Radeon 9800 Pro 128?

[RockGuitarDude]

Are they worth the money right now and do they overclock easily?

 

[n0cmonkey]

Everyone says to get one if you aren't going to wait for the X800. But make sure you get the 256bit one and not the 128bit one.

I'm using cheap video cards, so don't take my word for it. Look at any number of the threads in this forum and you should see recommendations.

 

[MidasKnight]

128mb of ram ? or 128bit ?


I have the Sapphire 9800 Pro 256bit 128mb card and have it overclocked @ 434 / 732


In the $200 range or lower and they are really a great value. Just watch out for the 128 bit versions selling right now, make sure it's a 256 bit card.

 

[SilentZero]

I have the ATI 9800 Pro 128mb and it works great. Works excellent, and id recommend it to anyone who is looking for a low-cost vid card solution.

 

[RockGuitarDude]

256 megs of ram?

 

[RockGuitarDude]

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-304R&depa=0

i really want that one .... i cant afford much more ..

 

[RockGuitarDude]

is that a valid 9800 pro or is it a lot worse? whats the deal with this one... it is a refurb tho

 

[RockGuitarDude]

im very confused... does that one have the 256 interface? if so im getting it

 

[n0cmonkey]

According to the model #s, that should be 256bit. The non-refurbished one is $299 and out of stock. But I'm not sure how much faith I would put in the model numbers.

256MB of ram is supposed to be a waste, BTW.

 

[RockGuitarDude]

i know that the 256 ram is a waste... but the interface (bus) is what ive been told is important. Does this one have the 256 bit interface?

 

[n0cmonkey]

That's what the first part of my post was relating to. The model or part or whatever # on the site (N82E16814102304/N82E16814102304R) is the same on both that one you posted the link to and one that explicitly says 256bit. I'm guessing the R at the end stands for Refurbished. If you want to put faith in the numbers there and newegg's descriptions, it should be 256bit.

 

[RockGuitarDude]

eh... i guess ill buy it..

 

[RockGuitarDude]

oh an thanks for the help

 

[Mik3y]

u'll want the one thats 128mb and 256bit.

 

[Mik3y]

u'll want the one thats 128mb and 256bit, not the other way around

 

[rcomo]

How can you tell if your current card is 256 bit? I bought mine over a year ago, is there a way for me to tell?

 

[NYHoustonman]

128 bit versions didn't exist until rather recently.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey

256MB of ram is supposed to be a waste, BTW.

Wrong.

Totally wrong. Those cards can be upgraded to a 9800 -XT simply by flashing the BIOS.

There is a current hot deal for $30 more HERCULES PROPHET 9800 PRO 128MB 8X OEM - IN STOCK 189 PCS.

it's brand new for $189 and probably o'cs past its core (380Mhz) and Ram (340Mhz DDR) clocks



edit: Oops $40 more

anyway -

The most noticeable addition is the Blue-LED light found in the card's heatsink-fan unit. This provides a blue-toned light, and is especially useful for those with high-end, windowed systems. In our testing, this provides adequate light for the entire bottom portion of the case, and is bright enough to be seen in normal lighting conditions. The heatsink itself is copper-based and provides a nice mix of cooling performance and eye-catching gold trim. Hercules matches this up with copper heatsinks for the memory modules, and the end result is a very attractive video card that also has a full copper-based cooling system.

 

[Sunner]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey

256MB of ram is supposed to be a waste, BTW.

Wrong.

Totally wrong. Those cards can be upgraded to a 9800 -XT simply by flashing the BIOS.

$100 extra for the ability to flash the card to an XT seems pretty useless to me, considdering a regular 128MB Pro can probably be overclocked to close to XT speeds anyway.

Unless you have lots of money to waste that is.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Sunner

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey

256MB of ram is supposed to be a waste, BTW.

Wrong.

Totally wrong. Those cards can be upgraded to a 9800 -XT simply by flashing the BIOS.

edit: how'd that get in here?

. . . anyway that Hercules 256/128MB RAM card with blue LED and copper RAM sinks should be an awesome o/cing card - IF you have $189. Q]

$100 extra for the ability to flash the card to an XT seems pretty useless to me, considdering a regular 128MB Pro can probably be overclocked to close to XT speeds anyway.

Unless you have lots of money to waste that is.

$100 more now.

The 256MB ram version should be pretty cheap soon with not much of a premium over the regular 128MB ver. - in that case it's a good deal if you want the best of the old cards - at a bargain price - as the 9800xt is still ~$350.

 

[Slogun]

Funny question. I got mine back in 10/03 when it was $350.00 and it was a great deal even then.
I plan to be using this card until I go PCI Express.

BTW, yea it'll overclock, but works so well you don't really need to.

Also, I don't see how mine is a late revision (although I did RMA in Feb.) card and yet it is 256 bit. I wasn't aware of any other flavor.

 

[dennisjai215]

wahhhhh are you nuts 200 bucks isnt a low card video card!

 

[apoppin]

I just got this one:

ATI RADEON 9800 PRO Video Card, 256MB DDR, 256-bit - $223 shipped from NewEgg

I know i kept talking about a x800 or 6800 . . .

HOWEVER - THIS one can be simply FLASHED to a 9800 - XT

What made up my mind?
(other than i can have this one b4 Fri)

Comparing the x800 to the 9800xt . . . my monitor's MAX refresh rate is 1280x960 @ 80hz (i prefer 1152x864 @ 85hz) . . .

not really THAT much difference for LESS than 1/2 the price of the new core GPUs . . . PLUS - in the FALL - i can still sell my "XT" for $175+ and get an NV45 or r480 . . .
(if i still have the upgrade itch)

So i settled . . .

 

[Twsmit]

Originally posted by: apoppin
I just got this one:

ATI RADEON 9800 PRO Video Card, 256MB DDR, 256-bit - $223 shipped from NewEgg

I know i kept talking about a x800 or 6800 . . .

HOWEVER - THIS one can be simply FLASHED to a 9800 - XT

What made up my mind?
(other than i can have this one b4 Fri)

Comparing the x800 to the 9800xt . . . my monitor's MAX refresh rate is 1280x960 @ 80hz (i prefer 1152x864 @ 85hz) . . .

not really THAT much difference for LESS than 1/2 the price of the new core GPUs . . . PLUS - in the FALL - i can still sell my "XT" for $175+ and get an NV45 or r480 . . .
(if i still have the upgrade itch)

So i settled . . .

I dont understand the logic there. Even the article you mention says 256MB of ram is useless. Why would someone care about flashing a 256 9800 pro into a XT when they can overclock a 128 9800 pro into a 128MB XT.

The performance differences are minimal in regards to amount of ram, its all the speed of the ram and the core.

 

[Nebor]

Originally posted by: Twsmit

Originally posted by: apoppin
I just got this one:

ATI RADEON 9800 PRO Video Card, 256MB DDR, 256-bit - $223 shipped from NewEgg

I know i kept talking about a x800 or 6800 . . .

HOWEVER - THIS one can be simply FLASHED to a 9800 - XT

What made up my mind?
(other than i can have this one b4 Fri)

Comparing the x800 to the 9800xt . . . my monitor's MAX refresh rate is 1280x960 @ 80hz (i prefer 1152x864 @ 85hz) . . .

not really THAT much difference for LESS than 1/2 the price of the new core GPUs . . . PLUS - in the FALL - i can still sell my "XT" for $175+ and get an NV45 or r480 . . .
(if i still have the upgrade itch)

So i settled . . .

I dont understand the logic there. Even the article you mention says 256MB of ram is useless. Why would someone care about flashing a 256 9800 pro into a XT when they can overclock a 128 9800 pro into a 128MB XT.

The performance differences are minimal in regards to amount of ram, its all the speed of the ram and the core.

That's not true anymore. The 256mb pros really are just rebadged XTs. And that extra memory DOES help in newer games with high res textures. Games like Far Cry weren't around back when that review was written.