Ati, Sapphire, or Powercolor Radeon 9800-256

[borgmang]

Which of these cards is the best. Cost not an issue. Just pros and cons.

 

[Vonkhan]

Wouldn't reccomend Powercolor, they OC their cards

 

[Futher]

def go with ATI

 

[Markfw]

Just not powercolor. ATI and Sapphire are the same.

 

[Schadenfroh]

ATI

 

[borgmang]

Why ATI vs the others? Also, does anybody recommend adding a different heatsink to the card, i.e thermaltake etc..

 

[syzygy]

i own a powercolor 9700 np, and i can assure you it wont overclock at all. i tried oc'ing it w/o any of the aa/af turned on - in
the vain hope it might help - and i still suffered screen blackouts. heck, i even lost my wallpaper :Q :Q :Q :Q

 

[borgmang]

Wow - I''m definately removing powercolor from the list.

So why ATI over Sapphire? Does anybody recomend adding an aftermarket heatsink to the card, i.e. Thermaltake, etc.. Any advantages to adding the heatsink.

 

[Vonkhan]

ATi and Sapphire are nearly identical in all respects. Sapphire makes the boards for ATi, so ...

However, the perfectly identical 9800pro/128mb ones are that of ATi and Visiontek ... i.d.e.n.t.i.c.a.l., couldn't belive it. Visiontek followed ATi's reccos to the t.

 

[dmw16]

The one thing about sapphire is that they come pre-unlocked. that is to say they can be overclocked using a 3rd party utility without you needing to reflash them. As for an aftermarket heatsink...I am not sure that they are terribly nessecary. From the reviews I have read the thermaltake heatpipe one is slightly more effective than the stock heatsink, but it is silent. So if quiet is important than aftermarket is the way to go. Otherwise there isnt much need. But the heatpipe one does look a lot cooler.
-doug

 

[borgmang]

dmw 16,
Is the Sapphire a better board to get than the ATI? I would like to eventually try some OCl'ing. By the way I would prefer a quieter alternative, so I'll look into the thermaltake heatpipe.

Thanks

 

[borgmang]

Bump

 

[Lyfer]

powercolor = powercrap.

 

[John]

Originally posted by: borgmang
Is the Sapphire a better board to get than the ATI?

ATi and Sapphire are nearly identical in all respects. Sapphire makes the boards for ATi, so ...

 

[Xernex]

LOL aren?t we being a little to harsh on Powercolor here? I have a 9800pro powercolor been running it at 418/736 stable with no artifacts for the past 3 weeks. It was a great price and has given me no trouble what so ever (yet). I know they are notorious for not being a great brand, but how many of you actually OWN one of their 9800pros or a 9800pro full stop making you in a position to comment?

Didn?t think so.

 

[dmw16]

As said before, sapphire and ati are all but one in the same. Honestly, i think I'd go for sapphire because they save you the trouble of having to flash your bios. Actually, i dont know if there is even an unlocked 9800 bios out on the net yet. So you are better off w/ the sapphire. Mine overclocks well. A 9500 non-pro at 324/317 is pretty good.
-doug

 

[borgmang]

Originally posted by: dmw16
The one thing about sapphire is that they come pre-unlocked. that is to say they can be overclocked using a 3rd party utility without you needing to reflash them. As for an aftermarket heatsink...I am not sure that they are terribly nessecary. From the reviews I have read the thermaltake heatpipe one is slightly more effective than the stock heatsink, but it is silent. So if quiet is important than aftermarket is the way to go. Otherwise there isnt much need. But the heatpipe one does look a lot cooler.
-doug

John,
What about what dmw16 about the Sapphire coming pre-unlocked? Any advantages?

 

[borgmang]

Sorry about DP dmv16. Walked away and came back and sent DP w/o looking. Thanks for the input. I think I'll go with the Sapphire.

 

[magomago]

yes i do think people are being harsh on powercolor.

Think about it...9700NPs are probably just 9700PROS that couldn't meet spec so the dropped the clock...some still may overclock to around Pro speeds, and some just can't do it...you probably had one that just won't do it..

 

[borgmang]

Originally posted by: borgmang

Originally posted by: dmw16
The one thing about sapphire is that they come pre-unlocked. that is to say they can be overclocked using a 3rd party utility without you needing to reflash them. As for an aftermarket heatsink...I am not sure that they are terribly nessecary. From the reviews I have read the thermaltake heatpipe one is slightly more effective than the stock heatsink, but it is silent. So if quiet is important than aftermarket is the way to go. Otherwise there isnt much need. But the heatpipe one does look a lot cooler.
-doug

John,
What about what dmw16 about the Sapphire coming pre-unlocked? Any advantages?

Bump

 

[ethebubbeth]

Sapphire is equal in quality to ATI, and most do come with an unlocked bios. The thermaltake heatpipe cooler is the Giant II i believe, and it actually has a fan so it is not silent. The zalman ZM80A-HP is completely fanless but it runs warmer than the card would with the stock cooling solution, so that would defeat having the sapphire unlocked unless you have a lot of airflow through your case. By the way, you are building one heck of a system borgmang.

 

[borgmang]

So are you saying to just go with the ATI w/stock cooling, instead of the Sapphire?

 

[Vonkhan]

Originally posted by: magomago
yes i do think people are being harsh on powercolor.

Think about it...9700NPs are probably just 9700PROS that couldn't meet spec so the dropped the clock...some still may overclock to around Pro speeds, and some just can't do it...you probably had one that just won't do it..

dont think so. read up before u post

 

[borgmang]

Originally posted by: Vonkhan

Originally posted by: magomago
yes i do think people are being harsh on powercolor.

Think about it...9700NPs are probably just 9700PROS that couldn't meet spec so the dropped the clock...some still may overclock to around Pro speeds, and some just can't do it...you probably had one that just won't do it..

dont think so. read up before u post

I did read before I posted, You should practice what you preach - Vankerinurhand and by the away, nice 2.4B HAH.

I still ask the same question to ethebubbeth - So are you saying to just go with the ATI w/stock cooling, instead of the Sapphire?

 

[Acanthus]

Originally posted by: Vonkhan

Originally posted by: magomago
yes i do think people are being harsh on powercolor.

Think about it...9700NPs are probably just 9700PROS that couldn't meet spec so the dropped the clock...some still may overclock to around Pro speeds, and some just can't do it...you probably had one that just won't do it..

dont think so. read up before u post

definately wrong.