whats the best video card out right now?

[NightShade]

My geforce 4 ti4600 is getting old so i want to buy a better video card. i want the best that is out. anyone know?

 

[Smith|]

Both the 9800XT and the 5950Ultra are the fastest out at the moment, get the 9800XT for quality and speed or get the 5950Ultra for speed.

If you want to play half life 2 with good speed get the 9800XT, if you want to play Doom 3 with good speed get the 5950Ultra.

I might be wrong about the doom 3 due to driver problems on the benchmark they ran.

 

[DiebytheSword]

Nvidia has a slightly better OpenGL driver, and historically has had better OGL support.

The Radeon series has proven that it's equally, if not more, able than Nvidia's in DX9.

 

[SailorAlea]

Basically, in DirectX 8, Nvidia had an equal ground. in DX9, ATI cards are always superior to their NVidia equivalents.

Also, Nvidia cards are WAY below par in areas of Pixel Shaders and Fill Rates. I've heard the generalized quote: "ATI for Half-Life2, Nvidia for Doom3," but I just really don't think it'll be true.

By the time both games come out, the PCI Express Revolution will have happened, and ATI is more ahead in their research for the next-generation GPUs.

Bottom line: ATI Radeon 9800XT (ASUS Limited edition)

 

[KyoKusanagi]

A purchase of either card should satisfy the hungers of any gamer so its a matter of personal preference - how many of you run the latest games at say 1280 x 1156 resolutions as a bare minimum with maximum detail? if you don't then there really isn't too much difference between the cards unless you're nitpicking, a perfectionist, or a reviewer at a computer magazine.

Personal Preference: ATI Radeon 9800XT - lol my 9700Pro has been overclocked and cooled to run at 9800Pro speed and i haven't had any problems yet.

 

[Sonic the Vampire]

Bottom line: ATI Radeon 9800XT (ASUS Limited edition)

ASUS? Are you sure? The last time I bought a card from them I believe it was a Geforce3Ti500, and they only updated the drivers one time in the next two years. Furthermore there were some clipping issues and reduced quality when I tried using the manufacturer's drivers instead (Reguler detonator drivers). I wouldn't really reccomend ASUS for much of anything in the way of Video Cards, they just don't support their products.

 

[SailorAlea]

Yep, the ASUS version of the 9800XT. It's a little faster and better cooled, according to the site, and it comes in a Flashier box. (Yippie!) anyway, it has slightly better performance for the same price. It's just that they only made 2,000 of them. The drivers are updated by ATI (the Cataylst drivers), not ASUS.

 

[Jaredster]

2000 of them eh? Are you sure?

 

[SailorAlea]

Yeah, check out ATI's website.

 

[X-iT_W0uN|)]

Well I'll go with the Ati Radeon 9800 XT.