ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB @ Micro Center (DEAL STILL ALIVE)

[imported_nitrus]

i hear the 16 pipe mod though functional, isnt that great, due to less slower ram (128). but it would still smoke the 9800xt.

 

[spreee02]

None in stock at the santa clara store the past couple days. Not as hot as i originally thought because $50 off from the credit card deal is not done instantly... but at $230, still a pretty decent deal!

 

[trexpesto]

Isn't enabling pipelines usually hit or miss - might get one that works fine, might get one that was demoted to fewer pipelines model becaue of a narrow urethra? I mean becaue not all of them worked when tested?

 

[grappa]

Picked one of these up yesterday at the Detroit store. They have about 30 of them. They are the flashable-to-XT Hynix version.

However, the credit card deal is a $100 rebate when you buy a laptop or desktop.

 

[tlam617]

Here are the spec. Get them while they last.

Product Specifications:

Compliant Standards
Plug and Play

API Supported
OpenGL 1.4, Direct Draw, DirectVideo, Direct3D, DirectX

DirectX Support
DirectX 9.0

Graphics Processor
ATI RADEON 9800 Pro Graphics Processor

Graphics Processor Data Width
256-Bit

Core Clock Speed
380MHz Core Clock Speed

RAMDAC Clock Speed
Dual 400MHz RAMDACs

Video Memory Installed
256MB DDR SDRAM Video Memory

Video Memory Clock Speed
350MHz clock, 700MHz effective

Video Memory Bus
256-Bit

2D / 3D Features
SMARTSHADER 2.1 (Eight parallel rendering pipelines; Four parallel geometry engines; 2.0 Vertex Shaders; 2.0 Pixel Shaders; up to 16 textures per rendering pass; F-buffer technology; 128-bit, 64-bit & 32-bit per pixel floating point color formats; Multiple Render Target (MRT) support; Shadow volume rendering acceleration); SMOOTHVISION 2.1 (2x/4x/6x full scene anti-aliasing modes; Adaptive algorithm with programmable sample patterns; 2x/4x/8x/16x anisotropic filtering modes); HYPER Z III+ (3-level Hierarchical Z-Buffer with early Z test; Lossless Z-Buffer compression (up to 24:1); Fast Z-Buffer Clear; Z cache optimized for real-time shadow rendering); TRUFORM 2.0 (2nd generation N-Patch higher order surface support; Displacement mapping); VIDEOSHADER (Seamless integration of pixel shaders with video)

Min Supported Resolution
640 x 480 @ 200MHz at 24-bit (16.7M colors)

Max Supported Resolution
2048 x 1536 @ 85Hz at 24-bit (16.7M colors)

Multiple Monitor Support
Dual Monitor Supported

TV Video Output
NTSC, PAL

Video Compression Standards
MPEG-1, DVD/MPEG-2, Indeo

Ports and Connectors
One VGA 15-pin Port; One Digital Video Interface (DVI) Connector; One TV Out S-Video Port

Supported Windows Operating Systems
Microsoft Windows ME, 2000, XP

Minimum RAM Size
128MB

AGP Interface Type
AGP 3.0 Compliant (8x/4x) Interface

AGP Voltage
8x AGP (0.8 volts), 4x AGP (1.5 volts)

Peripheral Devices
CD-ROM Drive

Included Software
Drivers & Utilities

Manufacturer Warranty
3 Year Limited Warranty

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: trexpesto
Isn't enabling pipelines usually hit or miss - might get one that works fine, might get one that was demoted to fewer pipelines model becaue of a narrow urethra? I mean becaue not all of them worked when tested?

flashing this card to an XT does NOT enable pipelines!

The 9800Pro 256 is IDENTICAL to the 9800XT EXCEPT for its BIOS and HS.

flash the BIOS and change the HS and you have a 9800XT (period)


Of course, there is no guarantee it will run at 'XT' speeds . . . you may have to underclock it.

For example, my ati9800Pro 256/256 > XT runs Doom III perfectly at "stock" XT speeds (10x7 HiQ 2xAA/8xAF w/o noticeable slowdowns) . . . HOWEVER, i cannot enable Overdrive - only with Doom III - as it will artifact (unless i get my case really cool).

 

[DestruyaUR]

We weren't talking about enabling pipelines on the XT - the newest version of RivaTuner is going to enable the full 16 pipes on non-Ultra/GT 6800s from the neutered 12.

 

[BoKingWen]

Just revecie the VGA silencer from newegg and the power cable don't fit the 9800 pro. The power adapter on the card is 3 pins and the power cable on the cooler is 2 pin WTF.........

I break the plastic thingy on the stock heatsink can't put it back, anyone know where I can find a adapter? nervermind I got one at home.

 

[amheck]

I think I remember reading that you stick in the 2 pin cable into the 2-left most pins of the 3-pin connector. Or something like that. If you search back, you might be able to find it. But it was a pretty simple solution, IIRC.

 

[DestruyaUR]

Some better/higher-class video card deals have cropped up - but it seems (at least according to the website) that this is back in stock online.

 

[LeeM]

bump, this is still alive.

btw, I picked up a PNY6800GT at cusa, but have not opened it yet. still debating


6800gt = 399.99
9800xt = 179.99

I'm playing only in 1024X768 (doomIII, farcry, etc) would I see a > $200 diff?

 

[cw42]

Originally posted by: LeeM
bump, this is still alive.

btw, I picked up a PNY6800GT at cusa, but have not opened it yet. still debating


6800gt = 399.99
9800xt = 179.99

I'm playing only in 1024X768 (doomIII, farcry, etc) would I see a > $200 diff?

yes. At MAX grafx and 1024x768, the 9800xt will stumble a bit at times. With a 6800gt it will be much smoother, and you'll be able to turn up AA and AF. How fast is your cpu btw?

 

[LeeM]

asus k8v se deluxe, amd64 3200, 512 coarsair 3200LL, x 2 74G Raptor (raid), antec 480 trupower.

I was wondering about turning up AA/AF

 

[grappa]

Still wondering how people are seeing this deal as $179, since the $50 rebate / off no longer applies... ?

 

[DestruyaUR]

It's not technically 179.99. It's 179.99 net. The 50 dollar "savings certificate" is only valid on your next purchase and furthermore is only valid up to 90 days after date of issue.

The only "yearly" special that MC hasn't done yet is the 20% off Western Digital drives, but their price on the 74GB Raptor is 259.99 - even after the 20% and certificate it'd cost what newegg's selling them for now. The 20% off digital cameras and ATI/eVGA video cards has already taken place.

 

[tlam617]

bump. deal is still hot.

 

[Phamine]

To people who bought the card, what core and mem speed is the card supposed to be?

I thought it was supposed to be 380 core and 350 mem. I'm about 10 off on mem

378 core and 337 mem

 

[HDTVfan]

Don't know but I purchased this at a retail Microcenter and flashed the bios to 9800 xt - I can use the "overdrive" to get it to run at 418 Mhz (it had the 360 core and the Hynix memory). Before I flashed the bios I replaced the heatsink for an extra $20. (VGA silencer). It works great. One thing - I had purchased it so I could run an HDTV as a second monitor, and to run Doom III. It is limited (to a certain extent) r/e Doom III - the Nvidia cards are better for that game (I can run Doom III at 1024 x 768 seamlessly, but no more). Overall I am happy with my purchase - the bios flash worked great, it works with overdrive - for $220 it was a good deal.

Oh, and to drive an HDTV, it rocks - the picture on DVD's (using Powerstrip or with the ATV dongle) run great at 1080i - awesome picture that blows away a traditional DVD player : )

 

[chinkgai]

Originally posted by: Phamine
To people who bought the card, what core and mem speed is the card supposed to be?

I thought it was supposed to be 380 core and 350 mem. I'm about 10 off on mem

378 core and 337 mem

no thats correct for a regular pro

 

[Phamine]

^^There's another 256mb 9800 pro?

 

[DestruyaUR]

Last bump. Deal ends Sunday.

 

[prona]

40min drive to the Madison Heights, MI Microcenter today. I applied for their credit card but they said that they couldn't instantly approve me, so that I do not qualify for the 50 dollar discount And since it was such a long drive, it didnt feel right just leaving empty-handed. So I bought one for 229.99 + tax = ~243 Is this still a good deal? If not, link me with a better one and I'll drive back there to return it :\

 

[DestruyaUR]

The 50 dollar discount shouldn't be immediate. It's 50 dollars off on your next MC purchase, and the certificate is valid for only 90 days from the date of issue. That's the catch.

But hey, if you can find a store willing to chop 50 bucks off the price right then and there, go for it.

 

[prona]

Yeah, I asked the guy about that. He said that it can be immediately applied towards my purchase. He also said that since I did not instantly qualify, I can not get the 50 dollar certificate even if they qualify me later.

 

[Rhesus]

sooooo.... why is this dead?