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[KarishBHR]

Check out this card

I want cheap but good performance. I figure I can unlock the pipelines and overclock it to a 9800 (semi pro) without extra cooling. Whatcha think?

 

[bogg]

From what I know you cant unlock the pipelines on every SE card, so its a bet.

 

[KarishBHR]

anyone else?

 

[tenchir]

How much are you willing to spend?

 

[KarishBHR]

How much are you willing to spend?

Around 150

 

[tenchir]

If you think you can do it, then go for it. Otherwise just get a Radeon 9600 XT 128MB card, it will perform better than the 9800SE.

 

[KarishBHR]

I found a very cheap 9800 pro


But why so cheap?

 

[tenchir]

For one thing, it's refurbished. Another thing is that I think Saphire 9800 Pro cards are clocked slightly lower than ATI's 9800 Pro.

 

[KarishBHR]

For one thing, it's refurbished. Another thing is that I think Saphire 9800 Pro cards are clocked slightly lower than ATI's 9800 Pro.

Yeah I just realised that. So whats my best cheap option? Im looking for something to last me till AFTER HL2 and Doom 3

 

[tenchir]

Then go for the Saphire if it's that cheap. It's fast enough for HL2/D3. You should be able to overclocked it decently. If there is something wrong with it, you can always return it.

 

[Mrbob]

Well, you picked the right card at trying to unlock the extra four pipes. The Powercooler 9800SE is supposed to have the highest rate. However, that high rate is only about 50-60 percent. So basically you have a 50-50 chance of softmodding this card into a 9800 Pro. About half of them artifact on the screen when you unlock the extra four pipes.

Having said that, I wouldn't go the refurbished route. More than likely most of these are cards that were unsuccessful at unlocking into a 9800 Pro and they were RMA'd back. If you go with a Powercooler 9800SE I would go new.

Otherwise just spend the extra money on a 9800Pro. You can get them for about 200. Otherwise you could get a 5900XT. Those go around 175-190. If you go the 9800 Pro route, make sure you get one which has a 256 bit memory bus. There are some 9800 Pros around 170-180 bucks that are using a 128 bit memory bus.

 

[tenchir]

Well, you picked the right card at trying to unlock the extra four pipes. The Powercooler 9800SE is supposed to have the highest rate. However, that high rate is only about 50-60 percent. So basically you have a 50-50 chance of softmodding this card into a 9800 Pro. About half of them artifact on the screen when you unlock the extra four pipes.

Having said that, I wouldn't go the refurbished route. More than likely most of these are cards that were unsuccessful at unlocking into a 9800 Pro and they were RMA'd back. If you go with a Powercooler 9800SE I would go new.

Otherwise just spend the extra money on a 9800Pro. You can get them for about 200. Otherwise you could get a 5900XT. Those go around 175-190.

Those refurbished cards are already 9800 Pros. If they were unsuccessful unlocked 9800SE, then Newegg can't relabeled those cards like that(it's illegal).

Edit: Ah, I think I found out why it is cheap. It has 128bit memory interface and not the 256bit interface that true 9800 Pro has. It is still technically a 9800 Pro since it has 8 pipes.

 

[davis]

Hey anyone ever switch from a Nvidia card to ATI card wihtout having to reformat with a clean install?

I know most people say do a clean install but wondering if I can get away without doing one when switching cards since its gonna be a pain redoing all my registrations of software I have.

 

[KarishBHR]

What about a 9700pro for 160 bux?

Found here

 

[Pimpbaa]

Hey anyone ever switch from a Nvidia card to ATI card wihtout having to reformat with a clean install?

I know most people say do a clean install but wondering if I can get away without doing one when switching cards since its gonna be a pain redoing all my registrations of software I have.

I did with no problems. Just use something like driver cleaner.

 

[Mrbob]

The 9700Pro for 160 is a good price.

 

[KarishBHR]

The 9700Pro for 160 is a good price.

Whats better the 9700pro or the 5900XT?

 

[MrPing1000]

definately DO NOT get the refurb'd 9800 pro its a 128bit version which compared to the standard 256bit version is quite poo

its true that the powercolor cards have the highest chance of being turned into a pro, but its still a gamble, they are L shaped memory layout which u need to be able to do it in the first place

 

[DaCocoBrova]

The regular ol' 9800 Pro is like $200. Just get that.