I'm debating on either purchasing an FX5700U or an FX5600U. If I purchase the FX5600 it will be for the short term, until Nvidia debuts their next line (assuming I have $$$ to upgrade then). If I purchase the FX5700 Ultra it will probably be for a while (6-12 months). So what I'm ultimately asking is, is it worth it? I'll be buying it from CompUSA, NEWEGG has them starting at $160+.

$169.99 - NORMAL PRICE
- $40.00 - INSTANT SAVINGS ($129.99 @ REGISTER)
- $30.00 - MAIL-IN REBATE
$99.99 - Price After Savings & Rebate

No, the 5700 is up to 40% better than the 5600 in benchies.. IMO a 20-40% increase + 3-6 months xtra time you get out of it is worth it...

Actually, get a Radeon 9600 XT, same price, better card...

In current games they are similar but in DX9 shiz the Radeon series BLOWS THE FX's AWAY

I know the 5700 outperforms the 5600 by a wide margin, don't get me wrong - the 5700 is my first choice when it comes to performance in that price bracket. But what I'm probably going to be focusing on the most is bang for my buck. I don't know if I'll have the $$$ for the 5700. It's sitting just about 2 bones... I don't play DX9 games. I've just been playing FS2K4 & RTCW:ET lately. I'm not demanding of my video cards like you guys are. I probably should have added that in the initial post. And the kicker, I'm still using my GeForce 2 GTS 64MB card. Reliable and trusty, but its time to replace it.

In a state of conflict right now...

the 9600 XT is $165 to $205 depending on the maker at newegg.com
Radeon 9600 XT @ newegg

the 9600 Pro aint bad either and its cheaper, starts at $145
Radeon 9600 Pro

I think he is scared of ATI as I once was.. Till you people knocked some sence into me .. Mainly Lokie. LOL went over to the dark side.. ATI and AMD>> lol

i was scared then i went to ati with a radeon 9600 pro. I have never been happier.

The current thoughts on Video Cards and the Gaming future, ATI will be best on Half Life 2 and Nvidia will be Best for Doom3 (And any games based on these engines in the future, like Quake 4 Due at the end of 2004)

You do not play New games, so you have to look at the games you play today, and I see quite a few benchmarks using ET for testing.

HERE is a review of the 9600Pro versus 5600Ultra

And another one HERE

Yes, I'm a little reluctant to crossover to ATi. That doesn't mean I'm not willing to. But the whole purpose of this thread I guess is to determine is there a better card for $99.99?

Closest card you can find retail for 99$ is the Ati 9600SE at Pricewatch.com
It would be a draw, I would guess, since its underclocked quite a bit compared to a Pro or Standard version.

The 5600 is not a terrible card, but a old generation Ti4200's Spanked it in older games, the big "Deal" with the 5600 is it supports DX9 games, and there only just few titles on the shelf now.
I Dont think there is a better Nvidia card For 99$ around without a rebate. The Ti4200 64meg is under 100$, but I don't think it would be faster since it's only 64meg. and the 5200 is just plain garbage.

Go for it, but I would start looking closer at ATi in the future...More performance for your $$
( Rebates not included)

i agree with $olid$

Well folks I went to CompUSA at about 7:00 AM and they were out of stock. I know I can order one online for the same price and still use the rebates but I decided against it. So I ended up ordering a stick of Corsair XMS PC2700 from Newegg. I'm barrowing a 512 stick of Kingston Value Ram from my brother and he wants it back. So picking up a vid card will have to wait until next paycheck at least.

Lesson Learned: You Snooze, You Lose.