Graphics cards

[wealthysoup]

does anybody know whether a Sapphire ATI Radeon 9800 Atlantis 128 MB Card or Connect3D ATI Radeon 9250 256MB is better and please explain how because i dont know very much about graphics cards. Thanks.

[Dan]

Well I'm no expert on ATI cards (nVidia guy )  but I would imagine the 256mb card would be the better because it has that bit extra memory to keep its stiff in. They're both for AGP right?

[wealthysoup]

Yes both are agp

[Dan]

Well I took a look at the cards on OCUK and teh impression I got was that the 9250 only has 4 pixel pipelines and 4 vertex shaders (4*4). I think the 9800 8*4, so it would be a littrle faster. It is a lot more expensive, and if they are at all like nVidia's then there is a chance you could soft-mod a 9250 up to the 9800. I have no experience of them - you best bet is to look at the ORB down at www.futuremark.com and see how the benchmarks compare. I think the 9800 will probably come out on top in the end.

For what its worth a good nVidia 6800 will power you nicely as well - the 6800LE (My Card) will soft mod nicely to 12*4 or even 12*6, at the meagre  ;) cost of

[Delta_]

The 9800 is a lot faster than the 9250.  The memory speeds, memory bandwidth, clock speed etc are much greater.  Even with less memory the 9800 is much better.

http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphi ... ts-09.html
This benchmark does not include the 9250 but it does show the 9800, however the 9250 is weaker than the 9200. simply because it is a more budget card, so it uses cheaper memory.

The 9200 none se is almost the same (but not quite) performance as a 9600se.

[4_Series_Scania]

Not forgetting, anybody looking for a 9800 should really go for a Geforce 6600GT - a FAR better choice.  ;)

[Delta_]

Not forgetting, anybody looking for a 9800 should really go for a Geforce 6600GT - a FAR better choice.  ;)

Definetly.  The 6600GT is a much better card in a similar price range.

[Dan]

Definetly.  The 6600GT is a much better card in a similar price range.

Says Hi-D with a Radeon in the box...  ;) 6800's do rock a lot!
Dan  ;D

[4_Series_Scania]

Says Hi-D with a Radeon in the box...  ;) 6800's do rock a lot!
Dan  ;D

They do indeed, but, I was on about the 6600GT!  ???

I went for the 6800LE, "modified it " via Rivatuner and have a similar level of performance to a base 6800Nu card for 6600GT money.

I would define AGP cards thus,

High end - ATI X800XT

Mid Range - Geforce 6800GT

Cheapskate like me,  Geforce 6600GT / 6800LE / 6800Nu

[Dan]

Ah yes sorry mate... I havne theard much about the 6600's so its good to hear a little. BTW what did you get your LE up to? I managed to get 16 pipes 5 shaders out if it and my scores have gone to a new high of 19691 in Mark01 and 9304 in Mark03. Hows yours? Thats at 2250mhz on the AMD64 225 X 10.
Dan  

[Delta_]

Says Hi-D with a Radeon in the box...  ;) 6800's do rock a lot!
Dan  ;D

If i was to build a budget system right now i would put a 6600GT in it.  This generation of Radeons are not that great until you get into the X800 range especially the X850xt PE, but those are really expensive.  ;)

[4_Series_Scania]

[quote]Ah yes sorry mate... I havne theard much about the 6600's so its good to hear a little. BTW what did you get your LE up to? I managed to get 16 pipes 5 shaders out if it and my scores have gone to a new high of 19691 in Mark01 and 9304 in Mark03. Hows yours? Thats at 2250mhz on the AMD64 225 X 10.
Dan

[Dan]

Only trouble is that doesnt say what you unlocked the card to! I think the Mark01 score is down to the CPU a lot - mine didnt half go up when I OC'd! Theres a guy on OCUK running a 6800LE at 16*6 no trouble. Luck guy lol!
Dan

[wealthysoup]

I'm assuming of course that both of these graphics cards are better than a 128mb nvidia fx5200.

[4_Series_Scania]

I'm assuming of course that both of these graphics cards are better than a 128mb nvidia fx5200.

Yes, considerably! - they do cost 3 times the price of the FX5200, but offer alot more than 3x performance.

Run 3D Mark 2001 SE & 3D Mark 03 & compare results.

http://www.futuremark.com/download/