ATI Radeon 9800 pro with Athlon 1600+ : WORTH IT?

[emenius]

Hi guys, i need your opinion. I'm planning on buying a new graphic
card (since i have to give my current gfx to my relative) and i'm
interested in this 9800 pro. My current rig setup :

Athlon XP 1600+ (1.4G)
512MB PC2100 CL 2.5 Kingmax RAM
Epox 8KHA+ mobo (KT266A via chipset) - 2X/4X agp
Seagate HDD
300W not branded PSU.
NOT O/Ced

What do guys think? Should I go for the 9800 pro or not with this
setup? I dont have any immediate plans to upgrade my processors & mobo
(i still satisfied with the performance & still dont have enough
money) but i want my new gfx a little future proof. I'm aware of the
Radeon 9800pro runs optimally on 8X but in the spec it should run fine
in 4X mode.

I'm a not-so-hardcore gamer but its important for me my game run
smooth at the highest display quality possible (1024 X 768 X 32bit, 8X
ani, 4X FSAA). I mostly play Quake3, UT2003, MOHAA, FIFA2003,
Warcraft3, Need for speed.

If not, what graphic card do you suggest?

thanks.
-emenius

 

[James Riske]

Hi guys, i need your opinion. I'm planning on buying a new graphic
card (since i have to give my current gfx to my relative) and i'm
interested in this 9800 pro. My current rig setup :

Athlon XP 1600+ (1.4G)
512MB PC2100 CL 2.5 Kingmax RAM
Epox 8KHA+ mobo (KT266A via chipset) - 2X/4X agp
Seagate HDD
300W not branded PSU.
NOT O/Ced

What do guys think? Should I go for the 9800 pro or not with this
setup? I dont have any immediate plans to upgrade my processors & mobo
(i still satisfied with the performance & still dont have enough
money) but i want my new gfx a little future proof. I'm aware of the
Radeon 9800pro runs optimally on 8X but in the spec it should run fine
in 4X mode.

I'm a not-so-hardcore gamer but its important for me my game run
smooth at the highest display quality possible (1024 X 768 X 32bit, 8X
ani, 4X FSAA). I mostly play Quake3, UT2003, MOHAA, FIFA2003,
Warcraft3, Need for speed.

If not, what graphic card do you suggest?

thanks.
-emenius

You will be just fine with that card, it will not run anywhere near
its full potential but that doesn't matter because it can only get
faster later on when you upgrade your other system components.

I just upgraded from an athlon xp2600 to a p4 3.0c and my 9800xt seems
to really haul some ass now.

 

[K]

Hi guys, i need your opinion. I'm planning on buying a new graphic
card (since i have to give my current gfx to my relative) and i'm
interested in this 9800 pro. My current rig setup :

Athlon XP 1600+ (1.4G)
512MB PC2100 CL 2.5 Kingmax RAM
Epox 8KHA+ mobo (KT266A via chipset) - 2X/4X agp
Seagate HDD
300W not branded PSU.
NOT O/Ced

If you can afford a R9800 Pro, then you can afford a CPU upgrade. You can
get an AXP 2400 for around a fifth of the price of the 9800.

Personally I would go for a AXP 2400 and an R9600 Pro. Spend the change on
alcohol or drugs.

K

 

[Ben Pope]

Hi guys, i need your opinion. I'm planning on buying a new graphic
card (since i have to give my current gfx to my relative) and i'm
interested in this 9800 pro. My current rig setup :

Athlon XP 1600+ (1.4G)
512MB PC2100 CL 2.5 Kingmax RAM
Epox 8KHA+ mobo (KT266A via chipset) - 2X/4X agp
Seagate HDD
300W not branded PSU.
NOT O/Ced

What do guys think? Should I go for the 9800 pro or not with this
setup? I dont have any immediate plans to upgrade my processors & mobo
(i still satisfied with the performance & still dont have enough
money) but i want my new gfx a little future proof. I'm aware of the
Radeon 9800pro runs optimally on 8X but in the spec it should run fine
in 4X mode.

If you're happy spending that sort of money on the grpahics card, go for it.
I did, and have been totally impressed (using it with a Barton 2500+ on
nForce2).

AGP 4X will be absolutely fine with no noticeable degradation in performance
from what I understand.

I'm a not-so-hardcore gamer but its important for me my game run
smooth at the highest display quality possible (1024 X 768 X 32bit, 8X
ani, 4X FSAA). I mostly play Quake3, UT2003, MOHAA, FIFA2003,
Warcraft3, Need for speed.

If not, what graphic card do you suggest?

With those games you'd likely be fine with a 9600 non-pro. It depends what
games you're likely to get into at a later date.

Personally I'd be tempted to go with a Sapphire 9800 non-pro and a new CPU
such as a Tbred B 2400+.

I would have recommended the Barton 2500+ but they seem to be multiplier
locked now so you wouldn't be able to get the most out of it with your
slower FSB.

Be aware that you may need to get a new PSU as well, these new graphics
cards are pretty power hungry (~75W I think, probably worth checking), a
no-name 300W may not provide enough juice.

Ben

 

[Innis Orr]

emenius

From your specs, I would upgrade your PSU to at least a 400w PSU. I had
problems when I upgraded to a 9800 Pro when it went into 3D mode it run for
about 10 seconds, then my whole system would switch off! Traced it to a
dodgy 400 watt PSU I bought 4 months earlier.

HTH

Innis