Buy 9800XT now, or wait for R420?

[TwistedMentat]

I'm considering buying a new system at the moment... I have it all mapped out (AMD 2800+, etc), but the only sticking point is the graphics card. I'm wondering whether to go ahead and buy a 9800XT (from Asus or similar) now, or wait until ATI release a card based on the R420 core. Given that these are slated to be available for purchase around April/May this year, I'm not sure if the wait is worth it (i.e. will the performance vs price ratio be worthwhile?)

I can get the 9800XT for AU$600 now (about US$470)... what do people here think?

[F_A_L_C_O_N]

my suggestion would be Radeon 9800PRO

very close performance wise and much cheaper, if you really want to go for the best, then I would wait until the new core is released
to me at least it only makes sense to buy the most expensive stuff on the market when its brand new, fresh from the bakery, so to speak , XT was out for quite some time now

"... performance vs price ratio be worthwhile?..."
it will never be worthwhile if you are going for the most expensive product on the market

and welcome to HWC

[krupted]

i think $470 is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much for a video card!

i want the 420 though, ill sell you my 9700p so i can get the 420 and have high-flyin games

[Moraelin v2.0]

TwistedMentat, it basically depends on what role do you see that computer in.

Does it have to be _the_ absolute fastest gaming machine, and money isn't a problem? In that case, sure, go ahead and get an XT. For that matter, get an Athlon FX-53 to go with it too. And Crucial sells some nice low latency RAM stick pairs, while we're at it.

Or do you look for something more like very good performance for a more decent price? Then, as others have said, a 9800 Pro is only marginally slower, and can cost quite a bit less. The 9800 non-pro, even more so.

[MuFu]

Originally posted by TwistedMentat
Given that these are slated to be available for purchase around April/May this year, I'm not sure if the wait is worth it (i.e. will the performance vs price ratio be worthwhile?)

Welcome to HWC.

I think it's worth waiting if you're a gamer. There will be a whole slew of releases that will really need the extra GPU power to run with decent IQ (as most people currently expect in every game from their 9800 Pro/XTs etc). HL2, D3, Far Cry, STALKER etc.

You might want to check out the NV40 as well (also late April/early May availability). It should come bundled with D3 and may be about 20% faster than the R420 across the board in that particular title.

MuFu.

[Martin_89]

instead of the 2800+ get a 2500+ and overclcock it to a 2800+ or even a 3000+ or 3200+, its easy.

[oORyanOo]

If you look around hard enough or go to ebay, you can sometimes find a 9800XT for under $400. I found a refurb at newegg for $325 once

[SaulTurnedPaul]

Even if you're a hardcore gamer, I've never seen why anyone would spend $500 on a video card. The way I see it, if you're going to spend that much on a video card, then to do it justice you better had spend more than that for a CPU, memory, etc. Right there you're looking at way more than the cost of my entire computer. For some, money's not the object I suppose...

[oORyanOo]

Originally posted by SaulTurnedPaul
Even if you're a hardcore gamer, I've never seen why anyone would spend $500 on a video card. The way I see it, if you're going to spend that much on a video card, then to do it justice you better had spend more than that for a CPU, memory, etc. Right there you're looking at way more than the cost of my entire computer. For some, money's not the object I suppose...

I think you're right, though to some people, $500 isn't even noticed

[TwistedMentat]

Thanks for all the help

Given that money is definitely a consideration (this is my first serious upgrade for about 4 years :P), and that I'm not really looking for "the fastest" gaming machine, I think I might go for something like a 9800Pro at the moment... Then, if work goes well in the next six months, I can always upgrade

Oh, and HWC rocks

[oORyanOo]

If you want to drop the price a little more, newegg has a Powercolor 9700 pro for $202