Video Card Comparison

[ccmg]

Which one of these cards would be fastest for gaming?
http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=14-102-348&depa=1
http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=14-102-331&depa=1

 

[Mik3y]

the 9800 se would be a tad bit faster, but can easily flash to a 9800 pro.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: Mik3y
the 9800 se would be a tad bit faster, but can easily flash to a 9800 pro.

whats the success rate for the flash?

 

[peacemaker1ps]

9800 is faster than 9600.
Flash it to xt If it has r360 core.

 

[iversonyin]

the Powercolor 9800SE has a good chance of flashing to PRO by unlocking 4 pipelines. i don't think there a big difference b/w PRO and XT in term of game performance.

iif you were to spend $160, i would definitely get the Powercolor 9800SE and try softmodding it

 

[nOObBooB]

hrmm i dont know about flashing, i have read aritcles where they disable pipe lines for a reason. Normally there is a problem with the chip when manufacturing bcecause of course no manufacturing process is perfect. Typically these chips have problems wiht some of the pipe lines .. thus for the reason they are disabled. So you could chance it and try out fashing the bios.

 

[nOObBooB]

oh but definately get the 9800 se over the 9600

 

[kylebisme]

that 9800se is listed as the 128bit model, in which case it will be slower than a 9600xt. However, the pic shows a 256bit card so it is a tough call.

 

[Cawchy87]

9700pro

 

[iversonyin]

yea, if don't mind using ebay, 9700PRO is a good choice at that price range

 

[Cawchy87]

ebay is for suckers

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...0303&enterthread=y

 

[Delorian]

Originally posted by: ccmg
Which one of these cards would be fastest for gaming?
http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=14-102-348&depa=1
http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=14-102-331&depa=1

This 9800 SE is a much better choice than the one you listed. It's 256-bit (makes a huge difference), already clocked at 9800 Pro speeds and has a 75-80% success rate on softmodding. Mine softmodded just fine. Unlike flashing a bios, a softmod has no chance of damaging a card if unsuccessful. It's simply a driver modification that if posing problems can be uninstalled and the correct drivers reinstalled. I'm using the Omega drivers that are modified cats. They are arguably faster than the cats, automatically unlock the other 4 pipes, come with a set of 3rd party utilities and run stable for me. As far as comparing to the 9600 XT, even without the softmod, the card is just about as fast and is still cheaper. Here are some benchmarks between the 9600 XT and the 9800 SE, keep in mind this 9800 se is the 128-bit version, not the much faster 256-bit as I have already linked to!

NoobBoob - yes they do disable the 4 pipes for a reason, but if they work fine for an end user's machine while unlocked and don't cause problems, why not unlock them? They probably test the cards in extreme ambient temperatures and under severely harsh conditions which is well beyond the scope of the average end user's home office/living space.

Edit : 75 - 80% is based on newegg's customer reviews, check em out for more info

 

[Corporate Thug]

ummm, 9800 pros can be had for $150

 

[Avalon]

The 9800SE that Delorian linked to is the only 9800SE you'd want to get. That card is faster than a 9600XT stock by a bit, and has a good chance of softmodding 4 pipelines open. I would not recommend flashing to unlock pipelines, since you can just use different drives to achieve the same end effect, without chancing damage to your card.

Shady, the only way he'll get a 9800 pro for $150 is if there is a hot deal going on, it's a refurb/used, or it's a GeCube

 

[kylebisme]

Originally posted by: shady06
ummm, 9800 pros can be had for $150

just the 128bit ones.