Which video card?

[prodigal]

Is anyone familiar with the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro? I need to get a new card because my old one will not support the resolution on my new monitor. I was thinking about going with the All in Wonder (same card, but includes a tv tuner), but not sure if it is worth it. Any input would be appreciated.

 

[Livinloud316]

It really depends on what you plan on using it for. what is it you use your computer for most? are you a gamer? an internet addict who just likes to surf? I'd say for most people the difference between the two cards is not THAT significant. for me, personally, i wouldn't go with the all in wonder as, depending on where you buy it, it is probably 20+ dollars more. then again, if you have the money to spare and want a better card go for it, and enjoy. if you were looking for a yes or no this wasn't much help, but I tried anyway. lemme know how it works out

 

[seebs]

Don't know that much about it. In general, the all-in-wonder is a card for dealing with, well, video - TV, VCR, whatever. If you plan to do that, it's probably a good bet. Otherwise, the other cards are probably better price/performance.

 

[Fungal Growth]

gforce is the most compatible with gaming and is very crisp, the ati has some compatibility issues with some games (ie halo pc) but is still a very fast and good card for gaming, for other pc things i dunno, but gforce is the more inexpensive one

 

[SirKenin]

The 9800 Pro spanks anything in the nVIDIA arsenal, and has far less issues with driver kits than they used to. I use a 9700 Pro, and it spanked the complete range of nVIDIA offerings from the day it came out, in speed, in graphics quality, in color.

nVIDIA dropped the ball this time around, and ATi stole their thunder. The GeForce FX cards are garbage and dogs, and there are numerous issues of nVIDIA trying to cheat to try and maintain the speed crown. It's sad, considering nVIDIA devoted the lion share of their resources, including 3dfx engineers, developing the FX line of cards (and to the XBox, another not-so-bright decision on nVIDIA's part to lie with the devil).

Unfortunately for them, ATi didn't miss a beat and delivered a killer product. nVIDIA's reign of error may very well be over.

 

[Durelen]

Yeahhh, gave up on gforce and changed over to ATI. I’m still happy with my 9000. What are you plugging into your 9800?? 13” monochrome? Hrm I got one of those holding down some paper some place. No, it’s new eh? It don’t work at all or you are just trying to max out the res of a high res flat screen TV? You should have plugs for flats and CRT monitors on your video card. As you said, 4in1 is the same thing but just has a TV in/out.


Anyway, it should work. You may just need to update your video and monitor drivers for your system. Make sure you are using the right operating system as well since older OS's like win 95 & 98 don't support everything. Make sure your directX is updated and make sure all your other drivers are up to date as well (i.e. audio, motherboard, all flash roms...). If ATI says that this monitor will not work with this video card than that is another story. Should work though.

 

[Fungal Growth]

i will admit ati is beginning to take over the market, but they did use to have a lot of compatibility issues with games cause the games were made for nvidia, think the gaming industry is starting to see that ATI can handle it now and are starting to switch over

 

[pgp_protector]

For a good site for reviews of hardware both video cards and other hardware, check out TomsHardware.com

 

[Sharky]

I'm personally using a geforce 4. It's OKAY with gaming but it really shines in animations, graphic design and video editing.

I'm a little behind the hardware side of computers but radeons are probably the big mother of all cards out at the moment. Fastest i've seen is a 9800 running with a 3 ghz duron, playing call of duty at 1600 x 1900 res at more than 60 fps. Which is nuts i tell you. NUTS!

 

[SirKenin]

lol. No kidding sharky. That's mad..

Ummm. PGP_protector, I will forgive you as long as you promise to never mention Tom's Hardware and good in the same forum again.... lol There is so much I could say about Dr. Tom Pabst the dentist, but suffice it to say he's as crooked as a dog's hind leg.

 

[cjwsb]

The 9800 Pro is the best video card on the market for 3D. Period. If you want the best 2D, go to Matrox...

 

[AtlantaFest04]

I have a 128MB ATI Radeon 9800 SE and it rocks

 

[rmills]

ATI Radeon supports 2 monitors which is a major plus. The 8500DV AIW card is for video capture and video editing. Very different cards. I use both, thye are both fine.

 

[prodigal]

Thanks guys, I did end up getting an All in Wonder 9800 Pro, but then I realized that I would have to subscribe to cable (I already have Direct TV and they do not support it) just to enjoy TV on my computer! What was I thinking, like I don't already watch enough TV. I took it back and got the plain 9800 Pro 128. Great card and it supports the 1600x1200 DVI resolution on my 20" Sony flat panel. That was the problem to begin with.

I originally had a 3D Prophet II GTS 64 from Hercules and found out from them that they did not support the higher res of my new monitor. I then found out that they no longer used nVidia, but had switched to ATI. After all the reviews I read, I decided to go with the ATI. I am happy that I did. Only problem now is I have a dual boot system with 98 and 2000Pro and the ATI only runs in 2000Pro. I have to figure out some way of getting into 98 and upgrading it to XP. Oh well, it is always something...

By the way, Happy New Year!!!!

 

[Fac3less]

No need for something like a 9800.. thats overkill.. I mean if you can afford it go for it.. I'm quite happy with my 9600.

 

[Fac3less]

I'd recommend wiping the system and go completely with xp Pro.

Best bet.. unless you need windows 2000 for something specifically - but they're both built on NT you should have no problem doing what you need in XP pro.

 

[My Higher Self]

The 9800 Pro is not the top of the line ATI card, the best one going is the 9800XT. Personally, I wouldn't waste my time with any of the SE series cards. They are lower end models, usually with lower clock speeds. If you are gonna spend the 100 bux on a SE, it would be worth it to wait for enough money to atleast get the pro.

I'd definatley steer clear of the Nvidia cards if you are gonna be doing a lot of gaming. My 3rd generation Nvidia card runs Halo twice as good as the brand new 4th generation FX card I bought.

.....oops, just noticed you already got a new card.....hope you like it.