Radeon 9800s

by **Bagginses** » Mon Oct 13, 2003 9:28 am

Alright, from what I've been reading on these boards, I've heard alot of good things about this card. I looked them up on newegg.com and got these: http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?DEPA=1&submit=Go&description=radeon%2C9800
Now, that top one is definitely appealing because it's so cheap compared to the rest, but obviously I ask myself why is it so cheap. I was just wondering if anyone knew why or if it is just a great bargain. I just want to know cause I was hoping I could order one and have it arrive before our little shindig on Sunday. Thanks.

-Bagginses

by **JimmyTango** » Mon Oct 13, 2003 9:54 am

The SE is a stripped down version, with lower clock sppeds. Do nto get it.

Unless you want to roll the dice and see if a 9800 NONPro will overclock to Pro speeds, get the cheapest Pro you can find.

by **Buliwyf** » Mon Oct 13, 2003 10:19 am

that's a NON pro. don't get it.

by **Bagginses** » Mon Oct 13, 2003 11:56 am

Alright, I found a 9600 pro for about $155, I was just wondering if that was a good price. I was trying to find the best thing I could for the $150-$170 range, also in the ATI area. Any recommendations?

-Bagginses

by **shockwave203** » Mon Oct 13, 2003 12:43 pm

the 9600pro is quite a good card to have. Although it is good, I would suggest you get a 9800non pro or a pro. I have a 9700nonpro, and it's an amazing card. I can play at 1600X1200 with all graphics cranked and still don't get any slowdowns, with my fps staying above 70 all the time.

If you can find a 9700, snatch it up. If not, I would suggest waiting until you have enough money for a 9800, but a 9600pro should do quite nicely for ya.

by **Irish** » Mon Oct 13, 2003 2:17 pm

9600pro is the best card for the money hands down. I would snatch this card up for $155.00 easy. I'm out in Philly and they are still $199.00 currently. I hear though that when the new XT card becomes widely available ATI will be reducing all of their current cards. But for 155.00 I doubt you can get much better.

Anyone know why I had to hook up wires from my sound card to my CDROM and DVDROM? I just bought an Audigy Gamer card. My Santa Cruz had the ports for the wires but I didn't have them hooked up. I assume that this improves sound somehow. I just want to make sure that it was worth the pain of removing my front bezel and popping out the drives.

Was my climb worth the view?

by **Bullhead** » Mon Oct 13, 2003 3:41 pm

Jax, those wires are only really of any use if you run WinME or lower (or maybe that's Win98....owell

). They are used to extract the audio from dvds/cds. Win2k and above do this thru the IDE cable, so they are really no longer needed (although I've heard a rare few programs need it still). I don't use any on mine, and have never had 1 single problem....

by **=XAV=** » Mon Oct 13, 2003 3:46 pm

personnaly I bought a Geforce 4 Siluro FX5200 from Abit (128MB DDR at 85€ (+- 100$) and, if you have a 8X AGP port on your Mboard, it works very well...
I've not yet had any problem.. up to now

by **Bullhead** » Mon Oct 13, 2003 3:54 pm

Wait until the directx9 games start showing up

by **Buliwyf** » Thu Oct 23, 2003 6:17 pm

I love my 9800 PRO. I have not had one single problem with it as of yet. I was an NVIDIA fan boy for many many moons, but now feel confident with ATi since their 9700 card and the future. *FOR NOW*.

by **smithpa68** » Thu Oct 23, 2003 6:49 pm

The Non Pro and the SE are two different models. The 9800 non pro is nearly identical to the 9800 Pro but with slower memory. Most can take a bios flash to Pro specs. My co-worker bought one from new egg and followed this procedure and is running at 9800 Pro speeds completely stable.

http://www.digitalsynapses.com/articles/9800npflash/

The SE is a completely different model and not worth considering.

Check out NewEgg. Great price $243.00
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?DEPA=1&submit=Go&description=9800

by **shockwave203** » Thu Oct 23, 2003 7:04 pm

Think I'll have to upgrade a 9700np when BFV comes out? Just askin, because I know that it will be good for HL2, but not sure about BF.

ANyway bagginess get a 9800pro. if you can't afford one now, save up until you can.

Trust me, it'll be worth it in the end

Theres nothing like playing BF at 1280 X 1024 with all graphics cranked and AA and AF maxed out. One hell of a picture and performance.

by **Bagginses** » Mon Oct 27, 2003 9:48 am

I've been thinking about this and I think I'm just going to wait a month or two and just grab the 9800. However, one of my concerns, is that my processor is only an AMD 1.5 Ghz, and I only have 256 mb of RAM, so, my question is, would my processor and RAM limit the full potential of the 9800? or do I have more upgrades to perform? I'm just asking all these questions cause I'm getting sick of playing Battlefield on 800x600 on a crappy internet connection after waiting 4 minutes for a map to load. Hopefully the internet will get fixed any day now, but I need to try to get all the rest of that up to speed.

-Bagginses

by **Xenius** » Mon Oct 27, 2003 10:29 am

I don't know about the processor speed being a limit, but that 256 mb of RAM sure is. You need AT LEAST 1/2 gig of RAM for gaming and preferrably 1 Gig. I have a Gig and BF uses a full 700 megs or so when I'm playing it. Trust me, get some more RAM and that vid card, and you'll be set.

by **Irish** » Mon Oct 27, 2003 10:33 am

Yeah. I agree with the RAM. 700 megs is about right and if you run Ventrilo or are a cheating bastard then the whole gig will be chewed up. I actually am going to get one more gig next week for two gigs total. Sounds like allot but the way these games are running, why not. Forget that overclocking bullshit for the 9800. Spend the extra $$$. Why void a warranty if you don't have to.

Radeon 9800s

Radeon 9800s

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