R360, Radeon 9800XT to ship with Half Life 2

The same post is on the News & Announcements section but anyone knows about the price tag ????
 
Originally posted by mhtsaras
The same post is on the News & Announcements section but anyone knows about the price tag ????
Click to expand...

$399 is probably a safe bet.

[EDIT]I take that back - try $499.
 
If you're right, Javaguy, then I'll opt out of this and instead buy a 9800 pro and HL2. Probably save me 50 bucks, and the 9800XT probably won't be that much faster to justify the money. Then again, I might wait for card to come out and be benchmarked. And I would assume that the version of HL2 that comes with that card would have to be the SP+MP version.
 
Originally posted by dis
If you're right, Javaguy, then I'll opt out of this and instead buy a 9800 pro and HL2. Probably save me 50 bucks, and the 9800XT probably won't be that much faster to justify the money. Then again, I might wait for card to come out and be benchmarked. And I would assume that the version of HL2 that comes with that card would have to be the SP+MP version.
Click to expand...

I was just looking at ATI's site, and I can't find any specs for the 9800XT. I'm pretty bummed though - I just bought a 9600 PRO, and I have a brand new Ti4400 that's never been used - yet I crave this new "9800XT" :( .

It will be interesting to see how ATI sets its pricepoints once the XT is released, though. We might find that the 9800 PRO (256MB) is only $50 cheaper than the 9800XT... and with HL2 included, it's like a free upgrade.

Of course, this assumes that the XT will take the 9800 PRO's pricepoint, which like you said, may not. They might just slap it on the stack at $549, and that would be total suckage.
 
Well this is altogether pointless for me. I just got a 9800 pro 128 mb for my b-day in addition to paying off my reserve in full of half-life 2 at eb. kinda makes me wish that i waited just a little bit longer, though. Do you all think that it'll have that much a difference between the 128 and 256 versions? Of all the reviews I've read on the 256 one, they say fps-wise there's hardly a difference when compared to the 128. Then again, maybe the XT is specially-optimized for Half-Life 2. Then again, I guess all the radeon 9800 cards are.
 
Originally posted by spitcodfry
Well this is altogether pointless for me. I just got a 9800 pro 128 mb for my b-day in addition to paying off my reserve in full of half-life 2 at eb. kinda makes me wish that i waited just a little bit longer, though. Do you all think that it'll have that much a difference between the 128 and 256 versions? Of all the reviews I've read on the 256 one, they say fps-wise there's hardly a difference when compared to the 128. Then again, maybe the XT is specially-optimized for Half-Life 2. Then again, I guess all the radeon 9800 cards are.
Click to expand...

First, my disclaimer: I am by no means an expert at dissecting video cards.

That said:

One of the purposes of your video card's memory is to store textures. The more memory your video card has, the more textures that can be loaded into that memory, which means that the game can use system RAM for other things and doesn't have to hit your HD as much. This doesn't really affect your FPS as much as it affects the smooth operation of the game. Now, I know those two things sound pretty much identical, but they're not. You can be getting 60+ fps, but still have the game feel choppy at certain moments.

With all of the above in mind, the software (in this case, HL2) needs to be written to take advantage of it. For instance, UT2003 has an INI tweak that allows you to pre-load all textures for a level. This means that textures aren't being loaded as you move around the map "on demand". You can feel the difference when you play UbiSoft's Raven Shield. Although it uses the Unreal Engine, they did not implement this feature, and when you move around a map, it's real jerky at first while it loads the textures.

So, I guess the answer to your FPS question is both YES and NO..

Now, what will really affect your FPS are things like the video card's core clock, memory clock, etc. The differences between the card you have and the 9800 PRO (256MB) really don't warrant getting worried over it. I certainly wouldn't lose any sleep over it. I have a 9600 Pro, and I'm not even going to consider buying another R3XX card. The performance gains just aren't worth the cost, especially when I can wait 6 - 8 months and get an R4XX card that will show significant improvements over what I have now.

Everything that I said with regard to the card's memory probably isn't 100% accurate, but it paints the jist of the picture for all intents and purposes. I've obviously really oversimplified things (mostly because that's the extent of my understanding), but the difference between 128MB and 258MB really isn't going to change much in terms of FPS, especially between two 9800 Pro's.
 
Well, unless you're running at 1600x1200 or higher, then from what I've read, it seem that the 9800 pro 256 mb isn't any better than the 128 mb version. Fortunately my monitor only supports up to 1280x1024 so I def. won't be getting the 256 mb version. As far as the 9800XT goes, I've read a few articles, but they could only speculate that the 9800XT would not be that much faster overall than the 9800 pro. but I think I'm going to wait to see prices and becnhmarks before I figure out which one I'm gonna get (either 9800 pro 128mb or 9800XT)
 
Originally posted by dis
but I think I'm going to wait to see prices and becnhmarks before I figure out which one I'm gonna get (either 9800 pro 128mb or 9800XT)
Click to expand...

Good idea. From reviews I've read of the 256 version, they say it gets way too hot, and isn't really worth the hassle when compared to the 128 one. I have to say, I'm very happy with my 128 Radeon 9800 Pro. I can run any game at 2048x1536 (ones that support this resolution, anyway) with full details and it still runs smooth as silk.
 
2048x1536....err....try running UT2k3 on that res with full FSAA and AF....:D
 
Originally posted by spitcodfry
I can run any game at 2048x1536 (ones that support this resolution, anyway) with full details and it still runs smooth as silk.
Click to expand...

Ok, that's just plain sick. I remember when I used to think 1280x1024 was high enough. Well actually I still do think that's high enough for me. I've never had a card that could really do AA and AF fast enough to use them either. I wonder if I'll start using them... I guess that's almost half the point of the speed in these newer cards. I'll most likely turn AF on, but jaggies have never bothered me at all, even at 800x600. And at 1280x1024, I never notice them. Course my monitor doesn't go any higher than that, but if it did, I'd probably rather play ata higher res then turn AA on.
 
I wonder how crappy HL2 will play on my 9700 Pro? :afro:
 
If the new card with the R360 scores 7000+ in 3D Mark03 http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=11223 then the card must be a killer thriller and worths the extra money, don't you think so?
But as always the enemy ( call me nvidia) is around the corner with it's new NV38.
God, I love this ati nvidia competition :bounce: :dork:
 
"The Radeon 9800XT will end up at 425MHz+ for the chip and 700MHz for memory and there are likely to be DDR I and DDR II cards, it appears."



The Radeon 9800XT is just an overclocked 9800 or even 9700!!

my Sapphire 9800 pro is overclocked at 430/700 right now and im pretty sure i can overclock it even more with my modification i did. I put a volcano 10+ on the GPU:cheers:

DSCN1010.JPG


w00t!!! dont buy the 9800XT its a waste of money, get the 9800 Pro and overclock it!!! Most people get 420/340 on stock cooling easy.:cheese:
 
I wonder how crappy HL2 will play on my 9700 Pro?
Click to expand...

I have a 9700 pro too, and Ilove it. it's still a beast :cheese:
 
I'd do that, but I don't to bother with the cooling. Plus, it's akways hot in the room my PC is in so I don't think it'd be the best idea. My CPU alreadys runs at ~46°C. Which is kinda high for a P4 1.8. Does anyone know what a 9800 pro gets in 3d mark2003?
 
Originally posted by mhtsaras
3dmark 2003 default settings:
9700 ~ 5100 3dmarks
9800 ~ 5800 3dmarks

http://www.extremeoverclocking.com/reviews/video/Sapphire_9800Pro_6.html

So if r360 9800XT gives 7000 3dmarks is a big step.
And isn't nice for some months to have a ferrari ?
Click to expand...

Say, I have a 9800 pro, 768 mb ram, and an amd athlon xp 1700+ at 1.4 ghz, and I only got a score of 5,080 in 3D Mark 03. Is this cause of my low cpu, or do I need to tweak my card a special way? I'm not familiar with overclocking at all, and am quite apprehensive to do anything like that. Any recommendations on how I can improve my score, aside from the obvious processor upgrade?
 
Originally posted by JavaGuy
First, my disclaimer: I am by no means an expert at dissecting video cards.

That said:

One of the purposes of your video card's memory is to store textures. The more memory your video card has, the more textures that can be loaded into that memory, which means that the game can use system RAM for other things and doesn't have to hit your HD as much. This doesn't really affect your FPS as much as it affects the smooth operation of the game. Now, I know those two things sound pretty much identical, but they're not. You can be getting 60+ fps, but still have the game feel choppy at certain moments.

With all of the above in mind, the software (in this case, HL2) needs to be written to take advantage of it. For instance, UT2003 has an INI tweak that allows you to pre-load all textures for a level. This means that textures aren't being loaded as you move around the map "on demand". You can feel the difference when you play UbiSoft's Raven Shield. Although it uses the Unreal Engine, they did not implement this feature, and when you move around a map, it's real jerky at first while it loads the textures.

So, I guess the answer to your FPS question is both YES and NO..

Now, what will really affect your FPS are things like the video card's core clock, memory clock, etc. The differences between the card you have and the 9800 PRO (256MB) really don't warrant getting worried over it. I certainly wouldn't lose any sleep over it. I have a 9600 Pro, and I'm not even going to consider buying another R3XX card. The performance gains just aren't worth the cost, especially when I can wait 6 - 8 months and get an R4XX card that will show significant improvements over what I have now.

Everything that I said with regard to the card's memory probably isn't 100% accurate, but it paints the jist of the picture for all intents and purposes. I've obviously really oversimplified things (mostly because that's the extent of my understanding), but the difference between 128MB and 258MB really isn't going to change much in terms of FPS, especially between two 9800 Pro's.
Click to expand...


This really has nothing to do with this, but when I disabled Vsync, everything seemed to get really choppy in CS, even though I was running at 100 fps compared to 60. Hmmm....
 
Originally posted by spitcodfry
Say, I have a 9800 pro, 768 mb ram, and an amd athlon xp 1700+ at 1.4 ghz, and I only got a score of 5,080 in 3D Mark 03. Is this cause of my low cpu, or do I need to tweak my card a special way? I'm not familiar with overclocking at all, and am quite apprehensive to do anything like that. Any recommendations on how I can improve my score, aside from the obvious processor upgrade?
Click to expand...

The cpu would definately be the bottleneck of the system, that said i only get around 2000 3dmark 2003 points.....but thats because i "still" run with a ti4400 128 gfx card...

edit: just some sys specs.

cpu= P4 2.6 hyper threaded with 800mhz bus combatillity (oc'ed to 3.2 when i need the extra power)

ram=dual 512 kingston 3200 ddr ram
 
Originally posted by FoB_Ed
I have a 9700 pro too, and Ilove it. it's still a beast :cheese:
Click to expand...
Even the 9700np is a great card, it'll run pretty much anything except the doom3 alpha 40+fps on full detail @ 1024x768 or more (I really don't notice much of a difference above 1024). Unless you're one of those people who has to have something bleeding edge, the Radeon 9700np will be a great card for HL2, and it's hundreds less than a 9800.
 
I myself love the Radeon 9800np, 100$ cheaper then the pro, and is just slightly underclocked when compared.

its ROCKS. :) (Faster then a 9700 Pro too, and a whopping 5$ cheaper)
 
i think that from the 9700 and above the cards rox0r!
 
I wouldn't get to worried about the XT, because so far all we have is rumors. We don't even know if it really be better than the 9800: it could just be another 9500/9600 situation where the newer card is just a replacement, and something of an inferior replacement at that. So don't get too depressed that you bought a 9800Pro. In fact, it's likely that HL2 will probably not play any better with something that is more powerful than the 9800, because the 9800 Pro can already handle high resolutions comfortably with a high framerate.
 
no, wait until the XT comes out THEN wait 10 days and buy a R9800 pro 128 or 256 because prices will drop maybe 20-30$?

and if you gonna be playing on 1024x768 screw the xt and grab a r9800 128, heh you'll be able to use their highres packs they're gonna release later without the 256 mb lol :)
 
how do you figure ati is dumb and will not improve a new generation of cards

they will

it will be faster
 
how do you figure ati is dumb and will not improve a new generation of cards
Click to expand...

I figure it because it's possible to release cards that aren't on the highest end, but are targeted at lower end buyers. It's also exactly what happened with the 9600.
 
hey i just got a question here, since im debating on buying my new system now which will have the 9800 pro or waiting and buying the 9800xt pro. Will the 9800xt have better 3dmarks and be faster than the 9800pro?
Im only 15 and I dont know 2 much about vid cards or computers for that matter :p


P.S. Can any1 give me some links to good hardware news like the inquirer and can some1 tell me if alienice is good enuff cooling to oc?
 
Originally posted by JavaGuy
Everything that I said with regard to the card's memory probably isn't 100% accurate, but it paints the jist of the picture for all intents and purposes. I've obviously really oversimplified things (mostly because that's the extent of my understanding), but the difference between 128MB and 258MB really isn't going to change much in terms of FPS, especially between two 9800 Pro's.
Click to expand...


good post :)

i think pple overlook the 256mb cards a bit more than maybe because they don't know about the internal workings of these newer tech cards.. and even if current games may not take full advantage of the 256mb of ram on that card, future games like Doom3, Stalker etc.. probably will implement such things since they are being released later.

also, ur comment about the next generation of ATI cards R4X's...

regardless of when they are released (before summer '04?) the first batch are probably going to have their share of bugs and stuff.. and waiting an extra 3-4 months afterwards for reviews and comments on these cards would be wise.. at least this way, u may know a little of what ur purchasing...
 
Will the 9800xt have better 3dmarks and be faster than the 9800pro?
Click to expand...

Nobody knows: they haven't really officially launched it yet, and certianly no reviewer has gotten ahold of any silicon.
 
The BEST deal out there is the 9800 non-pro. For 250 bucks you can get one, do a quick bios update, and turn it into a 9800 pro @ 9800 stock speeds, even a little higher. It won't go quite as high as the 9800 PRO in overclocking, but for 150 bucks saved... : ) I got mine off newegg, it arrives monday!
P.S. Don't try this with the 9800 SE IIRC.
 
Originally posted by Rambo
Can some1 answer my ps?
Click to expand...

well if you took your time to look at some of the post you would see there's actually...OMG!!! linkt to the Xt's sys specs..?!

2nd time i post this link

I just wanna add that the Xt OEM has'nt been sent out to any review sites so we really don't know how it runs yet, a safe bet would be to buy the Radeon 9800 pro, since its more than likely Xt just will be a OC'ed version of the 9800.


Will the 9800xt have better 3dmarks and be faster than the 9800pro?
Click to expand...

Well if thats all you're worried about i would say, yes it might have more points, but you have to remember that the 256 mb ram don't make any difference, when were talking per. fps, because its really only vital to have the 256 if you play with a very high resolution.

can some1 tell me if alienice is good enuff cooling to oc?
Click to expand...

sorry i don't speak 1337 :D...

If you're referring to Alienware's cooling system, then "i don't know"....
 
Wow, this is very cool. Right now, I am working on building my dream machine(watercooling everything) and I was planning on getting a Radeon 9800 Pro 256mb card, but now this Radeon 9800XT card will be coming out sortly, I will wait. And I'm guessing it will beat the crap out of this NV38 gpu that Nvidia will spit out shortly. Because if you haven't been reading the news, Radeon 9800 Pro's beat the crap out of the 5900 Ultra's...And that's the 128mb versions of the 9800 Pro's! Man, ATI is on a role. And they aren't having these buggy driver problems anymore too. :)
 
ah ic, and yes i was talking about alienice cuz im prolly gonna get an alienware since $$ is no problem for me.

Anyone know any other good Hardware news Sites like the inquirer?
 
Wow can i borrow some money then?? :D

tomshardware.com and anandtech.com are 2 of the sites i visit most for updates/news and reviews.
 
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