64MB ATI All-in-Wonder 9000 Pro or 128MB ATI RADEON 9800 thru DELL

I need to make a choice among 3 cards. The All-in-Wonder 9000 Pro, the 128MB
DDR GeForce FX 5200 (I think I would rather have the 64MB AIW) or the
expensive 128MB DDR ATI RADEON 9800.. I am primarily getting this for
Half-Life 2 and need good DirectX-9 capabilities. The 9000 pro looks nice,
but I'm sure the 9800 will make HL2 run extremely well. Will the 9000 pro
cut it for new games? Also, I have never ordered from Dell (I decided to not
build this time), anybody have any problems with them?

 

MB,
I just bought a new Dell about 3 months ago with the Radeon 9800, not
the 9800 Pro (because of the cost difference) and I do not have any
complaints. If you are buying at least the Dell 8300 series I would get the
9800 card over any of them, it is well worth the few extra bucks. I have
been running Unreal Tournament, UT2003, Splinter Cell and the graphics are
great. In my understanding the 9800 is basically what the 9700 Pro was,
someone can correct me if I am wrong. My suggestion & opinion is to buy the
Dell and the Radeon 9800.


Chris

 

9800 is about the same performance wise as the 9700pro with the
9700pro scoring just a tad better in benchmarks, but a very small tad.
Of course the 9800 has the improvements to the core which the 9700pro
lacks and it's easy enough to OC the 9800 to equal the 9700pro as it
doesn't require much of an OC to do it. His best choice is 9800 for
sure.

 

The 9800 (non-pro) is probably a relatively good deal, although still
expensive.

http://firingsquad.gamers.com/hardware/ati_radeon_9800/default.asp

If your primary interest is gaming, it will be the best choice. (It looks to
be about as fast as a 9700Pro. I bought one of those last spring, when its
price dropped to $300 USD. It's an excellent performer, although its drivers
seem to be less robust than nVidia's. I sorta miss the daily beta driver
leaks that nVidia is famous for.)

The AIW 9000 is a DX8 card, regardless of its 9xxx designation. (It includes
a slew of video related functions, though, which explains why it's almost as
expensive as the 9800 non-pro.)

The FX5200 is nVidia's lowest-end DX9 product. It has everything except
performance.

http://firingsquad.gamers.com/hardware/msi_fx5200_tdr128_review/default.asp

As regards Dell, I've used their desktops at work, and I prefer them to the
Compaq machines I've used. I wouldn't own either at home, as I like to
preserve the possibility of swapping the mainboard once or twice a year.
(I've been using the same PC since 1995 - although none of the hardware is
the same, and I've changed the OS a few times.) Also, I have a slight
fondness for overclocking - don't expect a Dell to co-operate in that.

If you're choosing between a Dimension or an Optiplex PC, I'd stay with the
Dimension. Optiplex is almost as proprietary as a stinkin' Compaq.

I can't claim to be unbiased; I have a close relative who works for Dell.

Have fun.

Bob Knowlden

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