ATI Radeon 9650: A Good Choice?

[sevenhelmet]

A few days ago after many months of saving money and anticipation, I ordered a new dual 2.3 Ghz Powermac from the Apple Store with a 23" apple display. I'm VERY excited and can't wait till it comes!!!
However, as one of my options, I chose the ATI Radeon 9650 graphix card figuring that 256MB is better than 128 for gaming etc. Since then I have seen comparisons that show the 9650 to be less than stellar, and it has caused me great concern about how my new machine will perform (yeah I know, counting my chickens before they hatch...)

I get the impression that Apple offers this card as a cheaper way to give 30" display support to their computers. 30" display support isn't a factor for me, as I have no desire (or money) for a 30". Did I waste my money on an "upgrade" that I don't need, or will this card outperform the Radeon 9600?


FYI: I plan on playing Doom 3, Halo, UT2004, X-plane and doing some light photo/video stuff with Photoshop and Lightwave as my most graphic-intensive apps.

 

[macEfan]

I think that the more video ram the better!

If you are planning on doing a lot of gaming then the ATI Radeon 9650 graphix card will probally be better for you.

I have to admit the Radeon 9600 isnt bad either.

 

[menace3054]

I think that the more video ram the better!

If you are planning on doing a lot of gaming then the ATI Radeon 9650 graphix card will probally be better for you.

I have to admit the Radeon 9600 isnt bad either.

let me know how you like it, i need a new video card in my computer..

 

[dlisle20]

bad card

 

[sevenhelmet]

bad card

Would you mind elaborating a little bit? Are there problems with frame rates, render times, stability, or what?

 

[menace3054]

Would you mind elaborating a little bit? Are there problems with frame rates, render times, stability, or what?

heres a review i found. http://www.barefeats.com/rad9650.html

maybe you should call and see if you can change video cards before it ships

 

[sevenhelmet]

heres a review i found. http://www.barefeats.com/rad9650.html

maybe you should call and see if you can change video cards before it ships

Well, too late for that LOL. It shipped the night before last. But I'm not worried, considering that they were using a 30" monitor which has a lot more pixels to address than my 23". So the frame rates should be better, and if not, I can always turn down settings until I can afford to buy a Radeon X800 XT upgrade!


Considering that I'm coming from an old PC laptop with ZERO hardware acceleration, I'm sure to be happy with this new toy for a while.

 

[menace3054]

when i had a pc, i bought a 256mb video card because i though the memory would help, but when i tried playing bf vietnam, the settings still wouldn't go past low

 

[menace3054]

so did you get it yet? how is it? im jealous, i wish i had a dual 2.3

 

[sevenhelmet]

Not yet...

so did you get it yet? how is it? im jealous, i wish i had a dual 2.3

I'll take that as a compliment! But nope... it's still being shipped to my house in Missouri. And, unfortunately, I'll have to wait THREE WEEKS to actually use it- I'm stuck at school halfway across the country till then. neye:

I've been reading this site like mad and posting threads in an effort to learn all I can before I get it (I do have prior experience with macs, so I'm not completely useless.)

But you can BET when I get home and get my new rig up and running, you'll all be able to read about it on here cuz I'll either be bragging about how awesome I think my Mac is, or I'll be whining about some "switcher" problem I'm having.

EDIT: Probably both.

 

[menace3054]

i love my dual 1.8, they are great computers and i know youll love it.

 

[Avid6eek]

Having 256MB of V-RAM on such a slow card will be no benifit. In many cases, manufacturers user slower memory on the 256MB cards in order to cut down on costs a little bit. If the games don't actually use more than 128MB of RAM, which mosts don't, they'll perform slower on the 256MB cards with slower memory.