ghost gamer 0 Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 Ok, help. I have read a bizillion articles on these two cards .And most are inconclusive as to a clear winner. It seems the 5900 is a little cheaper, but does that make it a better value? I am sick of reading articles, guess I should have asked the people who really know, you guys. Which card is better? Is the 9800 worth the extra money? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recon 0 Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 I'm no expert but I've got the 9800non-pro which can easily be flashed to a pro (as long as you have the right type of RAM). So technically I've got a 9800pro cheaper - the best of both worlds. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Zebb 7 Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 I have the Creative FX 5900 Ultra 256mb and it seems to be working perfectly, ive just updated the driver today which is doing ok, i got mine on ebay a few weeks ago about £100 cheaper than any site so im very happy with it, i did think about the ATI but ive always had a Geforce with no problems so i stuck with what i know, its horses for courses on this one mate, sorry Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NYR_32 6 Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 I got an ATi 9800 pro for $340 and I'm loving it......made the switch from Nvidia and I have no regrets. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ghost gamer 0 Posted October 24, 2003 Author Share Posted October 24, 2003 ...thanks everyone.....I understand the 9800 has 8 pipelines?...is that correct?....what exactly does that mean?....and does the 5900 only have four?.....one thing, actually the single thing that drives me to the edge of insanity is that when one looks at a card the tech specs will list triangles/sec...textiles/sec......memory bandwith...clock speed...then one looks at another card and it lists different specs or none at all except maybe core clock speed and amount of memory...it makes comparing stuff immpossible Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NurFACE 0 Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 www.anandtech.com and www.tomshardware do a good job of showing charts with benchmark results. The magazine pc gamer also gives alot of input towards hardware. Right now the clear cut winner is ATI with the RADEON 9700 pro and ATI 9800 XT these two cards have high frame per second on most bench results compared to Nvidia. Nvidia is having a problem with directx 9 and card actually running its suppose to with current drivers but don't go by me research more and you will see. I have a nvidia card 4200 and considering upgrading to 9700pro because its $100.00 dollars cheaper with marginal frame per second difference. Good Luck Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlueRose_76 0 Posted October 25, 2003 Share Posted October 25, 2003 Recon,Oct 24 2003, 14:49 ] I'm no expert but I've got the 9800non-pro which can easily be flashed to a pro (as long as you have the right type of RAM). So technically I've got a 9800pro cheaper - the best of both worlds. How you do that, and whats the benefit? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest SI-Prozac Posted October 25, 2003 Share Posted October 25, 2003 I was reading bench marks on some websites. And the 5900Ultra vs the 9800Pro .... for some reason they claim that the 5900 was the better card... even thoe the 9800 did better in all the games.... only tihng the 5900 out did was the 3dmark 03 benchmarks. by i tihnk like 300 points or somthing. I got a 9800pro 128mb works fine. with pc4000 ram thoe..... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recon 0 Posted October 25, 2003 Share Posted October 25, 2003 (edited) Recon,Oct 24 2003, 14:49 ] I'm no expert but I've got the 9800non-pro which can easily be flashed to a pro (as long as you have the right type of RAM). So technically I've got a 9800pro cheaper - the best of both worlds. How you do that, and whats the benefit? You follow some instructions and type a few things in and then your 9800non-pro thinks its a pro. Apparently, if you have the correct type of RAM the non-pro is the same as the pro but it's just under-clocked. This makes your card perform just like a pro! It's like an auto-over-clock. You should only do it if your card has Samsung RAM though, otherwise it can screw it up. I've 'flashed' it and it works great! Go to the Rage3D.com forums and search for the user "Recon" to see my nervous little n00b questions about flashing the 9800. Some of the answers should help you too. Here is the whole main thread. It sounds really complecated but it isn't that bad really. I could help you if you want to do it (flash it) and get stuck. (Is it just me or did that last sentance sound really sexual?) Edited October 25, 2003 by [TCS]Recon Quote Link to post Share on other sites
WhiteKnight77 1 Posted October 25, 2003 Share Posted October 25, 2003 Maximum PC had rated both the 9800 Pro and the 5900 Ultra as top of the line cards until Valve held a press conference with ATI attending also. Valve stated that the 5900 Ultra card had problems with some of the shader programs in Half-Life 2. Now I have been considering the 5900 Ultra, and even with that announcement, I still haven't changed my mind. Valve states that their shader programs are optimized for the 9800 Pro. They also claim that the FX 5900 Ultra will run HL2 under DirectX8 settings automatically. Personally, I could care less if it ran the shader programs in HL2 as it is not a game I want. Make your descision on what games you want and how the card would preform for you with them games. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
KRP 56 92 Posted October 25, 2003 Share Posted October 25, 2003 Seems like the FX5900 Ultra is already old hat. They have the FX 5950 Ultra out. How could you go wrong with any of the top of the line cards. My best luck has been with NVIDIA. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlueRose_76 0 Posted October 26, 2003 Share Posted October 26, 2003 Thanks recon. Not planning to overclock (yet). Could be handy. I could help you if you want to do it (flash it) and get stuck. (Is it just me or did that last sentance sound really sexual?) Just say you re like, er, in a poetic state of mind. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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