Which "BRAND" ATI chipset board for 9800 pro 128mb

[Guest]

HiI've made up my mind what I'm going to upgrade my pc too, but I'm currently unsure to what ATI chipset graphics board I should buy for my 9800 pro 128mb.I've heard that users on this forum are using the Sapphire board and getting good results.Here's a direct link to the different boards available from Overclockers.co.uk (where I'm buying my hardware from) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/ATI...hics_Cards.htmlAny recommendations, and links to reviews for these cards? Cheershttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/61868.jpghttp://www.onlinesimulationsolutions.com/

[Reset XPDR]

Performance wise, they are all much of a muchness, as they vary little from the reference design. Some overclock better than others, and the overclocking websites would be your best source for which ones go further than others (if you want to overclock of course).I have a Sapphire non-pro myself, which I've had at Pro speed since I bought it in Aug last year. In fact, I can overclock it much higher, but since there is neglible difference in FS2004 performance I keep it at the more conservative stock Pro setting. Happiness pervades my Radeon 9800 experience.If brand is your thing, then you can pay much more to get what close to what a Sapphire card will give you anyway. It's really up to you I guess.Gary

[Tabs]

They're all pretty much the same - certain companies like Sapphire and ASUS have slightly modified designs for better cooling etc, but they're basically all the same deal with the same Catalyst driver etc. I have the ATI retail board and it's fine.

[Guest alanrco]

Anyone changed from a 9500Pro to a 9800Pro?I ask because the link below shows at 1280x1024, more than a 100% FR increase between these two boards.I currently have the 9500Pro.http://www6.tomshardware.com/graphic/20031...n9600xt-24.htmlP4 3.2Ghz1Gb of Dual Channel DDR400 Corsair XMS3200 ramRadeon 9500Pro (weakest link in the system now, huh?)Oh, BTW, Will, I purchased a 9700Pro (RETAIL) from the company you show in the link. It came as a OEM poorly wrapped item with missing power cable and looked second-hand and cost over

[Guest]

All the cards tend to be very similar in terms of performance.However, I have just bought a new system which has an ASUS Radeon 9800XT, that performs like a dream, and comes with all sorts of extras. So I would highly recommend ASUS. I think there is better cooling as well.Oliver------------------------AMD 64 3200+1GB Crucial RAM DDR 400ASUS Radeon 9800XT120GB hard drive17" LG 1710B

[ABE]

I've been using an ATI all-in-wonder radeon 8500DV for the last 2 years. I've been very happy with it. My priorities are video editing FIRST, fs2004 SECOND.Anybody using or have used the 8500DV? I'd like to find out about the other ATI cards like the 9800XT for example on how good is it to capture video and so forth.Would appreciate any help.Thanks.Abe

[Reset XPDR]

You lost me after 'video editing FIRST'. How can anything be higher priority than FS in these forums? ;) Gary

[JimmiG]

"Anyone changed from a 9500Pro to a 9800Pro?"I would keep the Radeon 9500Pro a little while longer. I have a hard time believing those graphs. For one thing, the Radeon 9500 Pro is usually faster than the Radeon 9600 much of the time. The Radeon 9500 is a dumbed-down version of the chip used in the high-end (at the time) 9700 Pro, while the 9600 series are based on a chip developed especially for budget cards. So, the 9500 Pro carries over some of the extra performance and features from the more advanced chip. For another, framerate is way too high in those graphs. I'd like to see anyone here getting close to 70 FPS over Seattle with lots of clouds and everything set to best quality, even with the latest videocard and CPU.Not too long from now, ATI and NVidia will launch their new line of videocards. The high end versions are expected to be almost twice as fast as the 9800 XT. They will almost certainly also launch budget and mid-range cards based on the tech. Those will likely be as fast as the current 9800 Pro/XT's but cost less. Even the Radeon 9800 XT is based on the same tech as the 9700 Pro introduced well over 1.5 years ago. Spending more money on this old tech makes no sense to me.As for the original question...The brands are very similar. You could simply choose the brand based on support, price, or extra features/bundled software. There are a few things which are different however:Cooling - some brands use custom designed cooling units. This is only important if you want to overclock. Any stock cooler should do if you run it at stock speeds.Image quality - If you use a CRT monitor or an LCD panel on the VGA output, video signal quality is important. This can vary between different brands. You best bet here is probably an original "Built by ATI" card a card from one of the other "big" brands. If you use an LCD monitor and the DVI output, this does not apply as the signal is digital and not subject to interference or distortion.

[Guest Bigshot]

____________________________________________________________________""I would keep the Radeon 9500Pro a little while longer. I have a hard time believing those graphs. For one thing, the Radeon 9500 Pro is usually faster than the Radeon 9600 much of the time"". ____________________________________________________________________I agree. Those graphs are a joke. He's got the 9800 Pro beating the 9700Pro by two to one. Course, they also said the Nvidia Leafblower was the new king. The truth is, there's virtually no difference between the two. Five to Ten percent at most. This has been benchmarked many, many times. The 9800Pro and the 9800XT are simply overclocked 9700Pro cards. That's all!! ___________________________________________________________________""Not too long from now, ATI and NVidia will launch their new line of videocards. The high end versions are expected to be almost twice as fast as the 9800 XT. They will almost certainly also launch budget and mid-range cards based on the tech. Those will likely be as fast as the current 9800 Pro/XT's but cost less. Even the Radeon 9800 XT is based on the same tech as the 9700 Pro introduced well over 1.5 years ago. Spending more money on this old tech makes no sense to me""___________________________________________________________________Right on the money. Wait for the new cards which are right around the corner. Then make your decision. The 9700/9800 series cards should drop even further in price if that's a concern.

[Guest]

Cheers guys for the input.I've been spending the afternoon looking into this, and it seems after checking a number of hardware sites and reviews, a card that has got my attention is the HIS Excalibur, excellent at cooling and noise.I'm not bothered by the games that will be included in the package, I'm more bothered about quality, performance, and noise levels for my new system.Some links of interest for you all:http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?s=...o+cooling+noisehttp://www6.tomshardware.com/firstlook/20031210/index.htmlhttp://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=79783.http://www.hightech.com.hk/html/index.htmlThis card has done very well in all areas. I'll be looking further into Sapphire, Hercules, and the ATI All In Wonder Radeon 9800 Pro.http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/61868.jpghttp://www.onlinesimulationsolutions.com/

[Guest]

Plus, just to add, here's the conclusion to Guru3d.com review. Strangely the other pages of the review wouldn't work, just like many other reviews on Guru3d.com.http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/83/16/"The big disadvantage over conventional cooling is that heat is being dumped inside your case. The ambient temperature of all your components in the case will heat up, your graphics card can literary smuttier up in it's own heat."This doesn't bother me, as I'll be upgrading to a Coolermaster Wave Master Case :Dhttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/61868.jpghttp://www.onlinesimulationsolutions.com/

[SQUAWKIDENT]

For those still looking to buy a Pro 9800 I have just bought my Hightech ATI Radeon 9800 Pro Iceq 128MB for