9800 NON-pro reviews???

GamingGod · Post by **GamingGod** » Sun Jun 22, 2003 8:26 am

Has anyone seen reviews on the 9800non-pro yet? How does it compare to the 9700pro?

GamingGod · Post by **GamingGod** » Sun Jun 22, 2003 8:44 pm

the difference between the 9800pro and 9700pro is pretty damn small. But so is the difference between the 9700nonpro and 9700pro. I was just curious if the 9800 is better than the 9700pro because they are both in the same price range.

McF · Post by **McF** » Mon Jun 23, 2003 1:52 am

I'm curious as well, but I'd go for the radeon 9800, since it's 0,13 micron, so probably uses less power, and we all know what that means

Post by **Rusty075** » Mon Jun 23, 2003 11:15 am

There is no 9800 non-Pro

At least not that Ati lists, or Sapphire's, and it doesn't show up on Pricewatch. I know it was talked about when the 9800 first came out, but I haven't actually ever seen one. Did Ati drop it?

McF wrote:I'm curious as well, but I'd go for the radeon 9800, since it's 0,13 micron, so probably uses less power, and we all know what that means

Actually the 9800 uses the same .15 micron process as the 9700. Only the 9600's and the 9200's use the .13.

The only difference between a 9700 and a 9800 is the drivers, and the quality of the chips used. All the new "features" of the R350 core are really driver additions. They've refined the production process so that they can run the core and memory at higher speeds. If you crack a 9700 to run the 9800 drivers, and overclock it to 9800 speeds, it'll benchmark exactly the same as a "true" 9800.

The same is true of the 9500's. My 9500 is running as a 9800. Although it won't overclock to those speeds, (thanks to the cheaper RAM used) if you adjust the 9800 benchmark numbers to account for the speed diffeence it scores identically.

All of the 9800 features work on my card.

LushMD · Post by **LushMD** » Mon Jun 23, 2003 2:50 pm

Sapphire Radeon 9800 non-Pro at NewEgg (scroll ~3/4's down the page, retails for $299). Unfortunately, I have yet to see any reviews of this product. However, I agree with Rusty that, at least at the moment, the Radeon 9500 is the way to go if price is a factor. In fact, according to this thread at the AnandTech forums, the Radeon 9500 Pro can be found for $150 at some BestBuy stores. Take care.

McF · Post by **McF** » Mon Jun 23, 2003 3:03 pm

thanks for the info Rusty!
As for prices - I can buy radeon 9700 non pro for 210 Euro here (holland) and 9500 pro for 190 euro - so obviously 9700 is a better option (price/performance). 150$ would be maybe 130 euro - but unfortunately everything is more expensive in europe

GamingGod · Post by **GamingGod** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 6:45 am

Yea I agree with mcf I would buy a 9700nonpro before i got a 9500pro. But the 9800nonpro can be found for the same or cheaper than a 9700pro now so I was curious if it was a faster card.

LushMD · Post by **LushMD** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 7:29 am

According to the same AnandTech thread that I posted above, the 9700 pro is available for $250 at some BestBuy stores, which is $50 less than the 9800 non-pro. Also, re the 9700 non-pro vs 9500 pro, I don't know that a $50+ price difference (assuming you can get the 9500 pro at BestBuy) is worth the 256 mhz memory bus (which, as I understand it, is the principle difference between these two cards). Well, just my thoughts. Take care.

PS However, if I were in McF's position with European pricing, I too would opt for the 9700 non-pro.

GamingGod · Post by **GamingGod** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 11:05 am

They dont have bestbuy stores in the deep dirty south. They also dont have any decent girls without vinerial diseases.

AndrewC · Post by **AndrewC** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 11:16 am

We've got a Bestbuy in Mobile, AL. You can't be much more south than that. Is Natchez in North or South Miss?

GamingGod · Post by **GamingGod** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 11:31 am

south central mississippi biatch....sorry I couldnt help myself. Its on the river about 2hours north of baton rouge and 2 hours south of jackson.
By the way both the 9700pro and 9800nonpro are available at newegg.com for $300. so question is which is better?