Gfx card question 9800pro128 vs 9600xt256

[Zappathefappa]

Hi there, the title really says it all. I'm building a new computer and need to find a good graphics card. My price range is $150 - 250 canadian - more likely the latter number. For this price range it seems like my best bet would be either a radeon 9800pro with 128 mb ddr or a 9600xt with 256 mb ddr (there's maybe $20 difference in price). So, my main question would be: does the "newerness" (better architecture) of the 9800pro outweigh the better ram of the 9600xt or vice versa? (if it matters my comp has 512mb ram – bottleneck with the 256mb video ram?)

Oh and slightly unrelated question: my new comp will be an athalon 64 3400ish - will I get any advantage if I buy Windows XP x64 edition or will that not matter because there aren't any 64 bit games out yet?

Thanks for your replies.:cheers:

 

[sinkoman]

Well, i'd say hold off on building your pc if that's your pricerange. New cards are (or should) be rapidly coming out and that pc will age fairly fast I believe.

Anyway, the 9800pro by far outdoes the 9600, xt or not, 256 or 128. The 9800pros (the 128bit and 128mb ones. Be sure you get a 128 bit one, and don't buy a 256mb one) are great cards. Cheap, reliable overclockers, and good performers.

And just buy xp pro. Don't bother with sixtickity four bit. Longhorn will be comming out fairly soon so you may as well spend less and buy normal xp. And no, I don't believe 64 bit offers much more performance.

 

[Zappathefappa]

Thanks, the 9800pro I was looking at was 256bit by MSI. If I had more money I'd probably try for better but I'm not really making a gaming rig - I just need something for university and gaming on the side (extra money comes outa my rent or tuition lol).
Would there be any point in spending a bit more money on a 9800 256mb or would that money be better spent on say upgrading from 512 to 1gig of ram?
Again, thanks for all your help.

 

[sinkoman]

Thanks, the 9800pro I was looking at was 256bit by MSI. If I had more money I'd probably try for better but I'm not really making a gaming rig - I just need something for university and gaming on the side (extra money comes outa my rent or tuition lol).
Would there be any point in spending a bit more money on a 9800 256mb or would that money be better spent on say upgrading from 512 to 1gig of ram?
Again, thanks for all your help.

Sorry, scratch that. What I meant to say was buy a 256 BIT card that is 128mb. Not buy a 128 BIT card that is 128mb.

No, there is no point in spending more money on the 256mb card. Those have actually been proven as slower than the 128mb cards. More memory to be assesed I believe. You'd be much better off spending that money on 1gig of ram. 512mb's of ram is not good, you can't do much with it other than wordprocessing, websurfing, and email. 1gig is almost necessary i'd say.

 

[bosox188]

Sorry, scratch that. What I meant to say was buy a 256 BIT card that is 128mb. Not buy a 128 BIT card that is 128mb.

No, there is no point in spending more money on the 256mb card. Those have actually been proven as slower than the 128mb cards. More memory to be assesed I believe. You'd be much better off spending that money on 1gig of ram. 512mb's of ram is not good, you can't do much with it other than wordprocessing, websurfing, and email. 1gig is almost necessary i'd say.

Good save lol. I was about to go nuts on that 128-bit post.

Yeah 128mb 256-bit 9800 pro better than any 9600xt.

 

[ComradeBadger]

1 gb is not necessary. You can quite happily game with 512mb of RAM. The things you described can easily be performed with 256mb of RAM, in fact, 256mb of RAM is almost servicable for gaming these days.

 

[`unreal]

Yea but if you want to be playing at high graphics, 1gb is advisable. In your current situation however you may be best off with 512mb for now as you will probably be not playing at highest.

 

[jondy]

And just buy xp pro. Don't bother with sixtickity four bit. Longhorn will be comming out fairly soon so you may as well spend less and buy normal xp. And no, I don't believe 64 bit offers much more performance.

Actually, I'd go for home edition if you've got a strapped budget, there's not much in pro that makes sense for gamers afaik

As for the graphics card, if you can stretch a little further a 6600GT is advisable, it's the darling of the midrange cards right now and can cope with PS3.0 as well.