Which Is Better For The Price?

[Robby682]

I'm looking into buying a new video card very soon and have looked around a bit and have come down to 2 options:

Option No1. -- ATI Radeon 9800 Non-Pro (299$) 128 DDR


--OR--


Option No2. -- ATI Radeon 9600 PRO (199$) 128 DDR


Here's the situation -- BOTH have 128 DDR Ram, BOTH are 9x compatible -- So why pay an extra 100 bucks for the 9800? All I'm looking for is performance so is the extra 100 bucks worth a significant boost in gaming performance?

Some advice from anyone who knows anything or has some experience with these two cards would be extremely appreciated. Thnx.

[WickedDeus]

The 9800 has a 256bit pipeline compared to 128bit in the 9600. Also the 9800 has 8 pipes compared to 4 in the 9600.

Both of these cards will run whatever you need at the highest res with good framerate. The 9800 will do it better with many more frames but its really just a number game for bragging rights.

[powdahound]

It depends what the rest of your system currently is... If you don't have a top of the line CPU don't get the 9800 because it wont be used to its full potential. In other words, you don't want your CPU to be a bottleneck.

[Strygun]

why get a 9600pro when you can get a 9700pro?

[Katanaboy]

because ATI doesnt make the 9700 pro anymore (you can find it at stores, but they will run out soon). The 9000, 9500, and 9700 got replaced with the 9200, 9600, and 9800, respectively. (hence, the argument of 9600 vs 9800)
BTW, i use a 9600 pro, and the game runs perfectly fine for me. I use high detail graphics, and get framerates of anywhere between 80-140 when not doing anything, and 40-60 during battles (even the large ones). In my opinion, 9600 is fine if you dont want to spend the extra 100 bucks.

[Nixon]

The game looks great with a 9700 with all the features turned on and maxed. At the moment, both the 9600 and 9800 will be able to run PlanetSide the way it's meant to be seen.

As others have suggested, make sure your system can handle it. Skimping on a processor, RAM, or a cheap motherboard means your system might not be able to handle the raw power the card is able to produce.

All in all... $100 difference boils down to 1) Do you want THE current top of the line card that'll be adequete for any title released in the next couple-few years and 2) Is there something else you'd rather use that $100 on to shore up a part of your system that needs more power (RAM, CPU). It's like deciding between getting a 2 GHz processor or spending some extra cash to get that 2.4.