Which Card? 9800pro 128/256/or XT?

[CSTech]

Hello all,

Myself and two of my friends are looking to buy a new video card to replace our old DX 8 setups. We don't want to spend $400+ so we're trying to decide between the Radeon 9800pro 128mb, 256mb, or the 9800pro XT. According to tom's data the XT is only 5-10% faster than the 9800pro 128mb, which doesn't seem to justify the greater cost. All three of us are currently playing the DX 9 MMORPG Star Wars Galaxies, and were wondering if moving to a 256mb card would be worth it in the long run. Will we see any preformance boosts using the 256mb pro/XT as compared to the 128mb version? Also it seems the Radeon 9800pro 256mb runs quite hot from what i've read, but it is almost $100 cheaper than XT. However at less than $200 the 128mb version seems a very nice power/price ratio. In short we are looking for the best price/performance in a card we hope not to replace for a while. Perhaps some of you guys who have used these cards, and maby even played SWG, can help us come to a decision. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

 

[scottchen]

GODDAMN IT!! You really should search the forum before making posts!! This question has been asked over 100 times already!

NO THE 256mb version doesn't have an advantage over the 128mb version, so buy the 128mb version!!

We should make a sticky just tells people that 256mb version DOESN'T HELP!!

<A HREF="http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/myrig.php?do=view&id=17301" target="_new">My PC</A>

 

[HardWareBoss]

New Egg sell HIS 9800Pro IceQ for $239. Great card at a very good price.

 

[HardWareBoss]

To find HIS at New Egg go to High Tech

 

[baldurga]

As you already guessed: 9800 Pro 128. That's all.

And by the time 256Mb are really worth you will be buying another card ...


Still looking for a <b>good online retailer</b> in Spain :frown:

 

[cleeve]

9800 PRO 128, another vote for that one,

________________
<b>Radeon <font color=red>9700 PRO</b></font color=red> <i>(o/c 329/337)</i>
<b>AthlonXP <font color=red>~2750+</b></font color=red> <i>(2400+ @ 2208 Mhz)</i>
<b>3dMark03: <font color=red>4,876</b>

 

[Woodman]

Jes make shure joo don't get a 128bit 9800Pro okies ?

-----
<font color=purple><b>Update:
AthlonXP 1800+ (1.53GHz) to AthlonXP 300+ (0.55GHz) on air. Underclock successful .</b></font color=purple>

 

[Zeekfu]

Tom's hardware comparison of vga cards:
<A HREF="http://www.tomshardware.com/graphic/20031229/vga-charts-04.html" target="_new">vga part 3</A>

Tom's article which gave the ice q platinum version an editor's choice award <A HREF="http://www6.tomshardware.com/firstlook/20031210/radeon_9800-01.html" target="_new">here</A>
The HIS (hightech information systems) card reviewed performed a bit better than the ati reference model which is comperable in price. Seems like the best deal going to me. They now make the fan fan controller bracket (hot air exhaust and fan high low control) seperate 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.

<A HREF="http://www.hisdigital.com/html/index.html" target="_new">HIS Intro page</A>

<A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=14-161-109&depa=1" target="_new">HIS excalibur ice q platinum 9800 pro-new egg</A>

<A HREF="http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=320913" target="_new">HIS excalibur 9800pro-zipzoomfly</A> (not "ice q" model)

<A HREF="http://www.hisdigital.com/html/profile.htm" target="_new">HIS</A>

 

[DonnieDarko]

good point, make sure you get the 256-bit one, or you can just click on the "clicky" above which will take you there.