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Question on which Radeon 9800 Pro I should get.

NONE of the ones on that page.

The SE card is crap; it only has 4 pixel pipelines.

You should be looking for a 9800 (built by ati or sapphire) non-pro w/ 128mb of ram. You might actually be happier with a 9700-based card in the end. They are cheaper and are still quite powerful cards.

**EDIT**

Actually, this one looks ok:

$264
REFURBISHED: ATI OEM SAPPHIRE RADEON 9800 PRO 128MB DVI/TV 8X AGP
Specifications
Chipset:ATI RADEON 9800 PRO
Memory:128MB DDR memory
Bus:AGP 8X
New SMARTSHADER 2.1 technology allows users to experience complex, movie-quality effects in next-generation 3D games and applications
Supports DirectX® 9.0 and the latest OpenGL® functionality
256-bit memory interface removes hardware performance bottleneck and provides end users with faster 3D graphics
Ports: VGA + DVI + S-Video Out (includes VGA-DVI Adapter, and S-Video-RCA Adapter and cables
OEM Bundle (See pictures for details)

Refurbs scare me tho.
 
Originally posted by: SickBeast
NONE of the ones on that page.
Click to expand...

what's wrong with the $306 one?
it's sapphire OEM...has the smaller power connector, but i've been told that makes no difference.
not refurb is nice.

 
Ne one care to explain to me on how ppl mod there 9800np to 9800p or what overclocking is? 😛 im kinda curious.. and what card would you pick out of that list is good.. or ne other recommendations
 
the $306 card is nice, but it's also $42 more expensive for a limited performance gain that could be made up by overclocking the 9800np. you're right tho, it might be worth the extra money considering it's not a refurb. right now the 9800np is the best value in the high end from what i've read. why not just wait and buy one of the half-life 2 bundles?
 
Originally posted by: Jsongz
Ne one care to explain to me on how ppl mod there 9800np to 9800p or what overclocking is? 😛 im kinda curious.. and what card would you pick out of that list is good.. or ne other recommendations
Click to expand...

People download a utility such as Rage3D tweak, then adjust a slider in their video drivers to overclock their cards. Once it has been established that the card can run at 9800 pro speeds without any artifacts or instability (you need to test it thoroughly), you can flash the bios of the card to that of a pro card. You need to be very careful in doing this, and I wouldn't reccomend it to someone who has never overclocked a videocard. Check out the rage3d.com forums for more info.
 
Where you think I could find the best buy far this card? Are there any really good deals on that page? A couple of ppl told me to stay away from the OEM and BUNDLES.
 
The problem with OEM stuff is that you have to know exactly what you want. They try to scam you at every chance they get. I remember buying a Radeon 8500 "OEM", when in reality it was an 8500LELE that was 30% slower than the card I thought I was buying. With a reputable site like newegg.com, you should be fine, but make sure you know what you're getting into. Like I said before, just stay away from the "SE" cards. OEM isn't bad, it just means that you're not getting the fancy box and bundled games (which you may not even want anyway).

I personally buy almost all of my videocards on the for sale forums here. You might want to check out the hot deals forum as well. Good luck.
 
Is their a big difference between a 9800np and a 9800P? Can they compeat together.. Like when the newer games start coming out will I have to update sooner than the 9800P?
 
Originally posted by: Jsongz
Is their a big difference between a 9800np and a 9800P? Can they compeat together.. Like when the newer games start coming out will I have to update sooner than the 9800P?
Click to expand...
The pro is a faster version of the 9800. The only difference is faster core and RAM speeds. However, many 9800NP users (myself included) have successfully clocked their non-pro cards past the default speed of the pro version. My non-pro is flashed with the pro bios so it is essentially a pro card now. 🙂

 
Well see I have never overclocked and I don't intend to. On account I couldn't handle it if I somehow messed it up. I now on the other hand did a spreadsheet on the differences between the Radeon 9800 Pro, Radeon 9800np, Radeon 9600XT, Radeon 9600. Which one do you think will be the best buy? (note- I can't find any specs on the Radeon 9700 pro, please help me there)

What would be the better buy? The Radeon 9600 XT or the Radeon 9800 Non Pro.
The Radeon 9800 Non Pro is 256 BIT, 8 Rendering Pipelines, and a pixel fill rate of 2.6.

Where as the RADEON 9600 XT is 128-bit, 4 Rendering Pipelines, a Pixel fillrate of 2, and is well over the Radeon 9800np on Engine clock (500:325) But only somewhat ever on the Memory Clock (600:580)

Which one would be the better buy? This will probably decide on what im going to get, still not quite sure on the 9800p. Thanks in advance!
 
The 9800p and np have, as you note, twice the pipelines and twice the memory through-put of the 9600.

This way more than makes up for the 9600's higher clocks.

9800np for my money.
 
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