HIS excalibur ice q platinum 9800pro

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Zeekfu

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May 30, 2004
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New Egg has it. I recently dropped $10 in price to $239.99. It won a Tom's Hardware editor's choice award and it gets good reviews all around. I thought I would post this here because I had a hard time locating one. I couldn't find a listing on biz rate. I ran across it eventually looking over the new egg site. I read on the digit-life website that the company was founded by 4 Christians with the intention of glorifying GOD. From all I have read their products are reliable and excellent albiet a bit hard to find in the U.S. (at least for me).
From the reviews I have seen the 9800xt is not that much better than a good 9800 pro card. I guess the 9800xt is now basically obsolete with the x800 cards now out for around the same price anyway. I can't imagine spending that much on a video card anyway. $200ish is crazy enough in my book. Still as far as the 9800 pros go I think that is an excellent price for and excellent product with a good (and quiet) cooling solution. I don't know if it is still being offered but ati had the reference card for $200 on their buy back program. However, they charge you to ship and you have to pay to ship your card back (I think it has to be there in ten days). New eggs offers free shipping on the HIS 9800pro so... Personally, I think it is the best 9800 pro going.
peace 😛
 
Even with those new cards coming out, this HIS 9800 pro is awesome for people in the $200-$250 range. Like myself and the original poster.
 
I found it challenging to find HIS or "hightech" or "Hightech Information Systems" <A HREF="http://www.hisdigital.com/html/index.html" target="_new">HIS Intro page</A> It is listed on new egg as "hightech" <A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=14-161-109&depa=1" target="_new">here</A> The only place I have seen the regular version of the HIS excalibur 9800 pro is zipzoomfly and it has been listed as out of stock for some time now. <A HREF="http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=320913" target="_new">here</A>
As far as I know, and I may not know much, it is the same card without the really nice cooling solution. I think new egg has the cooler for about $20. So if it is the same card I guess you could buy the cooler and some ramsinks which would cost another few $...but then the cost is almost what the ice q platinum model is, $239 (without the hassle). In the Tom's article which gave it the editor's choice <A HREF="http://www6.tomshardware.com/firstlook/20031210/radeon_9800-01.html" target="_new">here</A>
the ice q platinum model performed a bit better than the reference model that is comparable in price. Seems like the best deal going to me. I bought one last week. It looks beautiful if a video card can look beautiful, that is. I haven't finished accumulating components for a new system to run it yet. These newer cards don’t support win 98 so I guess I won't give it a test run on this old system either.
I did take it out of the box to check it out. They now make the fan controller bracket (hot air exhaust and fan high low control) separate to alleviate the problem of getting the switch to clear when installing in some case/mobo combinations. This now-solved problem was noted on the digit-life review <A HREF="http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/radeon/his-1.html" target="_new">here</A> . The ramsinks are also now different, better looking, and better. They are larger heatsinks which bridge two ram chips rather than single individual ones.
I saw the editor's choice award article some months back and researched them more. I also saw the excellent faq guide <A HREF="http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=363095#363095" target="_new">here</A> and found that extremely helpful. The dealmaker for me is that the company was formed by four Christians with the stated intent of "glorifying GOD." <A HREF="http://www.hisdigital.com/html/profile.htm" target="_new">HIS</A> It was just a bit easier for me to part with that much money on a luxury item like a video card to a company with a noble purpose.
 
This is not to rip on their religion, but do you know why they mention it? I mean, if you're a christian publisher, you publish christian books, if you're a christian tv station, you make christian shows, if you're a christian technology company you make.... christian video cards?. I think their products are awesome and am putting the Ice-Q 9800 Pro in a box I'm building, but how are they glorifying god? (Unless it's when you play Far Cry and say "MY GOD, THAT'S SOME BADASS GRAPHICS!!").

"Yeah, I got a magazine for you. It's fulla hollow points. You're gonna love it when I put that in a gun, and then put 'em in your brain!" - Carl
 
So if it doesn't mean anything to you, buddy, why not just let it go? The point is their witness is important to me and possibly others.
Hey I find it grossly offensive everytime someone says "omg" and stuff like that, I mean are they men or sissys off of friends. Not only is it offensive to me as a Christian but men just don't talk like valley girls. It is not funny and it is not cool. So I appologize if my post offended you. Yours offends me as well. The fact that the world is so wicked people feel the need to bash Christians merely validates the emminence of the whole thing.
If your question is a serious one; the statement itself glorifies GOD the way I see it. Lets say I was a doctor, or a janitor or a soldier...If I were a Christian not only would I do with might whatever it fell in to my hands to do but I would also strive to walk the walk. I haven't researched into the company that deeply myself. The statement itself was important to me, though. If given the choice I would prefer to support a Christian run business along the same lines as I would prefer to buy an American made product.
Anyway, I appologize if I offended you. I simply posted some information that I believe is important.
thanks and have a good day
peace
 
ps If you meant it as a joke I appologize if I offended you with that last post as well. :>)


now shut up and eat your cheese sandwich- frylock
 
xp, but still not sure if buying pro is worth $40 more than home. I have looked on the microsoft site and saw a side by side of the two but couldn't seem to relocate it last time I looked. No one seems to be able to tell me exactly what the difference as far as usefulness to a basic home user or on a small lan. I guess if I can't find a clear difference I should save the $40. Several pretty knowledgible people have said go pro though. Still looking into it more.
Thanks for asking though, buddy. I think some people are loosing patience with some of my questions and long winded posts asking about components. I've been feeling a bit out of place. The net is a challenge to me. I like looking people in the eye when I talk to em. I don't even like using the phone.
 
lol. yea, I hear ya buddy. I hear mr. gates was quite the shaddy character in the qdos days too. But two wrongs don't make a right. :>) I don't mess with those sites anyway, to much spyware and more cookies than the cookie monster wants.
 
Anyway, I appologize if I offended you with my post.
Click to expand...
. You didn't offend me, and I wasn't trying to offend you, which is why I prefaced my reply with "not to rip on their religion". It's just I wondered why the included their religion in their bio, since it doesn't have anything to do with their product. I mean, the CEO of Keebler may be a Christian, but he doesn't mention it, because it's irrelevant to the product. I personally would buy their product if it was manufactured by mutant goats on space asteroid Z-540. I guess on the surface, to me, it just seems like a convenient way to get people to buy your product. But if it really is important to their mission as a company, more power to them. Again, this is not a post to flame Christianity, I just find it curious that a gfx card manufacturer makes their religion such a prominent issue.

"Yeah, I got a magazine for you. It's fulla hollow points. You're gonna love it when I put that in a gun, and then put 'em in your brain!" - Carl
 
Sounds like a great buy, saves you the time of mounting the vga silencer yourself. A must for those not bitchy about the milling and compound they use.

Honestly, the x800 radeons are a waste of money unless you have at least an A64 system or a seriously OCed P4 rig.

Mobile Barton 2500+ @ 2420mhz 11x220 1.7v
Asus A7N8X Dlx 440 FSB
1gb Geil GD pc3500 Dual Channel (2-3-3-6)
Segata 80gb SATA 8.5ms seek
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro to XT(420/730)
 
"I personally would buy their product if it was manufactured by mutant goats on space asteroid Z-540"... lol good one
he he
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For all I know it is possible it could be just a ruse. The purposes of a man's mind are indeed deep. Though, in all honesty, I have to say as spiteful as people are these days it may not necessarily win them any points.
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Whether they are joking, or trying to be campy or whatever(or perhaps I am just pessimistic) I get the impression alot of people would sooner buy a product made by old scratch himself smoking drugs out of a human skull on astroid z-54...especially if it were cheap.
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anyway buddy, I am way off topic. Sorry if I over reacted to your initial post.
peace
 
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