9800 NON-pro reviews???
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9800 NON-pro reviews???
Has anyone seen reviews on the 9800non-pro yet? How does it compare to the 9700pro?
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?
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.
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?
Actually the 9800 uses the same .15 micron process as the 9700. Only the 9600's and the 9200's use the .13.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
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.
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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.
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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.
PS However, if I were in McF's position with European pricing, I too would opt for the 9700 non-pro.