9700 or 9800?

[x_dreams]

k peeps,
should i get a 9700 pro and oc it to a 9800 pro or just get the 9800 pro? my wife is ok with the 9700 pro but wonders why these things cost so much. right now im using a gf4 mx440 and its not cutting the cheese. also, anyone got any recommendations as far as which brand and retail or not? thanks!!!

x

[saphalline]

A 9700 would be more than good enough considering what you have now, but the price has to be right. Since a 9800 Pro goes for about $275-300, I would price a 9700 Pro at about $200-225 (generally about $75 less). If you can find a 9700/Pro at that price, go for it, but I doubt you'll get much overclocking from them. The 9700 Pro was already pushing the max speed, and if you can get a 5% OC out of a video card you're doing well. In other words, don't count on a good OC to get you up there in speed.

Something else to think about - ATI & NVidia will be releasing their next generation of graphics chips in the next few months. It probably won't drastically affect the price of the 9800's, but I thought I should mention it. Here's how I see it happening...

March - ATI & NVidia release official names for their next-gen parts and approximate clock speeds.

April/May - The clock speeds get nailed down and the next-gen parts get released.

June - Production is vamped up, the next-gen parts become widely available and become the new "fastest video cards" for a few months.

August thru October - The 'revisions' are released, aka 'budget' and 'Ultra' categories.

Bottom line, though, is that the 9800XT and FX 5950 Ultra just took the thrones, so the 9800 Pro and FX 5900 Ultra are already at good prices. They're not likely to come down much when the next-gen ones are released this spring. Just FYI for everyone out there, I recommend against the 9800XT and FX 5950 Ultra now that the new year has come.

For you, x-dreams, I recommend the 9800 Pro. The price has come down 40% :eek: in just a few months and is not likely to come down much more (mostly because it's a "Pro" version). Plus it's got some extra speed and features not found in the 9700 series. As for manufacturers, I like ATI retail, Hercules, Gigabyte, Crucial, and maybe Tyan. Stay away from ATI OEM (all OEM actually), Powercolor, and Sapphire because they often use RAM modules that just barely run at the regular speed (this sets the stage for stability problems that you don't need).

[x_dreams]

thanks!! had my eye on the blue tyan 9800 pro so guess all i have to do now is go get it.