Radeon 9700 vs. GeForce4 Ti4600

DJ-phYre

To whom it may concern
Joined
22 Jun 2002
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I have been debating all weekend on what card to buy for my new PC. I have finally narrowed my choices down to the ATI Radeon 9700 Pro 128MB DDR card and the MSI GeForce 4 Ti4600 128MB DDR card. Although the ATI card is the best out right now, I have a fear of moving to ATI because of their poor support and drivers. I really have faith in the nVidia name. I would like other opinions on this. Not to mention that the nVidia card is $100 cheaper. So please post your opinions, to help me make my final decision.
 
you can buy the 9700 pro starting @ 320 or in some places...

and the ati driver support thing is a non-factor for over a year so get over it already :) its just a myth that propagates that all ati devices are faulty... if they are then why do so many people use em ?

I suggest the 9700pro coz I have one right now and I am able to play EVERY game I own @ max resolution with everything turned on without a glitch... not a glitch...

the 4600 is not a bad card though... can't go wrong and msi does have a nice little package...

what you might consider doing if you are not at all sure is to wait till december or so when the r350 0.15 and/or 0.13 micron process gpu's come out as well as.. supposedly... the nv30 0.13 micron process gpu....

THEN you can decide what you want and also take advantage of lower prices at the time...

personally I say buy a 9700 pro for around 340 tops and be happy for the next year and a half at least... its an amazing card and overclocks like you would not believe... :)
 
ATI's drivers have come a long way but still are not what Nviida's drivers are. I still have a bad taste in my mouth from my last ATI card and have never had a problem with any of the Nvidia cards I have used. I dont think there is a game out there that will take advantage of all that either card has to offer or can really even stress either card. I say save a few bucks and stick with Nvidia. Just my 2 cents worth
 
if you buy now

If you really want to buy now then you buy the ATI why buy a past generation card like the nvidia when you have next generation on hand ... or you wait till the next round of nvidia's come out but at that time ATI is also planning another release so it will never end.. I love my radeon rich colors , and has all the multimedia packages included, you cant beat ATI for the quality of its colors.
 
Go for Ati's latest little baby ! Stop thinking that drivers are faulty, I'm sure you will enjoy the capabilities of the Radeon 9700 Pro ! Don't forget also that Ati's the best for playing DVDs !
 
you gonna put one of those monster cards in that 933mhz p3 box of yours? }:\ i dunno, man... but if you are upgrading piece-by-piece, than i can see your point... that tnt2 m64 is the worse thing you have.

my opinion: i wouldn't by a 4600... either get a 4200 cuz it's a better value or wait for nv30 and get new features.
 
he is right...

I wouldn't put the Radeon 9700 in your computer unless you plan on upgrading piece by piece, it would simply be a waste. Anyway, I would suggest going with the GeForce 4 Ti 4400. I think this will provide you with the best value.
 
If you have the cash get the 9700, but you cant go wrong with the Ti4600 at the price they are currently at.
 
Im in the same boat m8, and had a simillar choice problem, but Im going for the ATI9700, just waiting for them to be in stock at my favourite store. ;)

As everyone else has said, the driver issues dont apply to the new card. (well not yet anyway!!)

I want full screen sexy-ness, with the Ti4600, you get massive slow downs with all the settings on max. From the many reviews Ive read, the 9700 has no troubles with max settings. Naturally your CPU dependant, but your CPU should be able to kick out a good rate.
 
No doubt Athe 9700 is the fastest thing out atm, but you could always wait for the NV28 or NV30 ;)
 
k I am speaking for personal experience...

only g4 ti's I have used are the 4600 and 4200... so I can't/won't say anything about the 4400...

I have also owned an 8500 retail board (128mb) and am now using a 9700pro...

NOTHING I have used compares to the 9700... even the old 8500 rendered much better than the g4ti's though framerate was lower..

but the 9700 I have turned all my cards to max settings for everything and I have NO slowdowns that I can notice... no lag or anything..

of course I am sure my rig has something to do with that but if you are looking for pure gaming pleasure look no farther than the 9700pro..

I just checked online and it is in stock (barely) at a few sites for around 310 odd incl' and shipping you may wnt..

also consider waiting for the nv30/r350-400 cards coming out in the next few months..

once again I will reiterate that the ati cards do NOT have driver problems that dont exist with other products... I do not have problems with them... also Ati support is actually a heck of a lot better than most other companies I deal with online...
 
I guess we will have to wait for the XP-erience review :p
 
lol working on it... might have to wait for weekend...

gf birthday and her bro's wedding... covers me from tomorrow through sunday :)
 
I have an 1800+ with 512MB o' DDR-333.


Take RTCW for example:

when upgrading from a GF3-TI500 to a 9700, at MAX settings and 1024x768x32 the GF3 was JUST AS FAST (CPU/system limited) as the 9700 at 600x480, 800x600, and1024x768.

RTCW isn't that old, but basically for the money I get faster resolutions above 1024x768x32.

One cool thing those is that at least with RTCW, an unbelievable x6 FSAA is FREE:

Check it:

AMD 1800+
KT-333 chipset
512MB DDR-333


GF3 TI-500
__(640x480) AVERAGE FPS: 91.40
__(800x600) AVERAGE FPS: 90.87
_(1024x768) AVERAGE FPS: 88.57
(1280x1024) AVERAGE FPS: 75.83
(1600x1200) AVERAGE FPS: 50.07

9700
__(640x480) AVERAGE FPS: 87.53
__(800x600) AVERAGE FPS: 87.77
_(1024x768) AVERAGE FPS: 87.77
(1280x1024) AVERAGE FPS: 87.43
(1600x1200) AVERAGE FPS: 87

9700 with x6 Anti-Alaising
--(640x480) AVERAGE FPS: 87.63
--(800x600) AVERAGE FPS: 87.50
-(1024x768) AVERAGE FPS: 86.60
(1280x1024) AVERAGE FPS: 77.90
(1600x1200) AVERAGE FPS: 57.20

(note: those were done at maximum graphics settings using compressed textures - every graphics option was up all the way - @ 1024x768x32)


BTW - people do have problems with the 9700. I only have 1 problem with GTA3. Everything else is totally cool with mine.
check out the 9500/9700 tech forum at Rage3d.com (best 9700 discussion forum right now)
 
Thanks

Thank you guys for all your input... Although the majority of you say go to the ATI card, I think I am gonna stick with nVidia and go with the GeForce 4.
 
since i'm biased, i'll say good choice. }:>

i still say 4200, though. you can get one for about $140 usd and get almost 7000 3dmarks with your system.
 

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