Video Card Help Options

[Sigma-Chi]

ATI Radeon 9700 Pro just dropped to $299, is it worth it or will the GeForce FX series be better?

I have been told that FX will be out in several weeks, and that ATI is fast but very unstable or incompatible with many driver issues.



Would like to hear what some of you have to say before I invest the cash.

[All over but the Crying]

I would not even consider an fx based card. I understand that the noise level generated by these cards is undesireable to say the least. I hear the radeon 9500 card for around $150 is the most bang for the buck at near 9700 levels plus I believe it has a non-trivial amount of overclocking headroom. If you are dead set on spending $400 on a card, go for the new 9800 that will be out in a matter of days. It is faster than the FX card on many benchmarks without the ridiculous sound levels. I think everybody (nvidia included) realizes that the FX card is a mistake (anybody remember the beast that 3dfx came out with several years back). I think that ATI will be the king of the market for awhile. The FX card which isn't out yet is only arguably better (at most) than the 9700 pro that has been out for 7 months, and the 9700 pro cards replacement will be out in a matter of a couple of weeks. Right now, I am using a Nvidia Geforce 3 that I have had for about 2 years now. I am looking at upgrading as well, and I see the ATI cards as being the logical choice for not only bang for your buck but also for most performance at any cost.


just my 2 cents worth

AOBTC