Retail 9800 Pro $299 @ BB

[NYHoustonman]

Again, my 9800 Pro runs at those speeds. Also, as far as I can remember, the original reference 9800 Pro was clocked at those speeds... I'm 99.9% sure that that card is a real 9800 Pro. WTH is 2 mhz, anyway... If you're gonna o/c it, o/c it higher than that.

 

[Unforgiven]

nah im not interested in overclocking, just making sure i got the product that i paid for. i mean the box wasnt shrinkwrapped and the card inside was inside an anti-static bag and looked legit to me. after that guy before posted those links to the pics on newegg i became skeptical because they look so much alike! im happy and this deal ownz, sorry for getting off topic

 

[UCSDHappyAsian]

sounds really nice

 

[zodder]

im reading some stuff on some sites i found on google stating that the clock speeds are measured at 378/338 is that accurate or is that a "fake" ati built card?

Those are the exact clock speeds of mine, too. I have no problem running it at 400/350, though. Haven't tried any higher.

 

[Bad Dude]

I am not sure about this but one of my friends who bought the card right when it came out, the pins were black plastic. I noticed the newer ones from ATI has the gold pins. So if you get the black pins, it probably the older stock. Also, ATI cards has the red ATI sticker on it also. And it's made in Canada and the OEM is made in Taiwan or China I think. But this is all on stickers.

 

[Unforgiven]

yeah but remember, stickers can be easily peeled off and stuck on other products....

 

[BDawg]

What software comes with the ATi retail version?

 

[zodder]

I think all I got was a driver disk with a bunch of simple apps on it. BUT, I will be getting my free Half Life 2 when it comes out!

 

[Sircoop]

So I am thinking the only way to find out if I truely have the 9800 PRO is to install the card and look up the clock speeds?

 

[NYHoustonman]

Basically, but even then...Just compare it to a picture of a real Radeon 9800 Pro, it has a distinct look compared to other cards imo...

 

[Sircoop]

NYHoustonman

Can you psot a link for a pic of the real card


The pictures in these reviews look like my card I got after I exchanged the first one.

Pix

Pix2

Any thoughts

 

[Unforgiven]

here are some pics courtesy of an earlier post

linkage

 

[Basilisk]

Out of curiosity, not having seen it mentioned above: What memory chips are being shipped on the cards these days? I never quite trust the reviews or product notes as I think RAM can vary over a product's life.

Or, more to the point, perhaps: is ATI's 9800 pro using the same speed memory as its competitors (say, Sapphire)?

I presume only ATI labeled ones get HL2, so that's in this product's favor, but I've been wondering how ATI products stack up in component quality (okay, in overclocking!). While Sapphire may manufacture ATI cards, there's no reason to presume they use entirely the same component spec's.

 

[QuicknDirty]

Actually, according to ATI's website, they are trying to get their partners in on the promotion as well. Just from checking their list of partners here I went to Sapphires page and they are showing the HL2 promotion there as well.

In reference to the memory chips, I believe that the ATI branded 9800pros (and above possibly) are the only ATI branded chips shipping with Samsung memory?

From ATI's website:

ATI is also working with our partners who build graphics cards with RADEON? Graphics Technology as well as partners who manufacture new computer systems to include this bundle with a number of their products. You can obtain details directly from our partners.

From the promotion info page located here.

QnD

 

[Sircoop]

MY new 9800 PRO card has the following memory chips

Samsung 319

PN is 109-A07500-00

Made in China

Is this pretty much confirmation I have a good retail verison of the ATI RAEDON 9800 PRO 128MB card?

Sircoop

 

[Bad Dude]

Originally posted by: Sircoop
MY new 9800 PRO card has the following memory chips

Samsung 319

PN is 109-A07500-00

Made in China

Is this pretty much confirmation I have a good retail verison of the ATI RAEDON 9800 PRO 128MB card?

Sircoop

The board PN is always the same for 9800np and 9800pro. It does not matter whether ATI or not built. I think the RAM chips says something like Samsung GC2A.

 

[Sircoop]

The last charaters on the Samsung memory say 2A...So I guess I am good

 

[1ManArmY]

Don't forget about Best Buy's restocking fee if you get hosed on the inferior ram found on some 9800 NP's. Open it up in the store to be on the safe side.

 

[QuicknDirty]

BestBuy does not have a restocking fee. CompUSA has a 15% restocking fee.

I just took 3 different video cards back that I'd opened a week ago, and they didn't charge me any fee for any at BestBuy.

 

[Unforgiven]

you got screwed on 3 of the same cards? were they different models or were they the same model just defective over and over?

 

[Bad Dude]

BB only have restocking fee on Digital cameras and video camcorder. But on computer hard ware they don't.

 

[QuicknDirty]

Originally posted by: plankton
you got screwed on 3 of the same cards? were they different models or were they the same model just defective over and over?

Sorry, should've clarified. It was 3 different deals, and I was going to keep the best performer of the 3. However, none of them gave me a noticable difference over the TI4400 I currently am using (or at least enough of a difference to justify blowing $200+ dollars...). Even on the HL2B with the 9800Pro vs the TI4400, I couldn't tell any "shock n awe" improvement in overall performance.

So they all went back

QnD

 

[NYHoustonman]

For me, the improvement from Ti4400 to 9800 Pro was large... I guess it depends on system and what you play :\...

 

[Unforgiven]

yeah im coming off a ti4200 that i was using for a year and then i just bought a 5600 ultra (which im now looking to sell) so the 9800 allows me to play with all details maxed. i do have to say that Anti Aliasing on the geforce line kicks the crap outta the AA on the ati's. really unimpressed there but like i said i can max everything out and i get free half life 2 so i cant bitch in the least

 

[UCSDHappyAsian]

nice deal