Would you guys *please* bench the 9800SE?

[Matthias99]

I humbly reiterate my request for the 9800SE to be officially benchmarked. Seeing as it is (or will soon be) around the price of the 9600 Pro, it would be nice to see how they stack up.

I'm starting to wonder if there's some sort of vast conspiracy to not benchmark this card at all, since *nobody* seems to have reported any results on it.

 

[Blastman]

2 benchmark links already in this thread ...

link

A German review.

German review just confirms (the other 2 links) that the 9800SE is a little slower than the 9500pro - about equal to the 9600pro. Sometimes all one can find is foreign reviews. Just read the graphs and/or use an online translation like bablefish.

You could try a google search. Something like ... "9800SE review" ... or ... "9800SE test". Using "test" instead of "review" seems to be better for the foreign reviews.

 

[Matthias99]

I *did* try a Google search, although not for "test".

The reply I got before was "Just wait; there will be reviews of it along with the 9600XT."

Again, I have to ask: Why isn't anyone in the US benchmarking these cards? Are they looked down upon with disdain as a "value" card? Even without a softmod, they clearly have performance around that of a 9500Pro / 9600XT -- but it would be nice to see something about them come out of a site that I a) know and trust, and b) can read.

 

[GullyFoyle]

This one is in English and has been floating around for more than a month Overclockers.NZ

 

[railer]

I have one...and am not terribly impressed. My GF4 on my Barton 2500 was quite a bit faster with AA/AF off (in quake). The 9800SE is sitting in my spare rig with an Athlon 2000. I could run a couple of basic benchmarks on it if anyone would like. Quake III, 3dmark 20001 and maybe 2003. Let me know if interested.

 

[jiffylube1024]

Originally posted by: railer
I have one...and am not terribly impressed. My GF4 on my Barton 2500 was quite a bit faster with AA/AF off (in quake). The 9800SE is sitting in my spare rig with an Athlon 2000. I could run a couple of basic benchmarks on it if anyone would like. Quake III, 3dmark 20001 and maybe 2003. Let me know if interested.

Those would be good. Another one which would be great to run is Unreal Tournament 2003. If you don't have the full version you can download the demo for it.

 

[jiffylube1024]

Originally posted by: Matthias99
I humbly reiterate my request for the 9800SE to be officially benchmarked. Seeing as it is (or will soon be) around the price of the 9600 Pro, it would be nice to see how they stack up.

I'm starting to wonder if there's some sort of vast conspiracy to not benchmark this card at all, since *nobody* seems to have reported any results on it.

Part of the reason that nobody has reported on this card is that it's not a particularly attractive video card to own. Most "savvy" users, or just ones who get their info here realize that this is a so-called "crippled" card. Like the 9500 non-pro (the straight-lined memory version that cannot be soft-modded), people don't like owning "crippled" cards, and Why bother take a risk getting a non-soft moddable 9800SE when you can spend 20-50 bucks extra and get a 9800 non-pro, which is the exact same technology as the pro.

 

[Blastman]

Part of the reason that nobody has reported on this card is that it's not a particularly attractive video card to own.

Agreed. The 9800SE 256bit probably consumes at least double the power of the 9600pro, costs a lot more, yet runs no faster. The 9800SE 128bit is a lot slower than the 9600pro and costs the same.

A search at Newegg ?

9800SE ? 380/340?.256bit bus? L shaped memory ? $239
9800SESE ? 325/250 ? 128bit bus ? I shaped memory ? $167

I can get a good 9600pro for $152.

I had originally read that these 9800SE would not be available in North America and were only for some foreign markets.

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: jiffylube1024

Part of the reason that nobody has reported on this card is that it's not a particularly attractive video card to own. Most "savvy" users, or just ones who get their info here realize that this is a so-called "crippled" card. Like the 9500 non-pro (the straight-lined memory version that cannot be soft-modded), people don't like owning "crippled" cards, and Why bother take a risk getting a non-soft moddable 9800SE when you can spend 20-50 bucks extra and get a 9800 non-pro, which is the exact same technology as the pro.

I *realize* that this card is "crippled" -- but it's essentially a 9600Pro with an R360 core! And there's no shortage of 9600 reviews and benchmarks out there. If you're in the market for a mid-range video card, it might be nice to know how this thing stacks up, especially since it is priced competitively with the 9600XT. (The answer: better than a 9600Pro, marginally, but probably worse than an overclocked 9600XT. The soft-moddable versions cost about the same as a 9800NP, though the overclocking potential might make them a better buy, especially if you can't find a NP.) The question is not between the 9800SE and regular 9800, but rather between the 9800SE and the 9600Pro/XT, since it is priced between those two cards.

There also might be fewer questions on the boards about this card's performance if it were benchmarked in a few more places. We can dream, right?

I was very surprised to see that Overclockers New Zealand article, since repeated Google searches failed to turn it up. Eventually it dawned on me while reading the article that they never called the card a "RADEON 9800SE" or "RADEON 9800 SE" (which is what I was searching for) -- they only referred to it as an "R9800SE" (all one word). Searching on *that* turned up their review and several others.