ATI 9800 Pro or eVGA 6800

[Blackmoore]

Right now I have purchased a AMD 64 3200+ and an Abit KV8 Pro Mobo. I have a budget of $700 and those alone will cost me $316. I also got a 480 Watt PSU with was $55 so now my total is $371. Now I am debating whether to get the ATI 9800 Pro, or the eVGA 6800. If I get the 9800 pro I could buy something else like a 10k RPM hard drive, or maybe some new optical drives and a better heatsink and fan. If I get the 6800 that will pretty much be it. Both the cards will make a huge difference over my existing FX 5600, but I need some suggestions on what to get?

 

[SNiPeRViRuS]

well since u have a budget i would get the 9800Pro so u can get other stuff. but if u want performence i would get the 6800. But hey, the 9800Pro is a great card itself.

 

[Sir]

The 9800 Pro is a great card that will hold you off for quite a while. I'd recommend getting that card since you're on a budget and get the other stuff. If you are unsatisfied with your card, you can save up some cash later and upgrade.

 

[Spartan 1394]

I agree with Sniper and Sir.

 

[Blackmoore]

I have never owned an ATI card before so I think I will go with the 9800 Pro. Is ATI Radeon the one I want to get? Or should I go with another manufactuer like Saffire ATI or something of that nature?

 

[Nubius]

oh man thats a toughy.... I'm gonna have to disagree though =) only on the simple fact that the 6800 will prepare you for all the next generation games that are gonna come out for a while. The 6800 is so much more advanced over the FX series of nvidia and the 9600 and 9800's of ATI. Sooo you should just get the bomb-biggy-bomb graphics card and just wait a month or however long it takes you to save up some cash if you want a 10KRPM hard drive.

Yeah lookin at your specs...man just buy the 6800 and wait for a new hard drive..it'll be so much more worth it and your gig of RAM will do excellent. Its not performance series but...hey oddly enough I have one stick samsung and one stick kingston myself! lol No doubt they'll start making games that'll tax that 9800pro pretty quickly....the 6800 should last quite long being that that mermaid demo that nvidia put out in realtime render for the 6800 was easy 50-60fps and they said if you went and got the 5950 Ultra 256mb that on that same demo it'd only get 2-3FPS.....so you gotta realize this 6800 is a HUGE jump from the FX series and the 9600 and 9800's of ATI.

oh and HELL YEAH To eVGA they are an awesome brand

EDIT: NOOOOOOO!! Don't start to go ATI now! You got nothin but problems ahead! the X800 is nothing compared to 6800...too many tweaks and fixes to make it = the 6800....(oh man I'm gonna be hearing from agex on this one =P ) Boooooooo ATI! Boooooo!!!

 

[U-Toast]

yea, get the 9800 pro and a sata hd. the hd is much faster than normal ide, u can really tell a difference, they are real nice. Get a raptor. And u can get a hsf also

edit: i changed my mind reading nubius post, lol. yea go for the 6800. the hd can wait.

 

[Nubius]

ahh man everyones against me =(

hehehe

 

[Mission]

the 6800 should last quite long being that that mermaid demo that nvidia put out in realtime render for the 6800 was easy 50-60fps and they said if you went and got the 5950 Ultra 256mb that on that same demo it'd only get 2-3FPS.....so you gotta realize this 6800 is a HUGE jump from the FX series and the 9600 and 9800's of ATI.

Nvidia could of said the while 2-3 fps thing to make the 6800 seem much better, nvidia has been failing for a while, the odds of a comeback are there, but slim...will the 6800 do it? i dont no...it hasnt been around long enough for me to say its an awsome card.

Im personally buying a 9800 Pro because i no it will last a while. And if it starts slowing down on you, you can over clock it to the speeds of a 9800XT...which is another amazing card.

 

[_SiLv3R_]

i see your point Mission but I've seen both the 9800XT and the 6800 GT in action... id say that the 6800 series is a better card hands down... i personally have never seen a x800 but i hear ppl say that the 6800 out performs the X800 series as well