9800 PRO 128 vs 256

[effee]

Hi all, I have a 9800 Pro 128mb, this rig I have, is for gaming, and hopefully will be playing EQ2 until the middle of next year. What I'm wondering is, is the performance diff between the 9800 pro 128mb and the 256 very great? Because when i went to get my 9800 pro, they had no 256 stock, they only had 128mbs left and i took one of the last ones, did i make the right choice? fortunately, this is a R360 core card, so i can flash it to XT. Will a 9800 pro 128 be as good as a 256 one at XT speeds?

 

[BW86]

you will see little or no difference. its not worth buying now.

 

[effee]

No difference flashing a 9800 pro 128mb to XT or 9800 pro 128mb over 256?

 

[IceMole]

The 256mb version can flash to a true XT being they have 256mb. Yours can go to XT but with 128mb, you'll see no difference assuming they would both be able to clock to the same speeds.

 

[Matthias99]

There's basically no difference between 128MB and 256MB on a 9800Pro*. You apparently get a bit more performance with a flash to XT than you do just OCing to XT speeds (my best guess is they change the RAM timings, or slightly optimized a few functions in the R360 core), but even that's nothing spectacular.






*Yes, there are a few situations where it helps (high res + high AA/AF, but that's really only usable on older games), and you can run with higher quality settings in a few games (CoD, for instance, and Doom3, although Doom3 will crush this card at the maxed-out settings), but for the most part it's not worth the price difference.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: effee
No difference flashing a 9800 pro 128mb to XT or 9800 pro 128mb over 256?

The 256MB Radeon Rro is only ~1-2% faster (maybe, on the newer games) than the 128MB Radeon Pro.

OTOH, flash the 256MB Radeon Pro (and get a better VGA cooler) into an 'XT' and you get ~10% more speed improvement (plus a usable thermal diode and Overdrive).

The 128MB Radeon Pro benefits very little from the flash to XT and is better simply O/C'd.

This guide will answer ALL of your questions:
The 9800pro to XT mod guide

 

[LocutusX]

actually apoppin i think the perf. diff between 128 and 256 will be quite significant in doom3, if you used "Ultra" quality or something... that's what i heard anyways.

i know you don't like that game, but others do 😉

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: LocutusX
actually apoppin i think the perf. diff between 128 and 256 will be quite significant in doom3, if you used "Ultra" quality or something... that's what i heard anyways.

i know you don't like that game, but others do 😉

i don't think so . . . link please

and Doom III really sux (anyway). . . . 😛
(eXcept for the gfx - hopefully the D3 engine will eventually see great games)
:roll:

 

[LocutusX]

dont have any links, but i've heard it said that the "ultra" mode doesn't use any compressed textures so on the "large" levels (i guess like Hell, etc.) a 256MB card would come in handy.

oh yeah, 256mb is better for 3dmark05 too. you KNOW you just got to have a superhigh score in that. 😛

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: LocutusX
dont have any links, but i've heard it said that the "ultra" mode doesn't use any compressed textures so on the "large" levels (i guess like Hell, etc.) a 256MB card would come in handy.

oh yeah, 256mb is better for 3dmark05 too. you KNOW you just got to have a superhigh score in that. 😛

Well, Doom III ultra mode is really for 512MB future cards. 😉

My entire point is, IF you have a 256MB Radeon Pro, a simple flash to XT (and you'll likely need a $10 VGA cooler) will give you 10% more "free" performance, unlock your thermal diode and automatic O/C'ing. 😉

Leaving it "stock" doesn't give "much" over the 128MB Radeon Pro,