ATI 9800 vs 9800 pro

[moemac8]

What is the diffence between the pro and non pro. I've seen people mention a bios flash to make a non pro a pro. Is that only for 3rd party cards or can it be used on ATI brand cards. Trying to figure out which to buy.

 

[Staples]

The difference is just a higher clock speed and memory speed. Some people are able to flash their cards to a Pro but in many cases, the memory speed can't handle the overclock. The 9800np and the 9700 Pro are the same speed.

 

[modedepe]

Clock speeds differ:

pro = 380/680
non pro = 325/580

 

[moemac8]

can anyone direct me to benchmarks vs a pro board??
Anandtech doesnt seem to have any

 

[KMHPaladin]

Try Tomshardware. What I'm interested in is, are the OEM 9800 Pro cards any good? I have seen OEMs for about $300 and Sapphire cards for about $320 with other third-party cards going up from there. Are the third-party boards worth the extra expense, or would an OEM 9800 Pro be a good buy at or about $300?

 

[Staples]

It is very rare to see a np against a pro benchmark test. It is almost if ATi doesn't give np cards out so no one reviews them or there is a behind the scenes contract for no big sites to review them. It is truely strange but I bet you will only find a review or two if you look for one. The only one I have ever seen was at firingsquad which showed the benches of those cards.