To return or Not to return?

psychofunk · 26-April-04, 06:23 PM

Okay I have this ASUS 9800 pro 256mb card that I got for $250, full retail package (has half life 2+plus a whole bunch of other software). My question to you is, with the newest ati around the corner (not the XT obviosly) should I return the asus for store credit until the new ati X800 pro is released? Does anyone have any idea whatsoever how good the new ati x800 pro will be as compared to the asus? What should I do?

davidkruta · 26-April-04, 06:29 PM

YES RETURN IT!
the new cards score over 10,000 in 3dmark03, ive never heard of a 9800xt(or pro for that matter) doing that. the x800 or the 6800 are going to blow away anything today.

FeRaL · 26-April-04, 06:31 PM

The real question is, are you going to be able to afford the new card even if you have store credit?

gorked · 26-April-04, 06:31 PM

The new ATI will have more than twice the performance of your 9800 Pro. The 6800 Ultra is twice the performance of the 9800XT, and the X800 is said to be better than the 6800 Ultra.

I would return it. You'll still have to spend another $200 to get the X800 when it comes out. Keep that in mind.

Arkangyl · 26-April-04, 06:37 PM

ATI brand vs. Asus brand isn't going to be that big. Supposedly though ATI's $300 X800 SE will be between the 9800 XT and the 6800nu and their $400 X800 Pro is a 15-20% boost over the 6800 Ultra; course ATI lacks PS 3.0 but it seems that PS 2.0 is pretty damn good but still.

IMO what card would you use until you got your new one? from what I've heard the X800 line MIGHT ship come May 5th but I'm betting thats just the NDA date; expect to see the new cards mid to late May. Hell, PCI-E and s939 AND LGA775 come out in mid/late June (probably will get bumped but hell...).

Let me put it this way, if you have either a 9600/5700 series or better to fall back on do it without a question; if your falling back to a ti4200'ish card then ask yourself; can I live without the current stuff looking that good for a month (knowing the tradeoff is that it'll run/look 2x better than with the Radeon 9800 256).

If either of those is acceptable return the Asus; if you're looking to fall back on a crappier card or you really want to play current games (Painkilla, UT2k4, Far Cry *bad example*) right now keep the Asus 256 knowing that it'll both A.) take some time for the new cards to ''settle in' i.e. become OC friendly and also knowing that 512mb R500 / NV50 cards MIGHT be out Xmas to early 05' and knowing that come XMas / Spring 05' you WILL want a new rig because of SATA2, PCI-E, DDR-2 and Tejas / 90nm AMD tech. We're ALL going to be getting a complete overall between Q3 04' and Q4 05' GARUNTEED...

biohazardpc · 26-April-04, 06:41 PM

You could hold on to the 9800 pro and sell ti when the new cards come out....I know people that would be interested in the card..

SexyPants · 26-April-04, 06:42 PM

Does the X800 pro even exist yet? Has anybody seen one?

Arkangyl · 26-April-04, 06:42 PM

Wow, several replies whilst I write my first.

Ne ways, yes the new cards are kickarse; but do you need teh power? knowing that you'll probably be dropping about another $150-200 for all that powah is it worth it? These new cards when the first come out might not be OC friendly.

The $200 question here is; do you plan to adopt PCI-E this summer or next? If you answer this summer then hold of until then, if you plan to wait till next year to jump on the PCI-E boat then get the top notch AGP tech now.

Remember, this summer PCI-E kicks off, and thats the new standard. Motherboards WON"T support both AGP and PCI-E so if you want the new stuff be ready to ditch the modern era.

Ark out...

edit: X800 cards are supposedly at the reviewers waiting for the possible May 5th NDA ending; in general ATI is being REALLY secretive about this one, only May 5th will tell. As for me; I've heard May 5th through mid/late may for X800 ship dates.

I've seen R423 cards and some X800 (photos of course)

psychofunk · 26-April-04, 07:19 PM

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH. TOO MANY CHOICES. So how about if I plan on keeping my current system for a year (yeah right-fork!! More $$$ up in smoke). Then that means in a year I will have to go with a PCI-X card all over again. What games are actually maxxing these cards out right now? Then when these other cards hit how much of a price drop on these 9800's. Now I really feel like that guy in the meat section in that Carls Jr commercial....

Arkangyl · 26-April-04, 07:44 PM

Alright psycho, ATM only Farcry is really maxxing out a Radeon 9800 series card. Basically you're trying to decide this;

Can I live with my Radeon 9800 Pro 256mb card until next year when I'll probably want a whole new setup. If your OK running some games coming out later this year w/o Anio and Antialiasing at 1280x1074 then your fine, wait, save the $$, you MIGHT have to turn the settings down a little towards the end of the run but thats it; you WILL BE ABLE TO PLAY ALL NEW GAMES with a 9800 Pro; the only POSSIBLE EXEPTION would be if makers go with a 64 bit platform but that is a CPU issue.

My answer, keep the 9800 Pro 256mb until your ready to go PCI-E.

Oh, and to the ho that said 9800's don't break 10k in 03, Macci JUST broke 10k points with his 9800 XT...

SexyPants · 26-April-04, 08:55 PM

Well here's a question. If you return it, do you think you could get away with the Half Life 2?

psychofunk · 27-April-04, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by _Sexy_Pants_


	Well here's a question. If you return it, do you think you could get away with the Half Life 2?

Probably but I won't do it, I am a reformed lowlife these days. I think I may keep the card anyway, just because to spend $500 now and $500 again in another year does not sit well with me. I was just hoping that the new cards would have a hardcore cheapy, like say $300 (like the 6800 non ultra, too bad they are cheating again) that would out perform the 9800.

psychofunk · 27-April-04, 07:38 PM

I just gave it to the UPS guy. Damn it how long til the new cards are actually released. Then which one Nvid or ATI? Is PS3.0 real or smoke? This sucks......are they here yet???.....How about now????.....

spyrius · 30-April-04, 02:15 AM

Personally, I just sold my 9700 Pro for $200, and i'm planning on spending about $250-300 on a 9800 Pro 256MB. Why not wait until the X800 comes out? Well, basically, I'm not going to worry about the X800's until the PCI Express version comes out. At that point, I'll get a whole new setup. Until then, I'm going to be perfectly happy with a 9800 Pro 256MB.

26-April-04, 06:23 PM	#1 (permalink)
psychofunk Funky Psych-Hoe Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 578	To return or Not to return? Okay I have this ASUS 9800 pro 256mb card that I got for $250, full retail package (has half life 2+plus a whole bunch of other software). My question to you is, with the newest ati around the corner (not the XT obviosly) should I return the asus for store credit until the new ati X800 pro is released? Does anyone have any idea whatsoever how good the new ati x800 pro will be as compared to the asus? What should I do? __________________ "To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the Amercian public" ---Theodore Rosevelt

26-April-04, 06:29 PM	#2 (permalink)
davidkruta Apex Master Tech Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Boston, Massachusetts Posts: 354	YES RETURN IT! the new cards score over 10,000 in 3dmark03, ive never heard of a 9800xt(or pro for that matter) doing that. the x800 or the 6800 are going to blow away anything today. __________________ AMD Athlon64 3200+ Gigabyte GA-K8VNXP 2x Corsair ValueSelect DDR400 512mb Antec TrueControl 550watt PSU Seagate Barracuda 160gb 7200rpm IDE Seagate Barracuda 80gb 7200rpm IDE(raid0) Seagate Barracuda 80gb 7200rpm IDE(raid0) Western Digital 100gb 7200rpm SATA ATI X800 256mb

26-April-04, 06:31 PM	#3 (permalink)
FeRaL Mutant Moderator Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: S-"hoe"-Cal Posts: 4,499	The real question is, are you going to be able to afford the new card even if you have store credit? __________________

26-April-04, 06:31 PM	#4 (permalink)
gorked Apex Tech Demi-God Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Cali Posts: 1,797	The new ATI will have more than twice the performance of your 9800 Pro. The 6800 Ultra is twice the performance of the 9800XT, and the X800 is said to be better than the 6800 Ultra. I would return it. You'll still have to spend another $200 to get the X800 when it comes out. Keep that in mind. __________________ ______________________________ Counter-Strike Pimps Idle and Perform #SbK on IRC!

26-April-04, 06:41 PM	#6 (permalink)
biohazardpc H.A.L.O.-Hoe Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Fayetteville NC Posts: 1,617	You could hold on to the 9800 pro and sell ti when the new cards come out....I know people that would be interested in the card.. __________________ When all else fails beat it with a hammer. One shot One kill, why waste ammo.

26-April-04, 06:37 PM	#5 (permalink)
Arkangyl Hoe-lier than Thou Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: far, far away Posts: 2,342	ATI brand vs. Asus brand isn't going to be that big. Supposedly though ATI's $300 X800 SE will be between the 9800 XT and the 6800nu and their $400 X800 Pro is a 15-20% boost over the 6800 Ultra; course ATI lacks PS 3.0 but it seems that PS 2.0 is pretty damn good but still. IMO what card would you use until you got your new one? from what I've heard the X800 line MIGHT ship come May 5th but I'm betting thats just the NDA date; expect to see the new cards mid to late May. Hell, PCI-E and s939 AND LGA775 come out in mid/late June (probably will get bumped but hell...). Let me put it this way, if you have either a 9600/5700 series or better to fall back on do it without a question; if your falling back to a ti4200'ish card then ask yourself; can I live without the current stuff looking that good for a month (knowing the tradeoff is that it'll run/look 2x better than with the Radeon 9800 256). If either of those is acceptable return the Asus; if you're looking to fall back on a crappier card or you really want to play current games (Painkilla, UT2k4, Far Cry bad example) right now keep the Asus 256 knowing that it'll both A.) take some time for the new cards to ''settle in' i.e. become OC friendly and also knowing that 512mb R500 / NV50 cards MIGHT be out Xmas to early 05' and knowing that come XMas / Spring 05' you WILL want a new rig because of SATA2, PCI-E, DDR-2 and Tejas / 90nm AMD tech. We're ALL going to be getting a complete overall between Q3 04' and Q4 05' GARUNTEED...

26-April-04, 06:42 PM	#7 (permalink)
SexyPants 5-Hoe-1 Jeans Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: New Orleans Posts: 3,182	Does the X800 pro even exist yet? Has anybody seen one? __________________

26-April-04, 06:42 PM	#8 (permalink)
Arkangyl Hoe-lier than Thou Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: far, far away Posts: 2,342	Wow, several replies whilst I write my first. Ne ways, yes the new cards are kickarse; but do you need teh power? knowing that you'll probably be dropping about another $150-200 for all that powah is it worth it? These new cards when the first come out might not be OC friendly. The $200 question here is; do you plan to adopt PCI-E this summer or next? If you answer this summer then hold of until then, if you plan to wait till next year to jump on the PCI-E boat then get the top notch AGP tech now. Remember, this summer PCI-E kicks off, and thats the new standard. Motherboards WON"T support both AGP and PCI-E so if you want the new stuff be ready to ditch the modern era. Ark out... edit: X800 cards are supposedly at the reviewers waiting for the possible May 5th NDA ending; in general ATI is being REALLY secretive about this one, only May 5th will tell. As for me; I've heard May 5th through mid/late may for X800 ship dates. I've seen R423 cards and some X800 (photos of course)

26-April-04, 07:19 PM	#9 (permalink)
psychofunk Funky Psych-Hoe Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 578	AHHHHHHHHHHHHH. TOO MANY CHOICES. So how about if I plan on keeping my current system for a year (yeah right-fork!! More $$$ up in smoke). Then that means in a year I will have to go with a PCI-X card all over again. What games are actually maxxing these cards out right now? Then when these other cards hit how much of a price drop on these 9800's. Now I really feel like that guy in the meat section in that Carls Jr commercial.... __________________ "To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the Amercian public" ---Theodore Rosevelt

26-April-04, 07:44 PM	#10 (permalink)
Arkangyl Hoe-lier than Thou Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: far, far away Posts: 2,342	Alright psycho, ATM only Farcry is really maxxing out a Radeon 9800 series card. Basically you're trying to decide this; Can I live with my Radeon 9800 Pro 256mb card until next year when I'll probably want a whole new setup. If your OK running some games coming out later this year w/o Anio and Antialiasing at 1280x1074 then your fine, wait, save the $$, you MIGHT have to turn the settings down a little towards the end of the run but thats it; you WILL BE ABLE TO PLAY ALL NEW GAMES with a 9800 Pro; the only POSSIBLE EXEPTION would be if makers go with a 64 bit platform but that is a CPU issue. My answer, keep the 9800 Pro 256mb until your ready to go PCI-E. Oh, and to the ho that said 9800's don't break 10k in 03, Macci JUST broke 10k points with his 9800 XT...

26-April-04, 08:55 PM	#11 (permalink)
SexyPants 5-Hoe-1 Jeans Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: New Orleans Posts: 3,182	Well here's a question. If you return it, do you think you could get away with the Half Life 2? __________________

27-April-04, 07:38 PM	#13 (permalink)
psychofunk Funky Psych-Hoe Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 578	I just gave it to the UPS guy. Damn it how long til the new cards are actually released. Then which one Nvid or ATI? Is PS3.0 real or smoke? This sucks......are they here yet???.....How about now????..... __________________ "To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the Amercian public" ---Theodore Rosevelt

30-April-04, 02:15 AM	#14 (permalink)
spyrius Apex Advanced Techie Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Dallas Posts: 133	Personally, I just sold my 9700 Pro for $200, and i'm planning on spending about $250-300 on a 9800 Pro 256MB. Why not wait until the X800 comes out? Well, basically, I'm not going to worry about the X800's until the PCI Express version comes out. At that point, I'll get a whole new setup. Until then, I'm going to be perfectly happy with a 9800 Pro 256MB. __________________ Always remember that you're unique, just like everybody else.

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