Alright, since i busted up my G4 Ti4800... I have a couple questions...
First off, after reading reviews, the Asus ATI Radeon 9800XT is my top choice.... kinda on the expensive side.... kinda
If i were to get that, how long would it last me until i would have to upgrade...

next, I also heard great things about the Crucial 9800 Pro again how long would it be till i would have to upgrade...

Then there is the Asus 9600XT, which would be better the Crucial 9800 Pro or the 9600XT

if i were to go geforce i would get a FX5950 but.... I am not goin GFX... no way...


Also, will i have to reformat to install t he new card... or can i just uninstall the drivers and install new ones....

Thanks

Bryant

Well I'm getting a BFG Technologies Asylum GeForce FX5950 Ultra so (And it's cheaper than the 9800XT)

And simply put, you won't. Or atleast it wont be a huge upgrade.
Why? PCI Express.
The next gen. or video card will be on both AGP and PCI EXP. but after that generation it's all PCI Express.(Most sane people tent to upgrade every other genertation of cards or so...]

That's like getting a Radeon 9200 and then getting a 9500 pro when the XT's are out but the 9500 is your limit.

Well thats what I'm thinking...any other opinions?

EDIT: And about which card to get, I dunno I'm a Nvidia person....
My exapmle was designed for you closed minded Radeon people

i would wait for Express but i cant, if my cards broken

If you have the money get the 9800XT. Or mabey even a 9800 non-pro and flash it to 9800XT. Ive used nvdia card up till a month ago when i got my 9600pro,the diffrence is hudge. ATi rox0rz nvidias b0x0rz

You can just installt the new card and drivers w/o a reform no problem.

IMO the Radeon 9800 Pro and XT are so similar its crazy, seems like the XT has a better stock cooler and has a higher voltage setting but other than that its nothing you cant get from a 9800 Pro OC'ed, and with all the aftermarket coolers...


IMO though the 9800 Pro or XT would last 1 year if you like having the best and 2-3 if you dont mind being abit slower, keep in mind that until late next year when PCI-X comes out there probably wont be any really good upgrades unless they do a last hurrah thing. the 9600 XT would probably be on a similar timetable so the questions you have to ask are;

Do I want to get PCI-X (with a new mobo and proc, duh) when it comes out or do I want to wait a year or so for the tech to be tested?

if you want to get it ASAP (PCI-X) then go the 9600 XT route


if you said you want to wait a year get the Pro / XT 9800.

Then the question is, do I want the best stock gear or do I want a cheaper card and then to buy an aftermarket cooler and OC?

If you want it stock go XT, if you dont mind modding it abit (dont we all?) then get the Pro , add a Zalman heatpipe and a decent fan over it and you can OC it to 420 core or better if you get lucky and the memory will go up too

Btw, the 9600XT is no way close the performance of a 9800 Pro or even a 9800 non-pro.

If you have the money, you should get the 9800 Pro because the XT is the same card with higher clock speeds and an extra 128 mb of ram. It would be foolish to get an XT unless you want a pretty HL2 voucher.

I, myself, am waiting for PCI Express.

i have a MCW50 Water block Graphics card cooler all ready for it when I get the card

Can anyone give me some links for this pci-x i have herd alot about it on these forums but that about it .

can someone please answer this question?
will i have to reformat to install t he new card... or can i just uninstall the drivers and install new ones.?

btw, i was a GeForce Fan but i have heard so many good things about ATI have to try it

how long till the pci-x comes out, im looking to upgrade also but want to know how long of a wait..

You should find all your answers about PCI-X in this thread.

well... Since I dont want to blow 519 dollars on the 9800XT... well i wanted to, my parents didnt I went with the Sapphire 9800 Pro, for two reasons, its a good card, and it looks pimp... black PCB is so nice looking, it will look even better with a water block sitting on it... *drools* and cant forget the Ramsinks i also bought

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Thats a great deal for a great card.

I was thinkin' about getting one of those and slappin' on a zalman heatpipe. Imagine black and greyish silver. That would be pimp. Seeing a water block would be pimp too, but I dont know about the ramsinks. I always thought those looked a bit cheesy.