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ATI Radeon 9800 Pro vs. NVidia GeForce 5900

HardcoreGamer writes "Today ATI shipped its Radeon 9800 Pro 256 MB DDR-2 card in time for E3 and nVidia announced the NV35-based GeForce 5900 which will be available in June. Early tests seem to say that while nVidia edges ahead of ATI in specific areas, overall ATI still has the better card. The caveat is that the next generation of DirectX 9-based games (like Doom 3 and Half-Life 2, demonstrated with ATI at E3) will truly determine which is the better card. Lots of coverage at PC Magazine, PC World, The Register (ATI) (nVidia), ExtremeTech, InternetNews, and Forbes/Reuters. Either way, at $450-$500, serious gamers are about to get another serious dent in their wallets."

23 of 318 comments (clear)

  1. I've pirated software, songs, before... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    ... but will some smart /.er out there create a way for me to pirate hardware?

    That'd be really nice. Thanks!

  2. ummm...dent? by drwhite · · Score: 5, Funny

    "...serious dent in their wallets."

    Dont you mean 'hole'.

    1. Re:ummm...dent? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      or perhaps 'crater'

  3. Easy choice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    The choice is easy: go for the hardware with the higher number after it's name.

  4. Re:Minor annoyances-Big Bills by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'd like to add to this. At $400-500 serious gamers better get use to eating Ramen noodles.

  5. You know it's time to get more RAM by ejaw5 · · Score: 5, Funny

    when a new video card has more memory than what you have in system memory

    --

    $cat /dev/random > Sig
  6. You know it's time to get a new computer by geeber · · Score: 5, Funny

    When a new video card costs more than your entire system is worth.

  7. decisions by DanThe1Man · · Score: 4, Funny

    Hmm, spend $500 for a video card or eat this month. Video card or food, video card or food. Hmm...

    1. Re:decisions by parliboy · · Score: 3, Funny

      Now, now, you overreact. Wal-Mart's got Ramen on special, 10 for $1.

      --
      "You're never ready, just less unprepared."
  8. So?! by Ignorant+Aardvark · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm not impressed with the Radeon 9800 Pro. What I really want is the Radeon 9500 ASC. The price is steadily coming down. Mmmmm, I can't wait to play Nethack in full 3D :-)

  9. Nice to see by bobbozzo · · Score: 3, Funny

    Nice to see they got rid of the leaf blower that was on the 5800.

    --
    Nothing to see here; Move along.
  10. Does this card need liquid nitro+fan like Nvidia? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    I just need a graphics adapter - not a hot and noisy nuclear power source.

  11. Re:Minor annoyances by Daengbo · · Score: 2, Funny

    Yes, but, unfortunately my S3 Trio64V+ doesn't support either OpenGL or DirectX9, so I guess I won't be playing Doom3. Sigh. And I was so worked up over it!

  12. you should have invested in their stock by qewl · · Score: 2, Funny

    nVidia shot up $5.39 per share to $21.37 on Friday alone when the news of the soon chip release became mainstream. That's a HUGE increase in share value for any company of that size. It's almost unheard of. I sold all my shares before today. Now I can purchase my new Radeon and still have cash leftover with the $2000 profit from only 300 shares bought a week ago for about $4500. =) The stock market kicks ass!

    --

    (\_/)
    (O.o) This is Bunny. (> <)
    1. Re:you should have invested in their stock by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yeah, and then at the end of the year your taxes will force you to sell off that Radeon and you'll still end up owing money. Don't count that money as free just yet...

  13. Re:this stuff is getting crazy by guacamolefoo · · Score: 4, Funny

    Here we go with the "my first PC thread"... Before long, it will certainly get to "My first PC was actually an abacus constructed by Wu Chen of the Ming Dynasty". It's almost like a geek version of reductio ad absurdum. Well, here goes with my contribution:

    256 MB RAM??? My first freakin' PC had 20 meg HD.

    My first PC had 8k of RAM and 30 min of storage (cassette-tape -- don't know how many k that was, but it wasn't much). A good old Apple ][ without a floppy drive.

    GF.

  14. If you like to OC... by MoeMoe · · Score: 3, Funny

    What it comes down to isn't which one is more powerful, but which one can become the most powerful... In this case I would take nVidia since a few registry mods will open up an overclocking menu in the video properties...

    That's just one of the many "secrets" I know, let me tell you about Area 51, if you really want to fi-

    Just a sec, someone's at the door...

    --
    Business \Busi"ness\, n.;
    A scam in which all people involved perceive as beneficial...
  15. Re:Canopus by guacamolefoo · · Score: 4, Funny

    I bought my first 3D card from canopus because it had 6 meg. It was the absolute best 3DFX card available. It cost around $250 at the time. It was a sweet card but within 6 months a better and cheaper card came out and I decided I would never buy the latest and greatest card again. My rule of thumb is to stay 2 generations behind the best and you will have a card that can play any game out there. This may change as soon as a DX9 game comes out but I really can't see a game company "require" anything greater than a DX7 card or they wil really linit their audience....

    This is the cardinal rule of technology -- buy the newest and the best, only do it 12 to 18 months later. Works for lots of things -- Games, computers, HDTV, processors, cell phones, OSes, PDAs, and video cards. Heck, even cars.

    Let some other schmuck take the depreciation. Take your cue from me, and you can't go wrong. As soon as the prices come down on those swanky new 286s, I can finally get rid of my PCjr.

    GF.

  16. Re:Minor annoyances-Big Bills by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    $400-$500 worth of Ramen noodles! We may have some self-mummified gamers out there.

  17. Re:*my* first freakin' PC... by hdparm · · Score: 3, Funny
    There. Now lets see you young 'ums top that. :p

    Easy - I still don't own my first PC :pp

  18. Re:this stuff is getting crazy by Savatte · · Score: 5, Funny

    My first PC had 8k of RAM and 30 min of storage

    my first chick had 8k worth of "enhacements" and a 30 min timelimt.

  19. Re:Stay behind and save money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny
    There's all the free walkthroughs, hints, and cheat codes on the web by then, too.


    And some septillion patches to "just fix that graphic flickering and make the last level actually finishable".
  20. Re: Radeon vs. NVidia by AliasMoze · · Score: 5, Funny

    I see the Radeon 9800 on the shelf. I see the GeForce 5900 on the shelf. They're comparable in speed. Each supports next generation games. But I think the biggest feature, the thing that makes the choice for me, is the size of the box. That's what determines which one I steal.