Third party 9700 Pro

[Spiffae]

If you saw my last post, i was deliberating between waiting for the NV30, and just getting an R300. I've thought, chatted, researched, and compared, and i think i'm going to go with ATI. A tough decision to make right when the GeForce FX is announced, but the right one. Here's the new question: I was checking out newegg.com, and i've found 9700 Pros for near $300, but they aren't actually manufactured by ATI, or they are OEM. I read Anand's review of the Gigabyte 9700 Pro, and that loud fan is nothing i want to have a part of. Are there any other little setbacks like that that i should know about? Also, are there any other good sites that you can recommend for good prices and service? I feel like a little child wandering off into a dark wood. ok, not really, but there's a lot i don't know.
cheers.

 

[Spiffae]

doesn't anybody have any of these cards? I'm itching to buy?
cough*bump*cough

 

[bikinistud]

Thought I would try and help you out.


Go HERE for the latest ATi news.

As for reviews of products I have a list you may want to check out:

Go to Tom's Place (Get out of it what you can.)

Or go HERE. He's always got something to look at.

Sorry not much more help but hopefully it will influence your decision.

Cya'

 

[Spiffae]

thanks...that tom's place seems to be just the ticket. I'll keep looking.

 

[Tates]

I bought the Sapphire 9700 Pro from Newegg and ran the P/N number at ATI.com, and it came up as a "built by ATI" product.

Runs great. I ran it at 369Mhz core & 720MHz memory on my Asus P4S533, P4 1.6a@2384, Corsair XMS3200C2@372.5MHz CAS 2/2/2/6/1

3DMark2001se score....14,867

 

[Spiffae]

wow, considering i'm at about 6600 with my GF3 and my processor is faster than yours.

 

[Spiffae]

oh no, wait, holy crap. you pushed a 1.6 to above 2000 mhz? i've never overclocked, but i'm running a 1.8. god only knows what i could do.