Radeon 9700 pro or 9800 non-pro?

[NYHoustonman]

I'm looking at buying a new gpu in the near future, and these basically are my two choices. I prefer NVidia, but the FX5900 ultra is too expensive, and the cost of the 5900 does not show up in its speed. So, now, these are my only options. Does anyone have any benchmarks on the 9800 np or have any input?

 

[MrPabulum]

This depends on whether you're interested in flashing the 9800NP Bios to pro levels, or even attempting an overclock. Stock 9800NP is 325/290, and costs $20 less on Newegg. If it were me, I'd take a slight chance with the 9800NP. I bought an 9700NP for about $210, flashed the BIOS, and luckily enough, 9700 Pro speeds! (currently clocked at 340/320). I'd read that many of the Sapphire NPs tend to be underclocked Pros. Results vary of course, but again, it all depends on your personality. :beer: Good luck!

 

[Questi4110]

This thread has come up many times. The 9800NP is cheaper and in the future it will look better. Overclocking is not that hard and flashing the bios isn;t that hard either (see the new thread). Go for the 9800np

 

[Corporate Thug]

9800 np will perform slightly better at stock and its cheaper. i'd go for it

 

[NYHoustonman]

Alright thanks, so it's decided, just wasn't entirely sure...

 

[BoomAM]

9700pro.
Its faster than a 9800np by about 5%.
The new features of the 9800 will never be used anyway, or even if they are used, they wont be used at an acceptable speed by the card.
Its cheaper.
All of them OC, only a few 9800np will OC propely.
You dont need to take the risk of a new BIOS flash to OC it.

 

[Pete]

I'd go for the 9800. It has some fixes and new features in it that makes it worthwhile, IMO.

 

[NYHoustonman]

Thanks for the link, I couldn't find benchies anywhere...I'm gonna have to go with the 9800 np and, because it isn't quite as fast the 9700 pro, o/c it to the speeds of the 9700 pro, which is rather modest, so I will have the same performance with the added features. Again, thanks for the help.