256-bit, 128MB Radeon 9800 Pro - Comparable to...?

[The Berzerker]

I'm building a PC for my brother and I'm a little baffled about which
graphics card to buy. He does not play games, but he is fascinated by
those crazy 3D visualisations that can accompany music. Milkdrop
(included with Winamp) was one he was particularly interested in.

At 1360x768 with 6x AA my 9800 Pro runs 90% of Milkdrop at 60fps+ - I
need to purchase a similar card for his system... but what?

What kind of card does the Radeon compare against? I've seen various
charts, but none of them seem to stem back to the 9800 Pro. So while I
can see the performance of the new cards, I can't compare them to mine.
I've seen a Geforce 7300GS available for about £43 - how does this
compare? It would probably be wise to purchase a card that surpasses
the 9800 Pro, but not by a wide margin. I'm looking to spend about
£50, but that can be stretched if necessary.

Also, which new ATI card in the X series compares to the 9800 Pro? I'm
worried I could end up buying a new card that is inferior to it!

It would also help if it was available from ebuyer, since that's where
the rest of the system is coming from!

TIA

 

[Paul]

I'm building a PC for my brother and I'm a little baffled about which
graphics card to buy. He does not play games, but he is fascinated by
those crazy 3D visualisations that can accompany music. Milkdrop
(included with Winamp) was one he was particularly interested in.

At 1360x768 with 6x AA my 9800 Pro runs 90% of Milkdrop at 60fps+ - I
need to purchase a similar card for his system... but what?

What kind of card does the Radeon compare against? I've seen various
charts, but none of them seem to stem back to the 9800 Pro. So while I
can see the performance of the new cards, I can't compare them to mine.
I've seen a Geforce 7300GS available for about £43 - how does this
compare? It would probably be wise to purchase a card that surpasses
the 9800 Pro, but not by a wide margin. I'm looking to spend about
£50, but that can be stretched if necessary.

Also, which new ATI card in the X series compares to the 9800 Pro? I'm
worried I could end up buying a new card that is inferior to it!

It would also help if it was available from ebuyer, since that's where
the rest of the system is coming from!

TIA

Historic performance charts here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/site/vgacharts/index.html

Latest cards only:

http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics.html

Vital statistics of the cards:

http://www.techpowerup.com/gpudb/

It will still take some effort on your part, to somehow relate
the 9800, to the modern stuff.

HTH,
Paul

 

[Peter Lykkegaard]

Also, which new ATI card in the X series compares to the 9800 Pro? I'm
worried I could end up buying a new card that is inferior to it!

The 9800 pro was a really nice highend card of its time
You might want check the 6600GT or 6800LE series

I have recently replaced a TI4200 with an XT800GT (Sapphire)
The X800GT can be compared with the 6600GT for more recent games but lacks
behind in older game
Going to higher resolutions the card pulls of and leaves the 6600GT in the
dust

I have found a guide which compares the newer cards (from 6600 and forward)
http://www.diskusjon.no/index.php?s=cb9386b8e0b838706fc4193523e2515e&showtopic=332246&st=0

The guide is in english but unfortunately the discussion is in norwegian

hth/Peter

 

[Rod Speed]

The Berzerker wrote

The 9800 pro was a really nice highend card of its time
You might want check the 6600GT or 6800LE series

I have recently replaced a TI4200 with an XT800GT (Sapphire)
The X800GT can be compared with the 6600GT for more recent games but lacks behind in older game

Is that because someone has kicked its arse off ?

Going to higher resolutions the card pulls of

Hope that doesnt result in it going blind.

and leaves the 6600GT in the dust

I have found a guide which compares the newer cards (from 6600 and forward)
http://www.diskusjon.no/index.php?s=cb9386b8e0b838706fc4193523e2515e&showtopic=332246&st=0

The guide is in english but unfortunately the discussion is in norwegian

Those damned vikings should be put to the sword.

 

[Peter Lykkegaard]

Is that because someone has kicked its arse off ?

That was my opinion - what is yours?
Or are you just trying to polish your inner wannabee troll as usual?

- Peter

 

[Geoff]

Lol but rod made a funny . . . rod knows everything . . .

-g

 

[Dave]

I'm building a PC for my brother and I'm a little baffled about which
graphics card to buy. He does not play games, but he is fascinated by
those crazy 3D visualisations that can accompany music. Milkdrop
(included with Winamp) was one he was particularly interested in.

At 1360x768 with 6x AA my 9800 Pro runs 90% of Milkdrop at 60fps+ - I
need to purchase a similar card for his system... but what?

What kind of card does the Radeon compare against? I've seen various
charts, but none of them seem to stem back to the 9800 Pro.

The 9800 PRO will be significantly slower than anything you buy today. A
Geforce 7300GS would be a GREAT card for just about anybody. But it's
overkill for what your brother needs. I'd suggest a Geforce 6200 or Geforce
6600, either one will work great. -Dave

 

[ziggy]

He does not play games,

At 1360x768 with 6x AA my 9800 Pro runs 90% of Milkdrop at 60fps+ - I
need to purchase a similar card for his system... but what?


Also, which new ATI card in the X series compares to the 9800 Pro?

Probably one of the Radeon X1600 series would do what you want at a
reasonable price. They will also do AVIVO processing for HTPC video
out.


***

Idle thought for the day:

How much would Ratzinger's old Hitler Youth dagger go for on EBay ?

***

 

[The Berzerker]

Probably one of the Radeon X1600 series would do what you want at a
reasonable price. They will also do AVIVO processing for HTPC video
out.

Thanks for all your help. I decided to go with the Radeon X1600 Pro
256MB since it was significantly cheaper than some of the other models
mentioned. The card's performance is amazingly similar to my own 9800
Pro 128MB. I put the cards through the source stress test and found the
X1600 Pro to always be the slower card (very, very similar results at
1024x768 with 8x AF) - however, whenever applying any AA at all, and
bumping the resolution up to 1280x1024 the X1600 Pro dropped behind
considerably, normally around 10-15ps behind my 9800 Pro. I suppose
this may be related to the 128-bit memory interface on the X1600 Pro?
(Compared to the 256-bit on the 9800 Pro)

Anyway, I just thought I'd mention that just incase anybody stumbled
upon this looking for a new card. Thanks again for your advice. The
card is perfect for what I wanted it for.