off spending the money on other parts of your system.

 

[Gunner]

Or before you do anything, flash your 9700 to 9800 and run the benchmarks again

 

[azz0r]

What do you mean flash?

I know of flashing a motherboard, but graphics card? no way?

 

[bosox188]

No don't do anything stupid like that. A lot of people have had some framerate problems in CS:S even with 9800 pros, and plus you have your 9700 overclocked which makes it only a couple frames slower. You core you said is running at 400mhz, which is 20mhz faster than a 9800 pro. Your memory is 320mhz, the 9800 pros is 340mhz. (By the way your supposed to times the memory by two to get the total speed, so your is 640 the 9800 pro is 680) Just save up for an X800 or 6800GT.

 

[blackeye]

Wow the 9700 pro seems like it is having a long lifespan. I dont really think we will see many system taxing games for a while after half life 2 comes out. The 9700 pro should still last another year IMO. Uprgrading to a 9800 pro probably isnt worth it. Just save up some more money and get something new that will last another 2-3 years.
Im surprised at how well the 9700 is still performaning though. It was released two years ago and its still going strong.