Since GeForce FX ain't all that...Is FIC's $295 Radeon 9700 Pro any good? *Update* Ordered one ;)

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NFS4

No Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
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Well, I just ordered the FIC. Picked one of the remote control Minis as well (I love the new Mini Cooper:p). It was $11.99 - $5.00 discount for getting a video card :D

So for a total of $301.99 I got an uber fast video card and a cheap R/C toy :D

 

WyteWatt

Banned
Jun 8, 2001
6,255
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NFS4 good luck and have fun! Please let us know how it goes and post some benchmarks if possible! Thanks!
 

NFS4

No Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
72,636
46
91
Originally posted by: imtim83
NFS4 good luck and have fun! Please let us know how it goes and post some benchmarks if possible! Thanks!

Sure thing. It should be here Thursday if NewEgg's shipping is like it has been in the past.
 

DX2Player

Senior member
Oct 14, 2002
445
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Bla Bla Bla....no I dont really have anything productive to say, I want to see the 9500 pro price pushed to the sub $150 region.
 

NOX

Diamond Member
Oct 11, 1999
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Wow I may get one too.

Let use know how it goes? I may want to buy one soon.
 

NFS4

No Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
72,636
46
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Originally posted by: NOX
Wow I may get one too.

Let use know how it goes? I may want to buy one soon.

I wasn't even planning on buying a Radeon 9700 Pro. I just happened to be reading Anand's GF FX review and saw how the 9700 Pro was bitch slappin' the FX all around. The I saw somewhere in another thread that the 9700 Pro was only $295 now. I put two and two together and said MUST BUY! :D
 

John

Moderator Emeritus<br>Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
33,944
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Originally posted by: NFS4


I wasn't even planning on buying a Radeon 9700 Pro. I just happened to be reading Anand's GF FX review and saw how the 9700 Pro was bitch slappin' the FX all around. The I saw somewhere in another thread that the 9700 Pro was only $295 now. I put two and two together and said MUST BUY! :D

295.00 for an OEM Radeon is kind of steep, and FIC's support has been a PITA for me in the past....almost if not worse than ASUS. However I am sure you will enjoy the card.


 

GTaudiophile

Lifer
Oct 24, 2000
29,767
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Originally posted by: NFS4
Originally posted by: NOX
Wow I may get one too.

Let use know how it goes? I may want to buy one soon.

I wasn't even planning on buying a Radeon 9700 Pro. I just happened to be reading Anand's GF FX review and saw how the 9700 Pro was bitch slappin' the FX all around. The I saw somewhere in another thread that the 9700 Pro was only $295 now. I put two and two together and said MUST BUY! :D

That was me who mentioned the $295 deal...
 

NFS4

No Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
72,636
46
91
Originally posted by: John
Originally posted by: NFS4


I wasn't even planning on buying a Radeon 9700 Pro. I just happened to be reading Anand's GF FX review and saw how the 9700 Pro was bitch slappin' the FX all around. The I saw somewhere in another thread that the 9700 Pro was only $295 now. I put two and two together and said MUST BUY! :D

295.00 for an OEM Radeon is kind of steep, and FIC's support has been a PITA for me in the past....almost if not worse than ASUS. However I am sure you will enjoy the card.

If you can find me a brand new 9700 Pro clocked at 325/310 for cheaper than $295 shipped from a reputable company then be my guest. Besides, it's basically the same (if not the same) card are regular 9700 Pros. And NewEgg's return/refund policy is AWESOME!

As for it being OEM, what the heck am I going to do with a stinkin' retail box and a CD of crappy game demos? :)
 

John

Moderator Emeritus<br>Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
33,944
1
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If you can find me a brand new 9700 Pro clocked at 325/310 for cheaper than $295 shipped from a reputable company then be my guest.

PowerColor 9700 Pro for 277.00 shipped FedEx 2 day

As for it being OEM, what the heck am I going to do with a stinkin' retail box and a CD of crappy game demos?

Warranty on OEM is usually less than retail cards.However PowerColor (PC) seems to offer 3 yr. on both. I have had the retail version of the PC 9700 Pro (identical to a built by ATI version) in this pc for several months now, and it is quite nice.
 

NFS4

No Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
72,636
46
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Originally posted by: John
If you can find me a brand new 9700 Pro clocked at 325/310 for cheaper than $295 shipped from a reputable company then be my guest.

PowerColor 9700 Pro for 277.00 shipped FedEx 2 day

As for it being OEM, what the heck am I going to do with a stinkin' retail box and a CD of crappy game demos?

Warranty on OEM is usually less than retail cards.However PowerColor (PC) seems to offer 3 yr. on both. I have had the retail version of the PC 9700 Pro (identical to a built by ATI version) in this pc for several months now, and it is quite nice.

GoogleGear screwed me last month on some DDR333 memory. I am NEVER buying from them again.
 

oldfart

Lifer
Dec 2, 1999
10,207
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The googlegear site shows:
Powered by the revolutionary AGP 8X RADEON 9700 PRO Visual Processing Unit (VPU) with core engine @297Mhz clock speed.
Supports 256-bit memory interface with 128MB of powerful double data rate (DDR) memory @263Mhz clock speed
Cheaper, but slower
 

Spicedaddy

Platinum Member
Apr 18, 2002
2,305
75
91
A lot of people got screwed with the Powercolor OEM cards. (clocked slower than they should be) I'd pay a little extra for the FIC.
 

apoppin

Lifer
Mar 9, 2000
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alienbabeltech.com
Originally posted by: John
Screwups happen everywhere....even newegg.
Even Dell. . . .



:Q


;)

. . . 'hi', John

:D


rolleye.gif


BTW, Dell finally settled my case to my satisfaction (with 'apologies' to me even). :)


. . . back to 'topic' the FIC at a higher clock speed looks like a better buy . . . ;)
 

NFS4

No Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
72,636
46
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Originally posted by: John
Screwups happen everywhere....even newegg.

Their POS memory NEVER worked. STILL got charged a flippin' 15% restocking fee. The sh!t was DEFECTIVE!!!! Cost me $23. NewEgg takes their busted stuff back no questions asked and still gives me a refund.

So when you add back that $23 that they stole from me tacked onto the $4 I had to spend to ship back their POS memory I say *&$# 'em :p

And as oldfart stated, the Radeon 9700 Pro at GoogleGear is clocked at 297/263. That doesn't look like 325/310 to me :D
 

John

Moderator Emeritus<br>Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
33,944
1
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Restock fee on defective parts does suck.

As for the slower clocks on the OEM PC, I was not aware of that. What's odd is that some websites aren't listing the clock speeds either. Thank goodness I got an early retail batch that retains the proper speeds. I appreciate the heads up for sure.

Are other 3rd party vendors clocking the 9700's differently?
 

filmore crashcart

Senior member
Dec 18, 1999
684
0
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Oh God... that old PowerColor fake pro card still causing confusion? At least Googlegear took it back from me for full credit and without charging a restocking fee. If I'm going to pay that much for a non pro card disguised as a pro, I'd go ahead and pay the extra $20 or so for a real pro card.
 

Spicedaddy

Platinum Member
Apr 18, 2002
2,305
75
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Originally posted by: John
Restock fee on defective parts does suck.

As for the slower clocks on the OEM PC, I was not aware of that. What's odd is that some websites aren't listing the clock speeds either. Thank goodness I got an early retail batch that retains the proper speeds. I appreciate the heads up for sure.

Are other 3rd party vendors clocking the 9700's differently?


I'm not sure if others do it, but in Powercolor's case, they still call it a "Pro" even though it's clocked slower. Some people emailed the company about this, and the answer they got was something like: "The card uses the 9700 Pro core, but the only difference is it's clocked differently. Since it uses a Pro core, the card is a Pro."
rolleye.gif


See this thread in the Video forum...
 

grant2

Golden Member
May 23, 2001
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Originally posted by: NFS4
It should be a nice upgrade from my Ti4200

<shock>

First ElectricAmish buys nvidia card, now NSF4 buys ATI card?

I guess since the dot-com crash, card manufacturer bribes aren't sweet enough any more!!