Between the two

[lotusboy101]

I am new to the next gen video cards so I have one simple question. The two cards I must choose between are similar prices: I can get the ati X700 or the older 9800 for about the same price. I know the X700 has 256mb video memory, and the 9800 has 128. Oddly they charge more for the 9800 even though it seems as though the X700 would be better. Can someone explain which is the better choice?

 

[Ownzed]

The 9800 would probably be better IMO.

 

[cadaveca]

take the x700 pci-e if you can. 110nm version of the 130nm 9800 pro.

 

[VodkA-HLC-]

http://www.techspot.com/story15053.html

I have an idea, how about you take the time to read it for yourself and make your own opinion rather than have someone else spoon feed their opinions for you......Go read reviews and look at benchmarks rather than ask some kid on here who is probably playing with a 5 year old card who has never even heard of ati except for what one of his friends said about it then he tells you what he thought they said about it 4 months ago and try to convey you to make a decision about it here on some forum.

 

[wilka91]

what X700 are u talking about? Pro/XT

what 9800 are u tallking about? XT/PRO/SE/128-bit Pro/non-pro?

 

[lotusboy101]

what X700 are u talking about? Pro/XT

what 9800 are u tallking about? XT/PRO/SE/128-bit Pro/non-pro?

it is the x700 pro
Powered by the ATI RADEON X700 PRO
256MB GDDR3 ultrafast memory (128-bit)
PCI-Express x16 interface

and the ATI RADEON 9800 PRO
128MB double data rate (DDR) memory
256-bit memory interface provides the bandwidth needed for real-time 3D graphics and performance free of bottlenecks

 

[lotusboy101]

from what I have researched so far the X700 pro would be considered better because it has 8 pipelines, and it has 256mb of video memory. Yet, the 9800 pro is 50 dollars more! (on bestbuy's site) I guess I should be looking on newegg or whatever it's called, but I was wanting to buy the retail game and my new card the same day froma retailer like best buy.

X700 pro - 199.99 at best buy
9800 pro - 249.99 at best buy

that doesn't make sense!

 

[lotusboy101]

from what I have researched so far the X700 pro would be considered better because it has 8 pipelines, and it has 256mb of video memory. Yet, the 9800 pro is 50 dollars more! (on bestbuy's site) I guess I should be looking on newegg or whatever it's called, but I was wanting to buy the retail game and my new card the same day froma retailer like best buy.

X700 pro - 199.99 at best buy
9800 pro - 249.99 at best buy

that doesn't make sense!

ok seriously, no ones helping me out.
I got one guy saying x700, another saying 9800, and yet another saying "go figure it out yourself"

My whole point is that I have checked online and it sounds like x700 is better, yet retail outlets charge more for teh 9800, which seems to make no sense. I still want a definate opinion from more than a handful of guys.

 

[Swift]

oh god.. does 9600's only have 4 pipes? wow, im going to upgrade asap.

 

[serum.157]

they are both good cards, so i would simply suggest you look at some benchmarks and reviews so you know which is actually better. memory isn't everything in a video card (128 vs 256 really isn't a huge deal for video cards). sure more is always better, but you never know how good the card actually is until you see some benchmarks.

 

[Lanthanide]

I suspect the 9800 is better. However you really have to look at some benchmarks to get an idea. Go look at tomshardware.com, that's a very good site. I'd put more weight in the DX8/9 tests than I would the synthetic ones such as 3DMark etc.

Basically what you're comparing is the top-line of the previous generation with the mid-line of the current generation.

Also, you mentioned the x700 is PCI-Express. Note that you need a PCI Express mobo to use this version of the card (there should also be an AGP version available however), so if you've got an old computer and are only upgrading the graphics card, then you won't be able to use the PCI-E version of the graphics card. Right now however there is pretty much no performance difference between PCI-E and AGP 8x - so this shouldn't be a factor. Probably would be better to get the PCI-E version if your mobo supports it as it will be more future-proof.

Note also that to get best performance you'll need an AGP 8x video card (my bf's was only a 4x so his 5950 didn't help him much) to get full benefit from the cards - again if you've got an older mobo, upgrading the graphics card may be a waste of time.

 

[Eon Blue]

OC the X700 and you'll do better in all areas.

The X700 is kind of a cross between an X800 and a 9800 or something like that. It's a response to one of Nvidia's cards, though I'm not sure which. It's like 1AM and I'm tired, so eh.

 

[lotusboy101]

I suspect the 9800 is better. However you really have to look at some benchmarks to get an idea. Go look at tomshardware.com, that's a very good site. I'd put more weight in the DX8/9 tests than I would the synthetic ones such as 3DMark etc.

Basically what you're comparing is the top-line of the previous generation with the mid-line of the current generation.

Also, you mentioned the x700 is PCI-Express. Note that you need a PCI Express mobo to use this version of the card (there should also be an AGP version available however), so if you've got an old computer and are only upgrading the graphics card, then you won't be able to use the PCI-E version of the graphics card. Right now however there is pretty much no performance difference between PCI-E and AGP 8x - so this shouldn't be a factor. Probably would be better to get the PCI-E version if your mobo supports it as it will be more future-proof.

Note also that to get best performance you'll need an AGP 8x video card (my bf's was only a 4x so his 5950 didn't help him much) to get full benefit from the cards - again if you've got an older mobo, upgrading the graphics card may be a waste of time.

yeah my pc is a cheap E-Machine that I have boosted with a gig of RAM. it does have an AGP slot but I will have to check and see if it's the 8x kind. I just got the computer about 1 year ago.

 

[Eon Blue]

It's probably 8x then. Get the X700

 

[lotusboy101]

It's probably 8x then. Get the X700

uh oh I just checked my motherboard manual and found this info. that sounds like my AGP is only 4x, but it does mention PCI slots too, so maybe the X700 PCI version will work for me? here is the info. help me if you can:

AGP connector supporting 1.5 V 4X AGP cards

An AGP, a CNR (optional) and three 32-bit PCI expansion card connectors.

 

[Lifehost]

PCI slots are something completely different. What we are talking about is PCI Express, the replacement for AGP...

As far as I know on a motherboard with PCI Express, AGP is all but nonexistent.

So, in all likelyhood, you will need a new motherboard to run a PCI Express video card

 

[Steve]

man... i remember when chipset names were simple...like the Voodoo 2 or the Geforce...

 

[kakagar]

Nope pci and pci-express are not the same and therefore not compatible think of pci-e as a pci port faster than agp but for all purposes not just video

 

[Asus]

PCI Express is NOT PCI.
An AGP card is what you will probably end up looking for.

Here are a few benchmarks for the X700XT, X700Pro and 9800 Pro

 

[lotusboy101]

PCI Express is NOT PCI.
An AGP card is what you will probably end up looking for.

Here are a few benchmarks for the X700XT, X700Pro and 9800 Pro

I can't use PCI based cards, only AGP 4X. So no X700 for me I was reading and best buy made it sound like the X800 would support both 4x and 8x AGP slots on their online store, yet the ATI site says x800 is only 8x! this video card upgrade is really worrying me. All in all, I better just get a 9800 pro to be safe.?

 

[denlife7]

I think you should tell us the other parts in your machine. What processor do you have and what speed is it? How much memory do you have? You can find these things out when you first turn your machine on (you probably already know this, I am not presuming you are completely PC illiterate, but I have provided tech support for too long and have these habits now).

The reason I ask is because I use a 9800pro 128MB card and I have an Athlon XP 1800+ processor and 512MB Ram. My videocard is being held back by the speed of my processor. It is a great video card, but I am not seeing it at its best in my system.

You need to look at the lifespan of your total system and decide how long you plan to keep the processor etc. If you are going to have the other parts for a year or so, I suggest you save some money and buy a 9600xt or similar card. You will still have directx 9.0 graphics in hl2 and it will run really well. Put the money you save into a bank account and start saving for a new machine in a year. By then, new graphics cards will be out and the current top of the line cards will be in your budget.

What do I do? I build my own machine every few years (never top of the line, but a level below it). Then I sell my machine in the newspaper (the complete thing) a couple of years later and rinse repeat...

Why do I have a 9800pro in my shit system? Because it fell of a fast moving truck driving down a bumpy road....

 

[lotusboy101]

I think you should tell us the other parts in your machine. What processor do you have and what speed is it? How much memory do you have? You can find these things out when you first turn your machine on (you probably already know this, I am not presuming you are completely PC illiterate, but I have provided tech support for too long and have these habits now).

The reason I ask is because I use a 9800pro 128MB card and I have an Athlon XP 1800+ processor and 512MB Ram. My videocard is being held back by the speed of my processor. It is a great video card, but I am not seeing it at its best in my system.

You need to look at the lifespan of your total system and decide how long you plan to keep the processor etc. If you are going to have the other parts for a year or so, I suggest you save some money and buy a 9600xt or similar card. You will still have directx 9.0 graphics in hl2 and it will run really well. Put the money you save into a bank account and start saving for a new machine in a year. By then, new graphics cards will be out and the current top of the line cards will be in your budget.

What do I do? I build my own machine every few years (never top of the line, but a level below it). Then I sell my machine in the newspaper (the complete thing) a couple of years later and rinse repeat...

Why do I have a 9800pro in my shit system? Because it fell of a fast moving truck driving down a bumpy road....

good idea, I should have posted my specs earlier! here they are:

AMD Athlon XP 2400+ (windows says it runs at 1.99, so basically 2)
2 512 DDR sticks so around a gig of RAM (windows XP wastes tons of RAM just on it's own! stupid windows! :flame: )

S3 Graphics ProSavage 8 <-- THAT"S why I gotta get a new video card!!!

 

[cadaveca]

do like dude says...get a 9600xt...and wait for the next series of cards. pretty soon we'll be seeing next years nodels, and that will only make current models less expensive. Your cpu may bottleneck a 9800pro...not too sure tho becaseu you have lots of ram.

I have 6800gt, but the system in my sig get over 100fps in the VST.

 

[lotusboy101]

do like dude says...get a 9600xt...and wait for the next series of cards. pretty soon we'll be seeing next years nodels, and that will only make current models less expensive. Your cpu may bottleneck a 9800pro...not too sure tho becaseu you have lots of ram.

I have 6800gt, but the system in my sig get over 100fps in the VST.

well I was origialyl gunna get one of the new "x" series like X700, but my AGP slot won't work with those of course. Even so, you're saying my rig would suck the power out of those new cards anyway? meaning, it's best to just get a 9600 or 9800? I think 9800 sound ok. I do have a gig of RAM. I know very little about video cards though

 

[cadaveca]

yep, that's what i'm saying...9800 would be the top for your system.

i'm kinda iffy on the 9600 line, as it is one of the slowest dx 9 cards....might be better to get a high-end dx-8 card for high fps, if you can forgo the visuals!

 

[denlife7]

your system will marry well with the 9800pro. I suggest looking online for one. There are some good deals around on those atm..

the x700 review someone just posted says that agp versions of the cards will be out in a month or so, but who wants to wait a month to play hl2???

This is a good buy:

9800 pro for $155

9800 pro for $155 mate!! Beauty! And you will have saved $100 compared to the Best Buy card which pays for hl2 and taking your oldies out for dinner to say thanks :cheers: