I just bought a Radeon 9700 Pro and it is AWSOME. I did alot of research before purchasing and the Geforce 4's cant touch it. I have run across a few articles that doubt the new Geforce FX will surpass the 9700Pro. If you want incredible DVD playback, overall superb image quality and unmatched 3D performance then go for the 9700Pro. ATI has constructed the TOTAL PACKAGE!
I whole-heartedly recommend the 9700Pro.
 
Also ATI is up[censored] their CATALYST (unified drivers) Drivers very often now.

Well as we speek the 9700Pro is the very best "available" card on the market.
The GF4 cards cannot touch it, drivers are sound and the 2D IQ is also better than anything NVidia are producing.
The GF FX is supposed to be available now, but there are very few around.
There was one guy over at www.futuremark.com who was posting his results with one.
However even though the GF FX is supposed to be a better card in the majority of benchmarks the 9700Pro still wins.
That combined with the terrible cooling solution NVidia have used (The GF FX actually takes up two slots and is also really loud) still makes the 9700Pro a better buy (as it is available for £250inc VAT & Delivery here in the UK).
 
ATI have the 9800 due for release in the not too distant future and of course this is building on top of the 9700pro, so that will be a faster card.
However once again this is a future card, although not too distant.
If you want the very best right now that will last you for a long time then the 9700pro would be a very good choice.

The 9700 is beyond the GF4. I bought the 9700 when it first came out and I can safely say that it's about the best graphics card that I have ever owned.

I currently have a Geforce3 original. Would upgrading to a 9700 pro be worth it? Or would it be better to wait for the next gen radeon 9800? Thanks in advance for any input.

New cards are famously expensive on launch and usually remain that way for at least a few months afterwards.
So performance alone is probably not your only consideration.
I personally upgraded from a GF4 to a 9700Pro and honstly consider it a worthwhile upgrade, so I'm sure you'd feel even better by going from a GF3 to one.
The options you have as I see it are:
 
Buy a 9700Pro now, cost around £250inc VAT (UK)
 
Wait until the release of the 9800 and then:
 
Buy a 9700Pro, possible cost around £200inc VAT (UK)
Buy a 9800, estimated cost £300 - £350inc (UK)
 
Wait until the back end of the year and wait for the new cards on .13 architecture.
Once again this will see the current cards drop in price.
 
If you run at a decent resolution, like all the details switched on with AA enabled and the like then the 9700 is an excellent card.
I play most things now at 1280x1024 with every single detail possible on and it still runs smooth.

The only drawback is that u need a fast CPU to keep up with the card....
I would say get one of you have a 1.6Ghz P4 or a XP 1700+ or better CPU.
If not it will still be ok, but the slower CPU wont be able to use the card to its MAX potential!

wow thanks for your replies guys. really helpful
 
2 questions, is the 9700 (not pro) much of a step down, cos its quite a lot cheaper and also is it worth waiting for the 9800, or is it going to cost the earth?
 
once again thanks for your help
 
hardtofin

Th only difference is in clock speed.... nothing else i changed.
PS i got this info from some Hexus.net admin/reviewer!

hi again,
 
ive decided to go for the 9700, eother pro or not, im not sure yet, depends on price. i noticed that there are lots of different makers of the board though. aswell as ATI there is Crucial, sapphire etc. any one got any idea on which is the best make? and the advantages/disadvantages of it? e.g is there any cooling difference, or is it purely the make of the board and thats it. ?
 
thanks for your help again guys,
 
hardtofin

I went with the ATI version. I read an online article that basically said - ATI designed the card. They then license the reference board to other manufacturers. These manufacturers are not required to follow the reference design completely. They have to use comparable parts (RAMDAC, memory, resistors, etc.) but do not have to abide by ATI exact recommendations. This, to me, left too many variables with regrads to integrity. ATI designed it, engineered it, and wrote the drivers for it. If someone other than ATI makes the card and adds something to it that requires a specifically written driver and then that company falls off the planet, you may be screwed. ATI isnt going anywhere.