What to get?

[spazman]

Ok, i am desperate for a new graphics card, ive been looking to get a Radeon 9800 pro, however i cant bring myself to spend over £200 on a graphics card. Especially as their is new cards on the horizon. So what should i get, 9800 pro, 9600 pro (now what im looking to get) or 9600xt. Thanks for you help

Spazman

[Stewart]

Wasn't everyone banging on about a 9800se that you could soft-mod to 9800pro levels?

Might be worth a look. 9600pro's are still pretty powerful with todays games, and I doubt you'll feel the pinch for a while with one of those.

[evildoc614]

i just bought a 9600aiw pro great card proably more then you need but i would get the 9600pro if i were you. i am really dont like to buy top of the line because as soon as you do if something eles comes out and the price that you paid for it has now drop big time. so i would try and find a 9700pro or just get a 9600pro and wait it out see what eles is coming out. 9800pro its a lot of money for what? so you can get 17K+ on 3dmark01? its up too you though = )

[Austin]

If your 8500LE is clocked around 250/250 it's well worth holding on until Feb/April next year when (IMHO) you'll get a big boost in overall perf as well as getting DX9 and superb AA+AF. IF you do want to upgrade now the 9500PRO or 9700 are great cards if you can find them otherwise 9600PRO/XT, 9800SE, FX5700ultra or 9800 are the ways to go.

The FX5700ultra is based on the GF-FX archy so although often faster than 9600XT it may hurt you down the line and we'll have to see how prices work out. 9600PRO when o/c'ed can easily surpass the 9600XT which are little more than higher clocked PRO anyway. 9800SE (256bitDDR 380/340 versions) are worth a look if you are a gambler as they stand some chance of modding to a full 9800PRO. It's pretty even between the 9600PRO/XT & 9800SE, 9600 o/c VERY well but will never ever mod to a 9800PRO. If you want a top card 9800 is really the place to look but some 9800PRO can be had for only £20 more.

I don't often say wait but the mid-range DX9 cards have been stagnant since the 9500PRO was introduced 9 months ago. So long as your 8500LE has decent clocks it should tide you over just a few months more.

[shamus21]

Yes spazman
Wait until april 2004 for ATI`s GPU R420 core , going to be a lot faster card and 3rd gen DX9 .