GeForce 4 Ti 4800SE8X v ATI 9700Pro v 9500Pro

[BlueHornet]

Hey all,

I have three options for vid cards. I can't find anything on the GeForce 4 Ti 4800SE8X so any nfo or reviews on it that you could point me to would be great. I can save some cash going for one card or the other so base your opinions on that as well, thx.

The Cards:

<font color=blue>GeForce 4 Ti 4800SE8X - save $ 100 US

GAINWARD/CARDEXPERT GeForce 4 Ti 4800SE8X AGP, 3.6ns, Golden sample 128MB DDR.
1 DVI port + 1 CRT port + Video in and Video Out (VIVO) port + nVIEW (two CRT display) + 1 DVI to CRT adapter + 1 multiple cable + 1 CD driver + 1 manual, overclocking enhanced performance mode.
(Dual display), VG4UL7508X. OEM. Package content: 1 Gainward GeForce 4 Ti 4800 SE 128mb DDR graphic card + 1 DVI to CRT adapter + 1 multiple-port cable + 1 CD driver + 1 manual.

<font color=red>NOTE: Does this support DX 9?</font color=red>


v

ATI R 9700 Pro - save ($0 this is the base)

Sapphire ATI RADEON 9700 Atlantis PRO 128MB DDR,325/310, DVI/TV-out/CRT AGP BULK

Specifications:

Chipset:RADEON 9700Pro Visual processing unit (VPU)

Memory:128MB DDR, 256-bit memory

Eight parallel rendering pipelines

Four parallel geometry engines

Bus: AGP 8X support

Ports: VGA + DVI + S-Video Out

OS Support: Windows 98SE, Windows Me, Windows 2000, Windows XP
Powered by ATI, Manufactured by Sapphire


v

ATI R 9500 Pro - save $133 US

SAPPHIRE ATI OEM RADEON 9500 PRO 128MB DDR DVI BULK

Specifications:

Chipset:ATI RADEON 9500 PRO

Memory:128MB DDR

Bus:AGP 8X
128-bit floating-point color precision allows for a greater range of colors and brightness

Memory Bandwidth: 2GB/Sec

Directx 9.0 Supported

Supports Modes SmartShader2.0 SmoothVision2.0 Truform 2.0 and much more

Ports:VGA + DVI + Svideo Out (s-video cable included)

OEM Bulk Kit.

<font color=red> NOTE: Can you overclock this to Radeon 9700 Pro performance? Pls see Video Card topic:

</font color=red></font color=blue> Radeon 9500 Pro overclock to Radeon 9700 Pro?

Any opinions would be great, I would like to run with all visual options and filtering options on-Anisotropic, Anti-Aliasing(FSAA) etc-at highest settings, as some cards can outperform each other with certain options off though turning them on produces different comparisons, you guys know what I mean.

peace,
-=<font color=blue>i3lue}{orneT</font color=blue>=-

peace,
-=<font color=blue>i3lue}{orneT</font color=blue>=-

 

[Spitfire_x86]

GeForce4 Ti4800SE-8X is GeForce4 Ti4400 with AGP 8X.

IMO, Radeon 9500 Pro is the best buy, buy if you want to play games at at 1600 x 1200 or want to play current games with 4x AA and 8x AF, then R9700 Pro is a good buy.

You can save $70-$80, by buying a Radeon 9700 (non-Pro) and overclocking it to R9700 Pro

<b> "You can put lipstick on a pig, but hey, it's still a pig!" - RobD </b>

 

[dhlucke]

At the moment, getting a Ti card is not recommended. First off, they cost more, don't perform as well as a Radeon, and don't support Dx9.

Get a 9500Pro, 9700, or 9700 Pro. They are cream of the crop when it comes to running with AA and AF on. The Ti cards can't keep up.

<font color=red>
<A HREF="http://kevan.org/brain.cgi?dhlucke" target="_new">If you were to have sex with your clone would that be considered incest or masturbation?</A></font color=red>

 

[BlueHornet]

I'm getting the card as part of a whole system, unfortunately the 9500non-pro isn't one of their-abspc.com-options

peace,
-=<font color=blue>i3lue}{orneT</font color=blue>=-

 

[NE_Corridor]

Anandtech's review of the 9500 pro has it neck and neck with the ti4600. That's (9500 pro) where I'd put my money if I couldn't afford the 9700 pro.

Yay, I'm a freakin' noob.

 

[LtBlue14]

and you will be able to overclock it...to 9700pro speeds..well that's not for certain

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<A HREF="http://forumz.tomshardware.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=faq&notfound=1&code=1" target="_new">mubla otohp eht ni ecaf ruoy teg</A>

 

[Arbee]

If you want to save money, buy the 9500 Pro. If you want maximum performance, go for the 9700Pro. Avoid the Ti
Both cards support DX9 (unlike the Ti), have better image quality and even the 9500Pro probably beats the Ti where it really counts (new, more demanding, games).

Although you can overclock the 9500Pro, it won't reach the same performance as the 9700Pro, due to the 128bit Memory bus (similar to the Ti).


How terrible is wisdom when it brings no profit to the wise

 

[phial]

yeah the 9500pro is THE best deal

the difference between the TI4600 and Ti4800 is non-existant. it has already been proven that 8X Agp has no benifits over 4x agp *yet*. the Ti4800 is a horrible waste of money

the 9500pro is freakin fast, especially where it counts. the effects engine is 2x as fast as the GF4 series.

and no, you cant overclock the R9500pro to 9700pro speeds because of the memory bus only being 128bit. but still, if you own any card less than a GF4, you will be amazed at the power of the 9500pro. its truly something else, and the price is excellent

 

[LtBlue14]

oh yeah that's true about the 128bit bus
what some people have done (with about a 75% success rating) is modded the 9500 (256bit bus) to 9700 standards by opening up the other 4..pixel pipelines? i forget
it's a simple mod to do though, either by hardware or software
then once you do that mod, you flash the card bios with an overclockable bios and take yourself into 9700pro territory
again, a 75% success rating from what i've seen
if you're not interested in all of the modding though, follow the other stuff that has been suggested so far

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<A HREF="http://forumz.tomshardware.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=faq&notfound=1&code=1" target="_new">mubla otohp eht ni ecaf ruoy teg</A>

 

[phial]

lolol

ok dude...

first off, the 9500pro has all 8 pipelines to begin with. the ONLY, i repeat only difference is the 128bit memory bus. people claim to have soldered it to open the full 256bits, and this is probably true, but i HIGHLY doubt the average ~THG Forum Joe~ could do it. you would have to have the equipment also, and know the layout of the board..

some people have claimed to enable the 256 memory bus onthe 9500pro thru software, but this is horseshat. you cant enable wires that arent connected.

the thing you heard about with enabling the 4 extra pipelines is with the 9500*non-pro*. it only has 4 working pipelines, half of the 9500pro or 9700. again people have claimed to have success enabling this thru software, but i do not know. this is probably more true than the memory bus bullshiit

 

[igo_hams]

So, why does the Geforce Ti score better in the test of THG??????

 

[davepermen]

because tom is biased towards nvidia, see other threads about the newest post of tom about 3dmark03.. btw, there, ti cards simply suck, while radeons are very sweet.

go for ati, nvidia is not in a good position currently.

"take a look around" - limp bizkit

www.google.com

 

[dhlucke]

Toms reviews are not what they used to be. Check another couple of sites like anandtech.com and you'll see very quickly that the Radeon cards are faster than every Nvidia card on the market

<font color=red>
<A HREF="http://kevan.org/brain.cgi?dhlucke" target="_new">If you were to have sex with your clone would that be considered incest or masturbation?</A></font color=red>

 

[Unit01]

I recommend mainly a 9700non-pro. Since it has some overclocking potential and still runs great at stock

 

[phial]

the reason the Ti4600 mainly scores slightly higher than the 9500pro (which supports DX9 as i have said before) in THG reviews is because most of the benchmarks are DirectX7 and 8 games. and the benches and games they use are dependant on fill-rate mostly, not DirectX effects.....

so, if you wanna play old games like Quake3, the it wont matter what one you chose.

but, if you wanna play new games like CnC Generals, or Doom3 (especially this, which will depend on pixel shader effects alott) then the 9500pro is the one to chose. wanna upgrade soon? chose the Ti4600

 

[igo_hams]

I will upgrade soon. But i think i will go for the radeon 9500 Pro. Even if it is a bit more expensive.
Thanks.

 

[cjmurph]

Here's an interesting article re o/c 9500. I found it tempting but opted to pay $230AUD more and just get a 9700 PRO. saves alot of hassles and potential tears.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/story.html?id=1041719082

 

[dinoX]

if you don't like having to pray for drivers to work, get an nVidia card. If you are looking for a cheaper card (and sometimes CHEAP card), get an ATI. You got a 50/50 chance that the drives will work with the card you get. Good luck.

dinoX aka BlackDog

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

dino quote:
--
if you don't like having to pray for drivers to work,
--

This statement is no longer true about ATI drivers anymore so than Nvidia. Sure there is still the ocassional glitch, but it's not like the Detonator drivers aren't without issues.
The drivers were a big factor before (handicapped the 8500 vs a Gf3) however people still trading on that to defend their choice obviously haven't checked recent releases and reviews of the two. Both ATI and NVIDIA have it pretty much covered. Hey, Nvidia's initial poor performance of the FX was due to poor drivers, only the awesome pressure of the entire community watching this Benchmark caused swift reaction to the issue.
Heck if a new card doesn't hang on somethig, they aren't trying hard enough.

Now if I can only get good DX9 compatible drivers for my NeoMagic chip. WooHoo!

- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! <font color=red>RED</font color=red> <font color=green>GREEN</font color=green> :tongue: GA to SK