Graphics card selection help

[FreelancePolice]

Ok i'm having to replace my radeon 9700 pro as it's been having lots of graphical glitches recently. I've no idea what card to buy but i've been pushed towards an ati card possibly the x800 series but agian i don't know what to get. I don't want to spend more than 300 pounds but i want it to be a significant upgrade to my 9700


Thanks for your time guys

[Concept]

If you don't want to spend more than ?300 then the XT and Ultra series is probably out of the question in that price range. Try the Pro or GT.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/X800_Pro.html

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/GeForce_6800_GT.html

Even though the x800Pro only has 12 pipelines, there's been some serious optimisations from ATI with the Catalyst 4.10 beta, and of course you can always buy a Vivo card and flash it to an XT.

As for the GT... Well it's value for quality has already been proven, especially in OpenGL. And it can easily be overclocked too.

Both cards are very good in my opinion, although Nvidia's range might last you a bit longer down the line due to PS 3.0 compatibility.

The only trouble there is, with Half-Life 2, the x800 series will probably be slightly ahead.

[FreelancePolice]

cheers man, so out of the x800 pros, which would you suggest getting? I haven't been keeping up to date with the latest cards unfourtunately and have no idea which manufacturer to go for :/

[Concept]

Asus (I own the Vivo AX800Pro) and Sapphire are two high quality manufacturers I'd recommend. Also if you look at the list on Overclockers, you'll see the firm offers a custom made x800Pro with 16 Pipelines unlocked for ?276 or a Vivo (moddable to XT) 16-pipe version for ?293.

[FreelancePolice]

i might get the : OcUK Value ATI Radeon X800 Pro 256MB DDR3 VIVO TV-Out/DVI (AGP) - Retail (GX-001-OK)

Does this mean they've modded another manufacturers or is it a newly built card , finally how reliable do you think it'll be?

[Concept]

I wouldn't know to be honest, although Overclockers are a very reliable firm (took less than 24 hours after my order for my card to arrive, and it was an easy set up).

I'd say they probably received a set of x800 Pros directly built by ATI and modded the cards themselves.

[Concept]

http://www.pricerunner.co.uk/search?q=x800+Pro

http://www.amdzone.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=41&page=1

A price comparison list of the x800Pro followed by a review of the Sapphire x800Pro. Thought they may come in useful.

[Sarkster]

I bought a 6800GT, lovely card. btw, does my card not have support for pixel shader 3.0, then?

[Tom Salter]

I got the 6800GT too, and if you read his post properly:

Both cards are very good in my opinion, although Nvidia's range might last you a bit longer down the line due to PS 3.0 compatibility.

Then the 6800GT definately does have PS3.0 compatibility \o/

[Concept]

Both the GT and Ultra support PS 3.0 as far as I know.

Although most games won't be making use of it for a good few months yet.