Opions wanted

[Fyshawk]

I got this new vid card Ati X800XL 256 Mb and i am thinking to return it to Best Buy as it was a open box buy they told me I caould bring it back by the 11th of Jan and get another if i was not satisfied

well i am thinking about doing this they have these cards i am looking at and just wanted some opinons on which would be a better choice

Choice one is this card --
ATI Radeon X850XT 256MB AGP Video Card - Bilingual
http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926INGFS10061200&catid=20397


Second Choice is this ---
ATI Radeon X850 Pro 256MB AGP Graphics Card - Bilingual
http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926INGFS10066453&catid=20397

[Deb]

Here's the difference. For a few extra bucks, I'd go the XT :)

[Fyshawk]

Thanks Deb I appreciate the advice

[lbjgh]

X850XT... best ya can get (well there is a platinum edition)

[Dan]

yeah XT all the way...im an nvidia guy now :(

[Fyshawk]

Well it is done i went and got the ATI Radeon X850 Pro $299.99 only because the price went back up on the ATI Radeon X850XT to 599.00 like over night anyways i do think i will be happy with that as i said before it was a gift so i cant really complain thanks for your help guys

The only thing is I dont get it till Saturday thats when it will be in :(

[canprince]

I had seen the ati x850xt on special at Best Buy for $299 (after instant & mail in rebates) but not one store had any in stock. What I did find that a Future Shop had 1 in stock for $549 (after mail in rebate). I asked them if they honour the price guartantee against Best Buy , and they gladly agreed and gave me an additional 10% on the difference. While I was getting frustrated trying to locate a Best Buy that had them in stock (the same day the flyer came out I might add), I managed to get one for even $30 cheaper or $269. I have observed that Best Buy & Future Shop have merchandise on sale alternate weeks and had never thought of exercising my right for price guartantee.

I thought I would share another option to anyone who runs into the same type of situation.

Now the issue I need some direction on. After having installed the latest Catalyst drivers from ATI, I lost my Windows Media Player functionality. I think that the WDM drivers mess up the core codecs. I have spent 3 or 4 days searching all over the net and have not had any luck of finding a solution. It would be terrific if I can hear from anyone who has had the same issue or how they were able to resolve it.

I have an ASUS P4P800SE , P4 2.4mhz, XP Home Edition SP2 with all updated patches and drivers.

I consider myself PC literate, built systems for personal use in the past, but this problem stumps me.

Regards.

[doomhammer]

So what happend then ??

[canprince]

For those of you like me who use Driver Cleaner before installing new drivers and now experience problems with Media Player Codecs, check out this link (http://www.driverheaven.net/showthread.php?t=96860&page=1&pp=15).

I am glad to have finally figured out the issue. Unfortunately, it took a reinstall of my Windows XP.

Regards.