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9700P: Which one overclocks best?

H

HansSvetty

Member
Should I get a Sapphire?

Can it be Bios modded to 9800P speeds?

Do you have a link to the specific method or bios or whatever for this?

Inquiring ATI noobs want to know...

thanks,

hans
 
A 9700 Pro OC'd to the 9800 Pro clock speeds is not going to give the same performance as a 9800 Pro, even if you could do it, because the 9800 series encompasses numerous revisions/tweaks to the core itself. I wouldn't try bios flashing a 9700 series card with a 9800 series card because of those same tweaks and revisions. Its the 9800np and the 9500np that could be flashed/modded to 9800 Pro and 9700 Pro, respectively.

Sapphire is not a bad brand, they adhire pretty strictly to the reference design though.
 
Very good analysis of my questions, thanks.

Can I follow up by asking this: do you think the improvements in going from a 9700P to a 9800P are worth an extra $65 USD? Just an opinion would be interesting; I imagine any answer would not apply to every potential purchaser.

I'm looking hard at the cards at New Egg and AllStarShop. (Black PCB's, which I'm told are only different in color from the favored Red boards.)

Here is the my current favorite: AllStarShop 9800P

Is this one just peachy or are there any drawbacks to consider? What I know about ATI you could pretty much fit into a thimble.
 
Hey Hans, if money isn't that big of a deal then the 9800 Pro is a little better than the 9700 Pro at default core/memory settings. The Sapphire 9800 Pro performs slightly worse than other 9800 Pros that have red pcb's. Many people have reported a slight drop in benchmarks with the Sapphire, which I believe is due to the fact that it uses the same pcb that they used on their 9700 Pro. Confused yet? 🙂 Sapphire also uses a non-standard heatsink/fan unit on their 9800 Pro. That causes it to run a little warmer than other 9800 Pros. If you've decided on the 9800 Pro, then spend just a few extra bucks and get one with a red pcb that has the standard heatsink/fan. If money is a concern, you can find 9800 non-pro cards for right around $250 and they are very close in performance to 9800 Pros. Circuit City has a built by ATi retail version of the 9800 non-pro for $250, and you can get a rebate in the form of a gift card for 10% of your total purchase. Good luck!
 
This is really good information. I appreciate it very much. I am inclined to try for a good overclock and get the red board from some other vendor.

Considering an overclock situation, is an aftermarket HSF recommended, and if so, what would your selection be?

Have you stuck on ramsinks just for fun? Is the standard bios used for overclocking the 9800P, or is there some tweaked uberbios that enthusiasts are employing?

Thanks,

hans

 
Overclocking depends on luck and system cooling, but most people can get the 9800 Pro (red pcb, standard hs/f) up to at least 400 core and 360 memory. Many people are doing better than that, but that's as far as mine goes with ZERO artifacts in benchmarks and I have good system cooling. I'm not sure about adding a larger heatsink/fan or adding ramsinks, but it's possible you could squeeze out a few more MHz by doing that. Personally, I don't think it would be worth it because the standard configuration overclocks pretty well. For drivers/overclocking, I'd recommend the latest Omega drivers. Do a google search for Omega drivers and you'll find them. I'm using the latest Omega's on my 9800 Pro, 9800np, and 9700 Pro and they're working great for Halo, Call of Duty, and Battlefield 1942. 🙂
 
Again, very good information. And, having three flavors of Radeon in your boxes, you are in a good position to make comparisons.

THe price bump seems to be 30-40 USD to get the ATI reference 9800P. I'm currently attracted to a a Tyan with a blue board and larger heatsink at around $340. Why? It must be the looks of it. It would do to try a bit of research on this one; barring that card I can get a retail box stock ATI 9800P for around $330 USD.

Thanks again Doobie.
 
I upgraded from a sapphire 9700nonpro (flashed and running stock pro speeds) to a sapphire 9800nonpro (flashed-stock cooling) the 9800nonpro runs 445/403 before artifacts-and it is much faster with aa and af than the old 9700nonpro (pro) in all games and benchmarks.

rogo
 
Originally posted by: Rogodin2
I upgraded from a sapphire 9700nonpro (flashed and running stock pro speeds) to a sapphire 9800nonpro (flashed-stock cooling) the 9800nonpro runs 445/403 before artifacts-and it is much faster with aa and af than the old 9700nonpro (pro) in all games and benchmarks.

rogo
Click to expand...

You're running WAY beyond XT speeds so you can't compare the two. Your 9800 is a freak overclocker 😉.
 
If you like the looks of the blue Tyan, you'll probably love this one - Hercules 9800 Pro. It's only a few bucks more than the Tyan, and has a copper heatsink and ramsinks. They also have the same blue layout in a Hercules 9800 non-pro for $266 shipped here. I've been really tempted to order the non-pro, but I can't justify it with all the Radeons I have right now. 😉 I love the looks of it, though.

If you want to save some money on a stock Pro, Powercolor has a retail version for $312 shipped here.
 
Fickle and uncertain, wringing my svetty hands, I am turning away from the Flashy hot-rod siren call of Hercules and Tyan, opting for the plain jane, stolid conservative ATI reference board. I took a look at the Powercolor, thanks. I had heard somewhere that Powercolor cards were inferior for some reason, and so had avoided considering them until now. As you say, they look just like the stock ATI 9800P. Are they built by ATI and resold as Powercolor through a vendor? That would be swell.

If this card is every bit as good as the reference board then my information is not only incomplete, but out of date. Thanks for helping me out and keeping me current.

If a Powercolor is as good as crackers in bed, I will see if New Egg or All Star Shop has one around.

Amusingly, when I checked out the company selling the $312 Powercolor card on the helpful Reseller Ratings website, I came across this scorching rant from one of the disgruntled customers who had posted an evaluation there. I'm ashamed at myself for thinking it's a bit funny, I'm sure if it had happened to me I wouldn't give a chuckle. I think I will avoid this seller just the same, being cautious after recent similar difficulties. To be fair, more often the reviews seemed to be positive, but I can't resist sharing this fellow's drama with the Anand crowd here. Transcript follows:


Comment (Very Dissatisfied)
Posted by JinxTwitchyBoo

10/28/03 2:48 PM
These &^%#heads will do everything they can to make sure that your order will take sooo long that you forgot about it and they get to keep your money. First they screwed me over on 2 Powercolor 9800SE cards, which ended up being crappy generic bulk ati 9800SE cards with 128b memory interface instead of the 256b that was advertised. I called to complain and they just gave me a bunch of B.S. "keep the customer happy" cookie cutter mumbo jumbo, so I asked to speak with a manager. I talked to John, who proceeded to get into a Screaming match with me because apparently they feel that if you order an OEM card from them, even if it has a brand name, they can send you any card with the same chipset that you ordered. B.S. SO I RMAed the cards and exchanged them for 2 Powercolor 9600Pros. I overnighted them the original cards on Oct 21. I called the 22nd to make sure they got the package (which they said they did) and that to make up the price difference between the 9800se and 9600pro that they would overnight the new cards to me. So I wait a couple of days. Call back on Friday the 24th and ask where my cards are. They give me more B.S. about how it takes 1-2 days for an RMA request (The 24th was the 4th day they had it) and that it was probably taking longer because it was an exchange. So, I call back on the 27th. I talk to another guy who blames it on the shipping department and says that I will recieve the card by that friday (the 31st). Monday rolls around and still no card so I call back. They tell me that it was shipped out on Friday (the 31st... WTF!!?!?!?) So I ask for a tracking number for the 20th freaking time, and don't get one. I figure, it went out Friday, I should get it today (Wed the 5th). It's 4:00 and it's not here so I check the account on their website so try to get a tracking number again. Those MFers sent it out YESTERDAY!!!! The 4th!!!! and they had the balls to ship it FedEx Express Saver instead of the Overnight I was Promissed. STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY AND GO TO NEWEGG.COM

JinxTwitchyBoo

user type: gamer
transaction date: 10/12/03


 
Thanks again!

The VisionTech as far as I can tell is nothing more than a rebranding of the same exact ATI reference 9800P. For a bit less money as well.
 
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