AIW 9700 Pro OEM--good idea or not?

[ptw]

Hi everyone.

I was planning on buying a Radeon 9800 Pro--I've seen them around for $299 CDN. I was also hoping to get some TV features, but that is definitely a distant secondary consideration to gaming ability.

However--I just saw the Radeon AIW 9700 PRO on sale for the same $299 CDN price. OEM, so no software (I can download it all right?) and no Remote Wonder (I already have one from an older AIW).

Is there a big performance difference or any other reason to stay away from the AIW 9700 Pro OEM? Keep in mind that I will not overclock. I am using an nForce2 mobo, Athlon XP 3200+, and 1 GB DDR.

Thanks!

 

[rbV5]

Is there a big performance difference or any other reason to stay away from the AIW 9700 Pro OEM?

The OEM and retail AIW cards are always the exact same cards. There maybe a warranty difference, and like you noted minus remote wonder (although my OEM AIW 7500 did come with the remote and the ATI install disk)

If there is no ATI installation disc, you will not have the GuidePlus+ EPG, or the ATI DVD decoders. There are no Guideplus+ downloads at ATI, and the DVD decoder download requires the install disc for verification. OEM cards should definately come with the ATI installation disc, every one of my OEM AIW cards included the disc.

 

[The Green Bean]

I would get the AIW. greater resale value also~