What would you get + Guidence

[Dorza]

I think its about time I replaced my R8500 with somthing a little newer. The Radeon - Xwhatever is way out of my range of 150 quid or less. These are the cards im considering at the moment (All ATI).

9600 XT Ultimate Edition - £135 - I probably wouldn't go for this one since the extra money over the card below is for HL2.

9600XT Fireblade - £106.60

9800 SE - £97.36

and finally a 9800 PRO

Im not sure which one is best for me. Whats the main difference between them all? The bottom line is that I want somthing that will give me good quality graphics in many of the latest games and will last me for a good 2 or 3 years. What do you think i should do/go for?

PS, is there anything Nvidia can offer at this range?

[myth]

the 9800 pro would be your best bet... but you could get one second hand for less! However I dont think it will last for 3 years...

[Dickie]

i'm in the same sorta position. looking for a new card to replace my GeForce 2 GTS (!), but dont wanna spend a bomb. Really, it comes down to something that can play HL2 well (at about 1024x768, crappy old 15" crt), with the juice turned on. Will a 9800pro be good enough for it?

[yamangman]

A 9800 Pro 128Mb is the quickest card you can buy with that sort of money, I mean, I bought mine months ago and it was only £130. I doubt you'll be playing top of the line games on it though in 3 years time, but I doubt you could play top of the line games on X800 cards in 3 years time, although you could make it last that long.

I think a 9800 Pro coupled with a halfway decent CPU and RAM will be plenty for HL2.

[Dorza]

When i say last for 3 years i mean still be able to run games, even if its on low quality. In 3 years time my 8500 will be out of the equation totally, atleast id have a gimmer of hope of being able to play games with a 9800. Thanks for your input so far. I thought you'd all say the 9800pro

[myth]

Actualy I'd recomend a plain 6800...

[mike_w]

You might want to wait for the new mid-range graphics cards coming out soon - the nVidia 6600GT and ATi X700. In tests, the 6600GT beat the previous generation's top range (9800XT) most of the time. The 6600GT only fell behind slightly in test with higher resolutions and AA (due to the 128-bit bus apparently), so it might last a bit longer.

You could get one off the internet for about £150 when they come out, considering you can get a plain 6800 for around £200 now (I think).

[Dorza]

I've thought about the X700 but i read its only coming out in a PCI-E version initially. AGP is expected to follow, tho i dont know how long after. I could just upgrade my CPU & Memory (part of my upgrade plans) for now and see what happens with the X700 lol.

[SilentDeath]

You will find gfx has much more effect on performance. I recommend you wait for the next budget cards, maybe even save untill your able to afford a high end card

[menthel]

And anyway, by the time HL2 arrives we will all be living on mars!