Any reason NOT to get a Sapphire Radeon?

[bluemax]

Well, the Sapphire cards are a lot less money. I know all about the clockspeeds and such.... but more importantly, I wonder about the desktop output of the Sapphire brand.

I wasn't worried until Good Ol' Hardware came in and said that he had two Sapphire 9000's and the output on both sucked.

Cash is tight, and the Sapphire 9000 is very cheap. Any reason not to go for one?




Yes, I'm still miffed about the Anandtech (but certainly not Bluemax) 9700 "review"..... Blue Alien @ Sapphire is probably wondering where it is...

 

[mcveigh]

NO

sappire makes most if not all cards for ATI

 

[Budman]

Any reason NOT to get a Sapphire Radeon?

I cant think of one.

I have a Sapphire 8500LE 128meg & it was cheap & very good quality,I would buy an other card from them without hesitation.

 

[rbV5]

The output should be fine, the RAMDAC and rage theater are embedded in the core, so output to the desktop and TV-out should be uniform accross the board for Radeon cards regardless of manufacterer. Software package may be the only real difference.

 

[Czar]

I have a Sapphire Radeon 9700 pro and its just fine at everything (apart from tiny glitches with drivers)

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: bluemax
Well, the Sapphire cards are a lot less money. I know all about the clockspeeds and such.... but more importantly, I wonder about the desktop output of the Sapphire brand.

I wasn't worried until Good Ol' Hardware came in and said that he had two Sapphire 9000's and the output on both sucked.

Cash is tight, and the Sapphire 9000 is very cheap. Any reason not to go for one?




Yes, I'm still miffed about the Anandtech (but certainly not Bluemax) 9700 "review"..... Blue Alien @ Sapphire is probably wondering where it is...

WHY the 9000 and not the 8500 series? The 8500 is better bang for the buck and you can get it from the mid$60s for the 64MB LE to $130 or less for the 128MB full retail version.

 

[bluemax]

It's the one thing the 9000 does that the 8500 doesn't. Improve the quality of RealVideo.
As much as it sucks, it's the only way I can view certain programmes since I have neither satellite nor TV.
And besides, it's still plenty fast - never slower than a Radeon 7500 which is a fair step up from the Radeon VIVO ES I had before it.
I have tried out a Radeon 8500LE Retail box... very nice. But I want to watch 3ABN shows in better quality. The 9000 is currently the only option for improved RealVideo.

So far it's looking very positive. It's $109 Canadian for a regular 64MB card (clocked @200 vs. 275 but has a silent passive heatsink.)
$8 more gets the same card plus hydravision. I think I'll go for it.


Having said that, this Matrox G400 is a BEAUTIFUL card! Short of 3D games, I've never had a faster screen draw or sharper image, even from ATI (which was a close second.) I'd buy a Parahela if it weren't so flippin' expensive. I'll always keep this for my backup card....

 

[Pabster]

bluemax wrote:

"It's the one thing the 9000 does that the 8500 doesn't. Improve the quality of RealVideo."

LOL. Improve RealVideo? Come on

 

[Legendary]

Question - is there any way to tell whether you got a Sapphire or a built by ATI card? Like say in Device manager?

 

[Maverick]

Originally posted by: Pabster
bluemax wrote:

"It's the one thing the 9000 does that the 8500 doesn't. Improve the quality of RealVideo."

LOL. Improve RealVideo? Come on

LOL he's digging pretty deep there to find something good about it

 

[bluemax]

LIKE I SAID, the only way I can view those 3ABN broadcasts is through RealVideo.
The Radeon 9000 is the only card that can do anything to improve RealVideo quality.
I am willing to sacrifice the tiny little bit of speed to GET good RealVideo playback.

What's WITH you guys and RealVideo..... maybe if you got hardware improvement you wouldn't rag on it so much.
And just because the new procuct is a tiny bit slower than the 8500 doesn't make it *slow* by a long shot.
For the same hundred Canadian buckazoids I could either get the (sale priced) MX-440 or the (regular priced) Radeon 9000, which would YOU choose?

Especially since my computer is my "entertainment center". Movies, DVD, a few games but nothing spectacular like you TI4600 and Radeon 9700-er's need....

And those RealVideo broadcasts I'd like to see in better quality. The Radeon 9000 does that - and is the ONLY one that does!
(Does the 9700 do it? I'd hope so....)

So the Radeon 9000 still seems my most viable option as my needs are not to get the highest frame-rate scores. I want pretty colours, decent framerates, and high-quality media playback. The Radeon 9000 fits that bill better than any other budget card. Okay?
Can we move on now?

 

[UlricT]

hey... all it does is make RealVideo streams from "blocky" into "blurry"... you might want to actually look into whether the visual improvement is good enuff for you to jump in... maybe you should get it from a retailer with no restocking fee....

 

[Nafets]

Question - is there any way to tell whether you got a Sapphire or a built by ATI card? Like say in Device manager?

Yes there is a way to tell. I'm using a Sapphire 9000 with the Catalyst 2.3 drivers. Under the "ATI Options" tab, in the advanced display properties window, clicking on the 'Details' button brings up a screen that displays some good information about the card, including it's manufacturer...

 

[bluemax]

Originally posted by: UlricT
hey... all it does is make RealVideo streams from "blocky" into "blurry"... you might want to actually look into whether the visual improvement is good enuff for you to jump in... maybe you should get it from a retailer with no restocking fee....

Now THAT is a good peice of advice.............
Maybe when Staples or Future Shop start carrying them. Man they're slow on the draw.... they still sell oldies.

 

[Electric Amish]

FWIW-

I bought an ATI Radeon 7500 for a client's computer and I've had nothing but trouble with it in Windows XP.

It's the only one I've ever tried.

I have an ATI Radeon 9700 and haven't had one bit of stress with it.

amish

 

[murphy55d]

i cant believe this is your 5th thread about a Sapphire.

Just buy the damn thing already!

 

[bluemax]

Originally posted by: murphy55d
i cant believe this is your 5th thread about a Sapphire.

Just buy the damn thing already!

Well, y'know, most of those previous threads were work towards the big Sapphire interview I had planned. Was all green lights too - had a contact at Sapphire and we were just about ready to go.

But the big guys at Anandtech wouldn't respond to a single email.... they sure read them though - because shortly after, my contact at Sapphire responded that someone at Anandtech had then contacted him and was given a Radeon 9700 "review" card.

So far there has been no Sapphire 9700 review. :|


Why haven't I just went out and bought a Sapphire card? Well a couple reasons.... the above one has left a sour taste in my mouth and am not so sure I want to give Sapphire any of my hard earned money. If I do, I want to be damned sure I'm getting my money's worth - not some crappy 3rd rate card with fuzzy output and cheap, slow RAM. (Shame on you, Crucial!!)

So I want to be 100% sure I'm not gonna' get shafted again.

 

[apoppin]

So I want to be 100% sure I'm not gonna' get shafted again.

Sorry, no 100% guarantees available anywhere today.



The logical second best way is to buy it from a retailer with a decent "return" program.

 

[Hardware]

in the new ct there was a big test about 9 radeon 9000 (pro) and all had medium to bad 2d even with a dual 400 ramdac and the second head was even more worse

so if you need crispy 2d stay away from the radeon 9000 (they didnt test the ati radeon 9000)

ati still build cards?

 

[bluemax]

Okay, Hardware . . . You seem to be the only one who says that desktop quality is lacking. Can you provide a link to this article reviewing 9 Radeon 9000 cards? And, what does "ct" mean?

EDIT: Grrr..... Hardware, there's no way I can contact you other than on here. I WANT that mysterious "ct"(???) article!!

 

[WyteWatt]

LOL bluemax now reminds me of myself when i am trying to buy hardware.

 

[bluemax]

Originally posted by: imtim83
LOL bluemax now reminds me of myself when i am trying to buy hardware.

It's called being very broke and unwilling to make a mistake that's going to cost me money.
And I'm not going to line the pockets of Sapphire after their latest stunt.... unless it's a damn good card.

Maybe I should buy it regardless.... if it's poor quality I'll tell EVERYONE.... mwaAaHAHAHHAAAAAAAA!
Of course, that might not stop the OEM sales from big computer companies.... but it might be a gain or loss from the one million "Retail" consumers I plan on reaching. [mischevious grin] Of course, I'll only be completely honest - to be any less would be shameful.

 

[grant2]

Originally posted by: Electric Amish
I have an ATI Radeon 9700 and haven't had one bit of stress with it.
amish

OUCh!!! :Q :Q :Q

Even Amish has abandoned Matrox!!! They're doomed!!!

 

[Electric Amish]

Originally posted by: grant2

Originally posted by: Electric Amish
I have an ATI Radeon 9700 and haven't had one bit of stress with it.
amish

OUCh!!! :Q :Q :Q

Even Amish has abandoned Matrox!!! They're doomed!!!

Not abandoned.... just had an overwhelming case of getting what I pay for.

amish

 

[Hardware]

dont get any oem radeon 9000 (pro)

the 2d is crap the second head is even more crap video out is crap too
1280x1024 first head is usable