Radeon 9800 Versus 9800 Pro Question (1 Viewer)

[Chas_T]

Gents,

Is it worth the extra $100-$150 to upgrade to the Radeon Pro 9800 (if I can find it) versus the stock 9800 model?

I was in CC today and picked up the 9800 on a whim, ($249) but have not installed it yet. They only had one left at CC and BB's stock was putrid.

I've done some research but there are few if any comparisons between the two models. The only review I've been able to find is this one comparing the 9700 Pro to the stock 9800.

http://firingsquad.gamers.com/hardwa...view/page2.asp

Also, I'd prefer to stay brick and mortar if possible and would be upgrading from a NVida GeForce4 Ti4600. The MB is a Lexington and does not have an 8X AGP option.

Also, the power supply is a 250-Watt Power Supply and the research I've found tells me it may be a problem?? Take into consideration the box has a DVD-RAM/R Drive and a CDRW drive, plus two extra cooling fans tugging on the power supply.

I am not a hard-core gaming person, but on occasion.......

Appreciate the insights,
Charles

 

[Chad Ellinger]

The 9800 is an excellent card. In fact, if you have one with 2.8 ns Samsung memory, you can turn it into a 9800 Pro. Read up on the Rage3D forums to find out how to do it.

 

[Chas_T]

Chad,

Thank you for the link. After I posted this question, I ran into a link with similar information. This link is pretty cool too as it has photos and detail just like the Rage 3D link.

http://www.short-media.com/forum/sho...&threadid=3327

I took the card out of the box and UNFORTUNATELY, it has Infineon RAM, which is not recommended for the tweak. I only saw one other card on CC's shelf and I am sure it has the same RAM. I will not go back to CC and buy more of their 9800's, open them and return them if they do not have the Sammy RAM.

So, with that in mind, I guess I'll go back to CC today, return the stock 9800 and purchase Pro model at $349. They have a small shipment of Pro's coming in and I'll purchase one of them instead.

Thank you very much for the information.
Charles