5900xt with anti-aliasing?

[johnnr892]

Hi, I want to get a graphics card for my first build and i want to get it of E-Buyer because many of my other parts are coming from there. I have about £120-5 at the max to spend. I was looking at the xfx 5900xt which looked good and i wondered whether it would be any good at anti-aliasing. i know its a fast card but if it could do even a 2x anti-aliasing smoothly it would be good. Also on there are the radeon 9800 pros which i might get instead, but these are out of stock. Would the 9800 pro be harder to install for a first time pc builder and would it perform better at anti-aliasing. Finally, i could look at th 9600xt instead of the 5900xt because they are in stock but im not sure which is better. Which one performs better on the latest games, anti-aliasing etc... just give me your thoughts and opinions. Thanks, any help would be appreciated, John.

[Nomadd]

If I was looking around at that sort of price range, I'd choose the 9800Pro over the 5900 (even though I'm a long-term Nvidia fan - currently running a 6800GT). You don't mention screen resolution, as that will have a big impact (as will the game(s)) on the acceptable levels of AA/AF you find. Still, 9800Pro should be good enough.

Might be worth also looking at some of the newer generation cards from Nvidia/ATI - i.e. those that sit below the 6800NU and X800. Cards like the 6600/X600. I don't have any experience of these, but their seem to be plenty of web reviews popping up, so read around. Guess you'd also be looking at AGP? Keep in mind the type of slot you are going to stick it into when looking at cards (i.e. AGP or PCi-e, depending on your mobo choice.)

Nomadd

[mike_w]

Out of the 9800 Pro and 5900XT, I'd choose a 9800 Pro. I don't see any reason why it would be any more difficult to install.

A 9800 Pro is probably the cheapest graphics card I'd get if I wanted to build PC for gaming, so I wouldn't go for a 9600XT. As Nomadd said, the 6600s should be worth looking at, as well as the X700. At first sight, the 6600s seem to be beating the previous generation's best (e.g. 9800XT) in most tests, except for those with high resolutions and AA.

[johnnr892]

I'm going to be using it on a
Gigabyte GA-7S748-l
512mb 2700 crucial ram
2600xp 512 l2 cache
80gb maxtor
win xp
330w antec true power psu

So I think it's mainly between 5900xt and 9800pro if they get them in stock sonn.(e-buyer) Does anyone know about the 9600xt and their performance on anti-aliasing? Thanks, John. Will either cards work will on my system?

[mike_w]

Here's a handy chart with all the cards relative performance in various games: http://www20.graphics.tomshardware.c...229/index.html

But a 9800 Pro should flatten a 9600XT, and a 9800 Pro will be a lot better value for money.

[johnnr892]

I really want an 9800pro now! does anyone know where i can get the cheapest one online off a reputable online retailer? Thanks, John.

[Agent]

Keep in mind, you can flash decent brand 5900's into 5950 ultras (with only 128meg of RAM)

[johnnr892]

If i were to get a 9800pro would i need an extra power connecter from my psu to the card. I will only be running one small hardrive, and a cd rw. If so what connecter would i look for? My supply will be an antec true power 330w:
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...duct_uid=35881
Thanks,JOhn

[ed^chigliak]

Cheap 9800pro £119 inc. VAT + free delivery and the cards I ordered all turned up next day. No frills... graphics card in an anti-static bag so you need to grab the drivers off the ATI web site.

http://www.lowestonweb.com/Products/...-B643-2A672531