Hi,

I've got a buddy who wants to sell me his used GeForce Fx 5800 card
for $50 as he's getting a new NVidia card in a few weeks.

I just got a new PC, AMD 64 2800+ processor on a ECS 755-A2 mobo (8x
agp) and need a new card.

I have been considering the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro, but at $200+ I'm
tempted to just buy the card my friend wants to unload instead.

I've heard about heat and noise problems with this card however, and
don't really know how well it would stack up performance-wise vs. the
ATI card.

I've always owned NVidia cards in the past and have had great luck
with their support and frequency of driver updates so I'm a bit
undecided.

What do you suggest, is the Radeon 9800 Pro THAT MUCH better that it's
worth an extra $150?

Thanks in advance for the advice!
Jay J

"Jay J" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi,
>
> I've got a buddy who wants to sell me his used GeForce Fx 5800 card
> for $50 as he's getting a new NVidia card in a few weeks.
>
> I just got a new PC, AMD 64 2800+ processor on a ECS 755-A2 mobo (8x
> agp) and need a new card.
>
> I have been considering the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro, but at $200+ I'm
> tempted to just buy the card my friend wants to unload instead.
>
> I've heard about heat and noise problems with this card however, and
> don't really know how well it would stack up performance-wise vs. the
> ATI card.
>
> I've always owned NVidia cards in the past and have had great luck
> with their support and frequency of driver updates so I'm a bit
> undecided.
>
> What do you suggest, is the Radeon 9800 Pro THAT MUCH better that it's
> worth an extra $150?
>
> Thanks in advance for the advice!
> Jay J

If the prices were similar then I'd say go for the 9800pro every time (I've
got one at the moment). However, 50 bucks for a 5800 card is excellent. You
could ebay it for more than that and put it towards a 9800pro if you decide
it is not the card for you. The 9800pro will not give you $150 worth of
extra performance. Check out the various review sites and see for yourself.

Jay J:

> is the Radeon 9800 Pro THAT MUCH better that it's
> worth an extra $150?

no
--
Mac Cool

Snap up the card for $50 before your buddy realizes how much it's worth...

--
"War is the continuation of politics by other means.
It can therefore be said that politics is war without
bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed."


"Jay J" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi,
>
> I've got a buddy who wants to sell me his used GeForce Fx 5800 card
> for $50 as he's getting a new NVidia card in a few weeks.
>
> I just got a new PC, AMD 64 2800+ processor on a ECS 755-A2 mobo (8x
> agp) and need a new card.
>
> I have been considering the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro, but at $200+ I'm
> tempted to just buy the card my friend wants to unload instead.
>
> I've heard about heat and noise problems with this card however, and
> don't really know how well it would stack up performance-wise vs. the
> ATI card.
>
> I've always owned NVidia cards in the past and have had great luck
> with their support and frequency of driver updates so I'm a bit
> undecided.
>
> What do you suggest, is the Radeon 9800 Pro THAT MUCH better that it's
> worth an extra $150?
>
> Thanks in advance for the advice!
> Jay J

..
>
> What do you suggest, is the Radeon 9800 Pro THAT MUCH better that it's
> worth an extra $150?
>
> Thanks in advance for the advice!
> Jay J

A straight 5800 is in between a 9600XT and a straight 9700 in terms of
performance. It's got higher clock speeds but it's a 128bit card. Like
someone mentioned, for $50 I'd get it and flog it on Ebay. Closing prices
have been in the $150-$200 range. For that you can pick up a new 9800
Pro...which definitely is faster and 256bit to boot.