Sapphire 9800 pro 128mb $301

[Blackroot]

They have that at newegg, i was wondering if that a good card it has 8 pipelines but does it also have 256 bit grafics and all that good stuff please tell me, thinking about getting it

this is deal, it's second one down

 

[lifeguard1999]

Yeah. It is a Pro version with 8 pipes and 256-bit memory interface, not the 4 pipe SE version. I have been watching this card and it had been bouncing around the $300 mark for some time.

 

[modedepe]

Yeah this one is the real deal. Newegg has had it for $306 for a while, so you save $5 now.

 

[Johnbear007]

good card.

 

[Crucial]

Whats the general concensus on non ATI branded cards? Does it affect resale at all?

 

[trinitroDynamics]

It may affect retail sale, but the benchmarks are usually just as good as ATI made.

 

[Zugzwang152]

i have this card

my benchies were a little disappointing, although my cpu/ram/mobo combo arent too impressive.

it pulled a 31,000 aquamark3 score with an athlon xp 2400+, 1GB of PC2100 on an ECS K7S5A mobo.

 

[gimpyd00]

For some reason, I always thought the Sapphire 9800 Pro OEM cards were clocked lower than the retail ATI ones. I could be wrong, I can't find a link to back my statement up.

 

[iguanaman]

Stock speeds don't matter too much....Sapphire cards can be overclocked without flashing the bios (unlike ATI's).

 

[Blackroot]

so this deal is real, and a good one too right?

 

[woodscomp]

Sapphire is ATI's OEM brand name. Made in the same factories as the retail version.

 

[Razorguts]

Ive tried searching for reviews of this card, but I mostly get hits back that pertain to the 256meg version ("Atlantis"?), which has the red PCB (Im partial to the black, myself, since it would match my audigy 2 ZS and <possible> chaintech mobo)

anyway, so Im building a system, slowly but surely, getting parts here and there as the deals pop up. I was holding out on the proc/mobo decision to await the verdict on Athlon64, etc... also was holding out on the vidcard decision. Initially, that was to be driven by the release of HL2 and D3, both of which have slipped into 2004 (no surprise).

So now Im faced with a toughie - this card/price looks very attractive, but nVidia, as well as ATI, are to release new products in Q1/2004 (and with ATI, Im not talking about the XTs, Im talking an entirely new product). Im also concerned that if I get the ATI, will I have some performance slippage if my mobo is based on nForce2/3 chipset.

Can anyone provide some counsel on the staying power of this Sapphire card? Think it will hold its own for at least 8months? Pixel Shader tech gonna change so much that this card is 2nd best by 2004, etc.? Im still on a GeForceTi4600 now, which has served me well, but I think it's time to move on...

Much thanks in advance,

Razorguts
Herff College of Engineering

 

[Blackroot]

Yea, i need a card/want a card soon, i already ordered case mobo, and processor, and picked up a harddrive last week, i need to get a video card and some ram then i'm done with my new comp, which will be an average of 4x+ better in every way possible then this junker i'm on right now.

 

[fustercluck]

Originally posted by: lifeguard1999
Yeah. It is a Pro version with 8 pipes and 256-bit memory interface, not the 4 pipe SE version. I have been watching this card and it had been bouncing around the $300 mark for some time.

You sure the card we're talking about is 256 bit? It says 128 in the title...or maybe i'm just confused as usual. So is this an awesome deal or what? The price is rising... by the time i decide it'll probably be gone =p

 

[t0mmyb0y]

Originally posted by: Razorguts
Ive tried searching for reviews of this card, but I mostly get hits back that pertain to the 256meg version ("Atlantis"?), which has the red PCB (Im partial to the black, myself, since it would match my audigy 2 ZS and <possible> chaintech mobo)

anyway, so Im building a system, slowly but surely, getting parts here and there as the deals pop up. I was holding out on the proc/mobo decision to await the verdict on Athlon64, etc... also was holding out on the vidcard decision. Initially, that was to be driven by the release of HL2 and D3, both of which have slipped into 2004 (no surprise).

So now Im faced with a toughie - this card/price looks very attractive, but nVidia, as well as ATI, are to release new products in Q1/2004 (and with ATI, Im not talking about the XTs, Im talking an entirely new product). Im also concerned that if I get the ATI, will I have some performance slippage if my mobo is based on nForce2/3 chipset.

Can anyone provide some counsel on the staying power of this Sapphire card? Think it will hold its own for at least 8months? Pixel Shader tech gonna change so much that this card is 2nd best by 2004, etc.? Im still on a GeForceTi4600 now, which has served me well, but I think it's time to move on...

Much thanks in advance,

Razorguts
Herff College of Engineering

If your videocard decision is influenced by D3/HL2, why don't you wait until they are just about to come out? If ATI has released their newer cards by then, the price for this could be $250 or lower... Just use an old card until then.

just my 2cents

 

[lifeguard1999]

You sure the card we're talking about is 256 bit? It says 128 in the title...or maybe i'm just confused as usual. So is this an awesome deal or what? The price is rising... by the time i decide it'll probably be gone

It says 128MB in the title .... that is it has 128 megabytes of memory on the card. There is a 256 megabit memory interface to that 128 Mbytes of memory.

Now it is at $305.

 

[Razorguts]

[/quote]

If your videocard decision is influenced by D3/HL2, why don't you wait until they are just about to come out? If ATI has released their newer cards by then, the price for this could be $250 or lower... Just use an old card until then.

just my 2cents[/quote]

My decision was going to be based on these releases (as well as others below) because I previously thought that HL2 would be out 9-30, and D3 would be here before the Xmas season. Sure, those games have since been bumped, but we still have a *great* lineup of games due out this quarter:

Max Payne 2 (got this one already, though)
Deus Ex: Invisible War
Call of Duty
Thief3
Silent Hill 3
UT2k4
Hidden & Dangerous 2
XIII

So I know that buying into a new card now wouldn't hurt. I guess I was seeking some counsel on the technological aspects of the card itself. Ive always been an nVidia guy, so this would be my first jaunt into ATI land, and I was asking about compatibility with nForce2/3 chipset, and if the pixel shader (currently version 2.0) would be outdated in the near future. Or as I summed it up, the overall "staying power" of the Sapphire.

yeah, price is now 305, I wonder if it will slowly creep up... the pressure is on.

thanks for reading

 

[fustercluck]

Originally posted by: lifeguard1999

You sure the card we're talking about is 256 bit? It says 128 in the title...or maybe i'm just confused as usual. So is this an awesome deal or what? The price is rising... by the time i decide it'll probably be gone

It says 128MB in the title .... that is it has 128 megabytes of memory on the card. There is a 256 megabit memory interface to that 128 Mbytes of memory.

Now it is at $305.

Ahah...so...that's good right?

I might get in on this...i only have about $340, so i gotta be careful. Anyone else wanna comment on it? What are the pros/cons? I can't seem to find any reviews/benchmarks for it either, all i can find are benchies for the Atlantis version. Any kinds of info would be appreciated

Razor - If you want my advice, i'd stick with your GeForce Ti4600 for at least another 4 or 5 months. It wouldnt be much of an upgrade from the Ti4600 to the 9800 pro... well, it'd be an OK upgrade, but most likely not worth it. Just curious...what kind of monitor do you have?

 

[Razorguts]

[/quote]Razor - If you want my advice, i'd stick with your GeForce Ti4600 for at least another 4 or 5 months. It wouldnt be much of an upgrade from the Ti4600 to the 9800 pro... well, it'd be an OK upgrade, but most likely not worth it. Just curious...what kind of monitor do you have?[/quote]

Ive got a 21-inch Cornerstone p1600 (CRT). i usually play my games at 1024x768 to keep things smooth (and in proportion), and with the 140Hz refresh rate this beast has (along with using ReFresh Force), it stays very smooth.

I was thinking the Ti4600 may last me a while as well, but Ive already noticed that for the newer games using pixel shader tech (>version 1.4 at least), e.g., games like Angel of Darkness and Max Payne2, the shader effects are missing completely rather than being dummed down.

Maybe I will wait, but it seems that things are so volatile in the gaming industry right now, we never really know what to expect. So this Radeon deal is still very attractive.

thanks for your input,

 

[jcwagers]

I would say that an upgrade from a Ti4600 to a 9800 Pro would be a pretty good upgrade as long as you are going to use AA and AF. If you aren't going to use those then you might as well hang with what you've got for a while. The Ti4600 should still be pretty fast in just about all of the current games especially if you're just playing raw speed without AA and AF.

jc

 

[libertymi]

Max payne 2 rocks on this card, but with 128 you cant max out all the settings.. need 256MB to do 6 sample anti aliasing.

 

[Trikat]

Pro: It is good priced and on sale.
Cons: Doesn't "come" with HL2 as it is OEM. Possibly no other wires/software since it is OEM, but there is a chance you will receive it all.
Pro: This will probably have the same performance as the ATI card.

 

[hurrikaane]

Sapphire is solid.

 

[Blackroot]

I want to get a new vid card, i don't think i could wait longer, been 2 years already, so i tihnk thats long enough. What about maybe getting a 9700pro, for about 50 less or so, or is it not worth it, either way i will wait till 5700 benchmarks, as my heart still lies with nVidia.

 

[Razorguts]

Originally posted by: jcwagers
I would say that an upgrade from a Ti4600 to a 9800 Pro would be a pretty good upgrade as long as you are going to use AA and AF. If you aren't going to use those then you might as well hang with what you've got for a while. The Ti4600 should still be pretty fast in just about all of the current games especially if you're just playing raw speed without AA and AF.

jc

You know, I feel Im one of the rare breed that doesnt like AA and AF - I actually like a somewhat jagged look as it adds "crispness" to the polygons. Sure, a few years back when pixelation was a big issue, especially at lower res (480x640), the jaggies were blatant. But I can't see much of a difference in today's technology. Also, triple buffering seems to do me fine as opposed to all-out AF. The trade-off in dropped frame rates with AF maxed out is too large.

anyway, just my opinion. and Ive enjoyed reading the other opinions here as well.

and the sapphire is still at $305 - I wonder if it will drop back down