geforce fx or radeon?

guylov

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Just need an honest opinion on w/c video card i should buy. Don't care about brands like asus, msi, albatron, etc. Just want the gpu name. I want to have a $200 card that can run Half-Life 2 the fastest and w/ the best graphics quality. I was planning on getting a geforce fx 5900xt, but i did some research and came across this article on vr-zone.com, and i quote "Performance wise, the 5900XT was able to outperform the Radeon 9600XT in every game and at every resolution tested, except in the Direct X 9.0 and Pixel Shader 2.0 loaded Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness game. This leads us to question how well the card will perform when hardcore Direct X 9.0 based games like Half-Life 2 and Doom 3 come out later this summer". So it would seem like the 9600xt is the better choice for half-life 2. This got me confused, and now im asking all the experts here for advice on w/c card to buy. I'm not actually limiting my options to the 5900xt and the 9600xt. I'm open to suggestions for the 5800, 5700, 9800, 9700, or whatever. As long as it's either nvidia or ati, and must not cost beyond $200. Thanx in advance.
 

bosshoss

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I personally own a BBA 9600xt and it plays Half Life 2 fabulously without a hiccup, (1280x1024)however in most benchmarks the 5700ultra beats it by about 5-10fps. The reason that ATI cards beat NVIDIA cards in Half Life 2 is because that game was designed on ATI hardware. Whatever card I was gonna buy I would try to get it in a 256mb version because these new games i.e.doom3 and HL2 will make use of the extra memory.

<i> If the creator of the human body is "The Ultimate Engineer", why did he put a recreation site right next to a waste treatment area? </i>
 
'boss' wanna back up your statements about the FX5700U being superior? In fact it's the opposite in almost every review nowadays.

As for ATI and HL2, your statements are once again bogus, HL2 doesn't have ATI specific code, and you will see the same drawbacks of the FXX5700U and FX5900XT in most pixel-shader heavy games, guess they've all using the dtolen HL2 engine, huh?

As for the 256mb version, that's great advice, because the 256mb FX5700LE should walk all over those 128mb R9600Pro and FX5900XTs, right?!?

To inject some reality into this disussion, look at [H]'s reviews of the FX5700/R9600XT/FX5900XT together. The FX5900XT comes out the winner in most cases, but the R9600XT is respectable, however the FX5700U lags in just about every way.

<A HREF="http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NTk5" target="_new">*1*</A>

<A HREF="http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NjA0" target="_new">*2*</A>

Of course things have changed slightly with D3, but HL2 supossedly evens that up (still gotta wait for full review and not just stress test).

Guy..., the FX5900XT is still a good deal, but if your game is HL2 you may want to wait and see what the true numbers show, just like waiting for D3 if that was your game of choice, it showed that the FX5700 was a better choice for a change.

There really isn't a global winner so be sure what you play plays as you expect.



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

phial

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haha

sup Grape :)

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<A HREF="http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/you.html" target="_new">please dont click here! </A>
Brand name whores are stupid!
 
Not much, sitting on the couch drinking a Boreal Rousse I brought back from Hull. Watching Venture on Newsworld, Ooohh exciting.

May go see Hero for a friend's B-day tonight.

Back to surfing the sites and getting up to speed. IXBT posted their digest (dated the 30th!) which includes D3 numbers and Painkiller.


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

KCjoker

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For $200 you should be able to get a 9800 pro which is alot better than a 9600xt and also better than a FX5900xt. Just make sure you get one that is 256 bit and not 128. However if you can wait take a look at the new Nvidia 6600 GT it's coming out for PCI express and also AGP. It's supposed to be around $180 and it's better than a 9800 pro IMO.
 

phial

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ooooOoo Venture !


did you actually like Painkiller? i find it to be really boring

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<A HREF="http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/you.html" target="_new">please dont click here! </A>
Brand name whores are stupid!
 
It's OK, but really, my Favs are still Morrowind and UT2K4 for game play. D3 is fun but I don't see so much replayability after I finish it.

Mmm Venture, with Wendy Mesley's UnderPants! (ala this hour had 22mins) :wink:


- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! - <font color=green>RED </font color=green> <font color=red> GREEN</font color=red> GA to SK :evil:
 
Yes the R9800 even non-pro is better than the other 3.


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

pauldh

Illustrious
Are you in the USA? This <A HREF="http://shop4.outpost.com/product/3628345/" target="_new">$180 BBA Radeon 9800 Pro</A> retail box is the best you're gonna do for under $200 right now.

GF6600GT's if they beat the R9800Pro or not, still won't be available in AGP for quite a while. And I doubt the GT's will be this cheap for some time after that.


ABIT IS7, P4 2.6C, 1GB Corsair XMS 4000 Pro Series, Radeon 9800 Pro, Santa Cruz, TruePower 430watt
 

bosshoss

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<A HREF="http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1634118,00.asp " target="_new">http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1634118,00.asp </A>

this is just one of MANY links I dug up that shows the 5700u beating the 9600xt.

<i> If the creator of the human body is "The Ultimate Engineer", why did he put a recreation site right next to a waste treatment area? </i>
 

pauldh

Illustrious
The FX5700U Defaults to DX8.0 path for Half Life 2 because of crappy standard DX9 performance, nothing to do with ATI specific code. Also, the FX chips can't even be forced so far to run HL2 in DX9. Pretty lame that a DX9 card defaults to a lower path than the old Radeon 8500's. (DX8.1) Anyway, in HL2-VST, run both cards in DX8.0 and the 9600XT easily <A HREF="http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/half_life_2_fx/page5.asp" target="_new">Whoops</A> the 5700U. Very good chance we'll see the same in HL2 release.


ABIT IS7, P4 2.6C, 1GB Corsair XMS 4000 Pro Series, Radeon 9800 Pro, Santa Cruz, TruePower 430watt
 

TheRod

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Not much, sitting on the couch drinking a Boreal Rousse I brought back from Hull.
The Boreale is brew in my home town Blainville (near the Mirabel International Airport)! Cheers!

--
A7N8X / <font color=green><b>AMD Sempron 2800+</b></font color=green>
Kingston DDR333 2x256Megs
<font color=red>Radeon 8500 128Megs</font color=red> @ C:275/M:290
 

guylov

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let me add another player into the mix. what about the 6800? ive tried pricewatch, and was surprised it was selling for as low as $270. I wouldn't mind tossing in a few extra bucks for this new technology. Is this unanimously the best card under $300, for now? what about compatibility issues? is this pcx only? i don't think my asus p4p800s-se mobo supports pcx. i've read it's a power hog, requires a special kind of power supply (maybe 500w) or sumthing?
 

pauldh

Illustrious
plain ole BFG 6800 is $300 at best buy now, but you get Doom3 and Farcry for free. Not a bad deal if you don't own the games.


ABIT IS7, P4 2.6C, 1GB Corsair XMS 4000 Pro Series, Radeon 9800 Pro, Santa Cruz, TruePower 430watt
 

TheRod

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what about compatibility issues? is this pcx only? i don't think my asus p4p800s-se mobo supports pcx.
They probably have AGP version of this card, but keep in mind that if you buy a high-end card today that is AGP, you will probably not be able to keep it when you will change your MB/CPU in the future, since MB will only have PCI-EXPRESS support in a near future.

i've read it's a power hog, requires a special kind of power supply (maybe 500w) or sumthing?
If you don't have 4 HDD, 3 optical drives, useless light, tons of fans, a 400 Watts PSU will probably be enough.

--
A7N8X / <font color=green><b>AMD Sempron 2800+</b></font color=green>
Kingston DDR333 2x256Megs
<font color=red>Radeon 8500 128Megs</font color=red> @ C:275/M:290
 
Wow, one review of one game. Must apply to everything.

I mention that D3 is one of the few exceptions of the new games, overall the FX5700U falls far short of the competition, and I can post alot more reviews that demonstrate that.

If all you play is Doom then the FXs will likely do you better, but for any other modern game (Halo, DeusEx, FartCry, PainKiller, etc.) you see the R9600XT beating it, and the FX5900XT and R9800 dominating both of them. You use D3 as an example, when then like I said counter that with HL2/CS beta numbers. Despite all the tweaks and the usually higher price, the FX5700U is mostly behind the R9600XT. And then there's the number of bugs with the FX series, than nV has apparently abandoned for the new cards.

You show me something recent where the FX5700U globally beats the R9600XT, <A HREF="http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/graphics-cards-2004.html" target="_new">this review by X-bit</A> does a better job of showing where the strengths and weaknesses are. And for newer games it's the R9600XT that leads the way.


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

cleeve

Illustrious
Another vote for 9800 PRO, sounds like what you're looking for exactly.

________________
<b>Radeon <font color=red>9700 PRO</b></font color=red> <i>(o/c 329/337)</i>
<b>AthlonXP <font color=red>~2750+</b></font color=red> <i>(2400+ @ 2208 Mhz)</i>
<b>3dMark03: <font color=red>4,876</b>
 
The 6800 is a good choice if the price is right, but now you're talkian about a card for almost twice the price of the R9600XT (well at least $100+), so it's getting into another league. Better card yes, but a little more expensive, and even then I'd say wait for the 6800GT to come down in price in a few months instead.

The regular 6800 shouldn't require much of a power upgrade, it can easily run in most rigs with quality 400W supplies. Even a quality 350W should be ok in a basic rig (single HD, single optical). Only the GT and Ultras would pose a porblem IMO, and then only to serious rigs with something sub 400W or a crappy no name 450w or less.


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

pauldh

Illustrious
If we want to look at one game, then HL2 in DX9 shows drastic differences. How is <A HREF="http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/geforce_fx_half-life2/page5.asp" target="_new">2-3 times the performance</A> at every setting in both the VST and CS:Source. I like the CS Source 1280x1024 scores of 17.6fps for the FX5700U and 60.3 fps for the 9600XT.

If you had to pick one card of the two for the same price and play Doom 3, Farcry, and HL2 on it, it seems the clear choice would be the 9600XT.


ABIT IS7, P4 2.6C, 1GB Corsair XMS 4000 Pro Series, Radeon 9800 Pro, Santa Cruz, TruePower 430watt