GeForce 3 Ti500 -> Radeon 9800 Pro - Is it worth it?

[Narcolepsy]

My current specs:

2.2 gHz P4 w/ 400mHz fsb
GeForce 3 Ti500
512 MB RAM

I'm thinking about bumping my gfx card up to a Radeon 9800 Pro and my ram up to 1 GB. My current GeForce 3 has served me well, but it's starting to ail on newer games at high resolutions, and I'm afraid Half-Life 2 may be it's death knell. Upgrading my processor isn't an option, thanks to the friendly neighborhood folks at Dell. Will the performance gains be worth it, in your opinion?

Anyone have similar personal experiences with such upgrades?

 

[ailevation]

Geforce 3 to 9800 Pro= excellent upgrade. If you can cough up an extra 100 bucks, get an 9800 XT, I believe after the new ATI card drops the 9800 XT's are going to be around $300.

 

[blahblahblah]

Yes, the upgrade would be worth it.

 

[Shuzer]

It'll be like going from a bike to a motorcycle :thumbs:

 

[XenoSpirit]

i dont think the extra 100$ for the XT is worth it just get the 9800pro w/128 ram... AFTER the next gen chips comes out.. cause at the speed valves moveing at... hl2 ante guna be out untill after the r240

 

[Mr-Fusion]

Yes, wait a couple more months to see how the new cards reduce prices of the current ones.

 

[Asus]

My current specs:

2.2 gHz P4 w/ 400mHz fsb
GeForce 3 Ti500
512 MB RAM

I'm thinking about bumping my gfx card up to a Radeon 9800 Pro and my ram up to 1 GB. My current GeForce 3 has served me well, but it's starting to ail on newer games at high resolutions, and I'm afraid Half-Life 2 may be it's death knell. Upgrading my processor isn't an option, thanks to the friendly neighborhood folks at Dell. Will the performance gains be worth it, in your opinion?

Anyone have similar personal experiences with such upgrades?

Do you have a budget?

If you are only going to spend 200$ on a card. Grab the 9800pro as it is very much worth it. You could wait til the other cards come out and get it at a even lower price.

If you are going to spend 300-400$, I would look into the next generation of cards. Probably the X800 because it uses less power than the Nvidia cards and that may be an issue with a Dell. I don't know how many watts your PSU is. A Nvidia card may work as well though.
The next generation of cards will outlast a 9800pro by a year or so (probably til or well into 2007). A 9800pro may last you a couple of years (2006 max?).
Think about how long you want to hold onto that system before you get another and if the money is worth it or not (<=200$ vs 300-400$).

 

[crabcakes66]

Yes. Do it. You will be happy you did.(or wait and buy a 6800/X800 if you have the cash)

 

[reap]

Yeah. 9800 Pro is a good card.

 

[Narcolepsy]

Wow, a lot of great replies.

I'm not going to get a next generation card, cause I'll be getting a new computer in about a year and I think it'd be useless in a 2.2 ghz PC.