The 5900 XT or Radeon 9800 SE

[mojouk]

I've been persuaded through reading various forums that the way to go is either a:

FX GeForce 5900 XT
or
Radeon 9800 (pro)

BUT

I have decided that I can only afford either of the following two graphics cards:

GeForce 5900 XT 128MB = £135,

Radeon 9800 SE = £135.

I've heard of alot of people warning against buying any type of Radeon with SE, has anyone tried the Radeon 9800 SE?

Would anyone be able to compare how these graphics cards rate against each other?? Which is best......5900 XT or 9800 SE?????

Please advise!!

P.S. I don't use the PC for gaming, but I do alot of 3d graphics, animation and rendering, so speed and image quality is really important.

 

[watchman]

here is a site i found a little useful
http://www20.tomshardware.com/graphic/20031229/index.html
it shows a chart of gforce cards and ati
but i am in the same boat as u with the g-card cos i am confused with them.

 

[mojouk]

Thanks
That's helped quite a bit. It seems like the GeForce 5950 is deifinitely way quicker than anything Radeon can put out.
Even the 5900 is pretty quick. So if I can find one for about £150 I think I'll do well.
The best bargain I've found on the web so far is at £135 for the FX GeForce 5900 XT at www.dabs.co.uk

It's been a toss up between these two cards for ages. And I haven't been able to decide (as it's a big investment for just a graphics card!!)
A few people (PC genius's) have advised me to buy a Radeon 9800SE and 'soft mode' it.........which apparently transforms it into a 9800 (V. pricey), which is much faster.
But I don't have the ability or understanding to do this........I haven't even tried to overclock my computer yet!!
Anyway, good luck!

 

[floppybootstomp]

For that price, definitely the GF5900XT. That's a good price.

Generally, steer away from any ATI cards with the SE suffix. I hear the 9800SE All In Wonder card can usually be soft-modded to a 9800 Pro, and many people have had success.

If you don't know what you're doing, however, it's not worth the gamble.

I've never soft-modded a grafix card myself, though I have slightly overclocked a few.

 

[kennclaud]

Never buy ATI cards with the suffix "SE". I suggest you just go buy the 9600XT.

 

[qmanq]

I reckon SE actually means "Substandard Effigy" So yes, stay away from em.

GF All the way for me i think, stick with the XT man !!

Q