I need some opinion. My current video card spec is nvidia TI-4200, 4X AGP, 128mb. I am giving this card to my brother and will be looking for a card that will be more suited for DX9 (basically preparing for Doom 3). I am choosing between these couple of video cards here.
FX5600 ultra ($200), 9800 non-pro ($265 Saphhire OEM spec), 9700 non-pro ($220 Powercolor retail), and all these video cards have 128mb video memory.
But before I sink over $200 into a video card, I will need a couple of expert opinions. I did a little research myself and these are what I found out. The FX5600 ultra is only good with REV2 version. How do I know which company or retailer is selling the REV2 version? Besides the Core is clocked at 400mHz, what other things should I look out for? The 9700non-pro Powercolor retail sounds like a great price. Unfortunately, I had been seeing people complaining that Powercolor products are unstable, use cheap parts and their card actually clocks at a slower speed than their counterparts from ATI or Saphhire. The 9800 non-pro Saphhire is OEM spec. Am I better off paying the full $300 for the retail version? How fast is the FX5600 ultra rev 2 compare to these other 2 cards or compare to my currently Albatron Ti4200 AGP 4X 128mb card? I don't really want to pay over $200 and get something that dont really make much of a difference with my current setup.
I do not have infinite budget to sink into a video card, and obviously I want the best bang for the buck. Personally, I am leaning towards the 9800 non-pro saphhire OEM spec. A few expert opinions will be greatly appreciated.
The 5600 ULTRA is a great card... but for $20 difference, the 9700 non-pro is far, far better... even a powercolor version.
So you can safely rule out the 5600 right off the hop.
As for the 9700 non-pro vs the 9800 non-pro, well... I think you've got it figured out just right. Sapphire makes decent cards for sure, and the $45 is worth it for the higher clocks of the 9800 non-pro.
I don't think any of these cards will disappoint you, but you';ll be smiling longer with the 9800.
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Radeon 9500 w/256 bit memory bus @ 367/310
AMD AthlonXP 2000+
3dMark03: 3439
Fellows, thanks for the help. Looks like I am going for the 9800 non-pro. $200+ is a lot of money to put into just a video card. Even the X-box cost less than $200 now.
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