TI 4400 or ATI 9800 pro

[robamb]

Hi there
Can anyone advise me what to do, I have a Geforce 4 TI 4400 card and am wondering whether it would be worth me upgrading to an ATI 9800 pro at the moment ie: would i see much of an inprovement in speed and quality in games. Or should i wait.

 

[cleeve]

Depends on the games you are playing, and if you use AA and AF.

If you use antialiassing and anistropic filtering, you'll see a big difference.

If you are playing the NEWEST titles... say, Max Payne 2 or Tron 2.0, and are looking for an investment in something that will play upcoming titles as well, it's a great card.

If you play nothing but older DirectX 7/8 titles and don't use AA and AF, don't bother. The Geforce4 Ti series holds up well.

------------------
Radeon 9500 (hardmodded to PRO, o/c to 322/322)
AMD AthlonXP 2400+ (o/c to 2600+ with 143 fsb)
3dMark03: 4055

 

[russmon]

I just went from a GF4200 to a 9800 non-pro. Biggest difference is the AA/AF performance. Tough to go back to games without using 4xAA and 8xAF now.

 

[robamb]

I have just bought Max Payne 2, Can just about run Max Payne 1 with everything switched on including AA etc but game does tend to jump about a bit in places. How long would the 9800 pro be good for a couple of years or less

 

[Guest]

Captain Obvious suggests that yes, its a worthy upgrade!

The change to AA and Ansio will probably mean you will never go back. The difference is extreemly nice!

<b><font color=red>Captain Obvious To The Rescue!!!
Captain Obvious: Pointing out the Obvious and not so Obvious!</font color=red></b>

 

[pullse]

This is my first post...so hello everyone. I was hoping to get some input as far as a video card upgrade. I currently have a geforce 4600 ti, running on a p4 2.4ghz machine with 512MB of 1066 rdram. I want to upgrade my card but I'm not sure what I should consider. How does it compare to the ati cards out now (9600 pro - 9800 xt)? I play mostly newer games. Also, would I benefit more from a video card upgrade or a processor upgrade...say to a 3ghz cpu? TIA for any suggestions.

 

[Guest]

Captain Obvious says the Ti4600 is still a good card, and in DirectX 8 titles it performs around the R9600 - R9600Pro level!

However the R9600 and R9800 have Directx 9 capability, better shaders and handle AA and Ansio will less performance loss.

The Captain suggests that a ti4600 -> R9600 Pro upgrade isnt very great. A R9800 Pro would be a much more significant upgrade!

And finally the Captain says that 2.4Ghz should be sufficient for now.

<b><font color=red>Captain Obvious To The Rescue!!!
Captain Obvious: Pointing out the Obvious and not so Obvious!</font color=red></b>

 

[Coyote]

Well we're getting a little off thread here... but since you bring up how long would a 9800pro be good for, I've been wondering myself. I was gonna buy a 9800pro for xmas, but now am not sure it's worth it. I revisted the Doom III benchmarking article yesterday and noticed the low framerates in MEDIUM quality with high res and AA & AF and a refresh rate of only 60 mghz. Given that those frame rates are an average, I'm thinking when the action heats up even todays best is going to be unbearable slow. AND I want to see in high quality, not medium, with all the eye candy (AA & AF and high res.)

I'm now rethinking the whole 9800Pro (w/b same with nVidia brand). Why buy the top now and then have to be satisfied with medium quality and low frame rates so soon?

It's also made me think what's the point of Id releasing Doom III if nothing around now can play it with high quality and high res etc. Geez, by the time new cards come out that could handle it, the game would already be "old'.

Link to Doom III benchie:<A HREF="http://www.tomshardware.com/graphic/20030512/geforce_fx_5900-13.html" target="_new">http://www.tomshardware.com/graphic/20030512/geforce_fx_5900-13.html</A>

XP 2000+
MSI KT3 ULTRA-2 KT333
Maxtor 60GB ATA 133 7200RPM
512MB PC2700
ABIT G4 Ti4200 OTES 64MB
Win98SE<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Coyote on 11/25/03 06:33 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[baldurga]

Hi Coyote,

I agree with you. I was going to buy a 9600Pro (current CPU GF3Ti500), but I realized that games that I use to play run quite well but, more important, the games I target (Doom III and HL2) are NOT available and when they are it will be a new generation of GPUs that can handle better and for less money.

I other words, I think the right match between DX9 awaited games and GPUs will come in about 6 months. And I can survive with my GF3 until now. And for sure if I would have a GF4!


Still looking for a <b>good online retailer</b> in Spain :frown:

 

[kinney]

I agree with you. I was going to buy a 9600Pro (current CPU GF3Ti500), but I realized that games that I use to play run quite well but, more important, the games I target (Doom III and HL2) are NOT available and when they are it will be a new generation of GPUs that can handle better and for less money.

I other words, I think the right match between DX9 awaited games and GPUs will come in about 6 months. And I can survive with my GF3 until now. And for sure if I would have a GF4!

Smart man.
Man of the year award to you sir!

----
I just tell it like it is and some can't handle it. If your experience is different, well congratu-fukulation.
<b>I’M NOT A ATI FANBOY, I’M NOT A NV FANBOY, I’M A STABILITY FANBOY</b>

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Remember that those D]|[ benchmarks are running an nV-centric path, not generic ARB2. Very immature benchie too. So I wouldn't put too much faith in them.
Expect the games like D]|[/HL2 to run much smoother (likely on all cards) once they're actually released (especially now that HL2 has more time). So people with R9800/FX5900 should be ok (also depends on optimizations, etc.), just don't expect all the sliders to go to the right and every box to be ticked and still get decent frame rates.

However that being said, yes, if you've got an OK card now, it's likely benificial to wait if you can. For some people the games just don't play the way they want them, if you don't fit that category then wait. It's the smart thing to do, not that we've ever done the smart thing.

I want a Purple TUX for Prom!



- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! - <b>RED GREEN</b> GA to SK

<A HREF="http://www.lochel.com/" target="_new">-NEW PIC IN THGC ALBUM-</A>

 

[shadus]

At the present time I would suggest you wait.

There are new lines of graphics cards coming Q1/Q2 of 2004. You'll probally get a better card from either company if you wait till then to upgrade.

Shadus