ATI Radeon 32MB DDR OEM for $122

[ChannelX]

Two places have this board for $122 with free shipping currently:

Newegg.com
unitedmicro.com

I ordered several days ago from newegg when it was $130. They hadnt shipped yet and I called back and the gave me the new price which was pretty cool.

 

[CouponCollect]

any experience with those retailers

 

[TakedownCA]

I ordered an Else GeForce 2 GTS 32Mb DDR a while back. I was just wondering how the Radeon performs in comparison with that card. I heard it depends on what application is being tested. Thanks for any info given.

Mahir

 

[MontyBurns]

Takedown:

I have the ATI Radeon 32MB DDR in one of my machines, and a GeForce2 GTS Pro 32MB DDR in another of my machines. At the risk of touching off an endless debate, I have to say: It's tough to spot a "real-world" difference. The GF2GTS Pro regularly benchmarks higher than the Radeon, but in playing Quake III, Half-Life, Unreal Tournament and others, I can't tell any difference. (I actually spent considerable time LOOKING for a difference, too, just because I was interested in this debate.)

(One thing: When I upgraded to DirectX 8.0, my GeForce completely freaked out. I tried every combination of new detonator drivers, even the leaked v7 ones, and I still had problems. Ended up having to wipe DirectX. Really, I don't recommend upgrading to DirectX8 right now anyway, largely because the uninstall is hell. On my Radeon machine, which accepted the upgrade fine, I haven't noticed ANY performance increase.)

By the way: The "Pro" version of the GeForce2 GTS is a special OEM version (Gateway and Dell sell it, among others). The truth is it's more marketing gimmick than anything. They open up the pipeline wider, but you're not going to notice a performance difference over the "regular" GeForce2 GTS.

My advice: Pick the cheaper option. At the time I got my Radeon, it was far cheaper than a DDR GeForce2 GTS. Now, that's not so true.

 

[Kingofcomputer]

I'd rather buy retail ddr from buycom for $130.

 

[spycatcher old]

I went with the Radeon DDR from buy.com Not installed yet, but from everything I've heard the 2D text quality when browsing the net, looking for deals , etc. is much better than the GeForce.

Near Matrox sharpness displaying text with a slight 3D difference is a good tradeoff for me. Plus the Radeon drivers are getting some real ATI attention for a change and things should start to really match the GeForce in 3D.

Then I'll get a 64MB NV20 card next Christmas for cheap!

 

[ChannelX]

As to the retailers like I said newegg gave me the price diff and shipped it within two days of my order (and it says to allow 2 days so I got exactly what I expected). Price was great and the shipping was free. Will update once I get the card.

As to the one at buy.com that is fine if you've never bought from buy.com before (unless I'm missing something and the coupon isnt only for new customers) but the 32mb radeon there is normally $160.

Anyone know the diff between oem and retail radeon?

 

[Sesopedalian]

Image quality is supposed to be better for the Radeon, and I could tell the difference on the desktop. Also it is generally faster in 32-bit color in very high resolutions for gaming. Superior also in software DVD playback. Better even than my Hollywood+ card, I don't know why.

 

[MontyBurns]

While I'm very Pro-Radeon, these arguments that the Radeon produces noticably sharper text and images than the GeForce2 GTS are just crap. I've got them going side by side, and I can tell you, there is NO discernable difference.

I do, however, agree with the DVD comments... teh Radeon has the best DVD playback I've seen for a standalone card.

 

[ChrisOh]

Actually, i can tell the difference also in 2D at high res windows apps (1600x1200)

 

[qpham11]

I do believe the Radeon has a hardware dvd decoder.

 

[namlook]

I can tell a difference between the Radeon and GTS too. The Radeon has superior image quality on my system. It was a noticeable difference for me both on my desktop and in some games.

 

[stso]

sorry, not trying to have a debate here ... just want some opinions.
Will it be better that I just get rid of my Voodoo5 and get this ATI Radeon? The price for these two card is pretty much the same .......

 

[Kingofcomputer]

Keep Voodoo5 and upgrade to next gen card or next next gen card.

 

[damocles]

I certainly wouldn't sell a Voodoo 5 for either of those cards. Wait for something new, as King Said

 

[damocles]

I couldn't see NewEgg listed at reseller ratings.com, but United Micro is there. 54 people have voted, giving it a score of 2.9 (out of 7) which is pretty low. I would avoid it.

Read it here

 

[RobsTV]

Be very, very careful with this.
All OEM Radeon's are supposed to be SDR. Careful checking at these sites will reveal white box (OEM) Radeons are available is SDR version, and no mention of white box DDR Radeons. Maybe these are different, but be warned.

SDR Radeons have not done well in reviews.
OEM Radeon review

 

[holger]

Where does it say $130, when i check it's $160 ??

 

[BigLance]

I don't know about the 32MB version but both the OEM and Retail 64MB versions are DDR (about 99.9% sure). I have seen the 32MB in online stores (OEM) advertised as having DDR, and its more expensive than the 32MB SDR verision if you search somewhere like pricewatch.com. Hope I'm right !! Good Luck...

Oh, BTW, the Radeon is faster from about 1024x768 and up on every game in 32bit. And even on some games like UT below 1024. 16bit is slow but who cares, 16bit is lame anyway... (yea, I'm a Radeon person- just ordered the 64MB DDR from newegg.com)

Check Anand's reviews to see all the benchmarks I'm talking about.

 

[Shahavchik]

The price just went down to $120 from cnetpc.com with free shipping

 

[Hawk]

I am pretty sure there are OEM DDR 32 MBs, but who knows, these guys could be selling SDRs (doubt it, the DDR has been discontinued and are pretty cheap already).

 

[shiznut123]

how fast is the oem's? (core/memory)

 

[BigLance]

The OEM's are usually 166/333 (Core/Memory) and the Retial is 183/366. Not a whole lot of performance difference though...

 

[virtuamike]

Any update to the Radeon Windows 2000 drivers? Last I heard they weren't all that great compared to GTS drivers.

 

[ChannelX]

As to being alert about it being an SDR board. If it is I return it...simple as that. Why do people make it sound like once something is purchased that there is nothing that can be done? newegg.com listed it as 32mb ddr. If its not I return it and get my money back. If they dont take it back I call the CC company and refuse to pay for it. This is not rocket science.