questions about radeon 9800 non pro

[hclarkjr]

does it have an external connection for power? going to be getting one tomorrow and am wondering if i should go with the 9600 pro instead and save the $100 or so. i have the money to get the 9800 but am wondering if it is overkill for me. i do not rely on 3dmark to tell me what card to get. i go by visual quality vs. price and performance plus i like running the games at as high AA and such as i can on my system. i have an "older" AMD 1.4GHZ 266 FSB CPU and am wondering if the 9600 pro would be the better choice for me. please no flame wars either, just want honest opinions. thank you

 

[Night718]

I don't think there are any externally powered video cards. I think what you meant was if the card came with a plug to directly draw power from your PSU instead of through the MB. And yes, the 9800 does come with one. I think you should just go with the 9800 non-pro.... it is well worth the $250ish price tag and functions about the same as a 9700 pro. and if you're lucky you'll get one that doesn't have 3.3 ns ram and then you can just flash to a 9800 pro bios.

 

[Megatomic]

Yes, it has the external power connector on it. And to cut to the chase, if you can afford the 9800 NP then get it. It might be overkill for your CPU but you will eventually upgrade. You won't be disappointed by the card.