Got a new video card today!

[segageo64]

I got talked into sticking with ATI one more time from this board.

The new card I got is an ATI Radeon 9800. I almost went with a PRO version but the salesman said the $100(US) price difference wasn't worth it. What is the difference between the Radeon 9800 and the Radeon 9800 pro anyway? Did I make a mistake going with a non-pro?

[TheOne�]

i think pro comes with better memory......how much did ya pay?.

[segageo64]

i think pro comes with better memory......how much did ya pay?.

$229 (US) not including a $10 mail-in rebate (Talked them down abit ofcourse), my card only has 128 DDR ram on it, it's not the 256 mb version, they didn't even carry it yet.

[homeworld1031tx]

Damn, thats a good price. Have they had a prce drop on the card lately that i havent heard about?

[segageo64]

I'm not sure about a price drop but I did get a $70 price cut since I'm such a good bargainer.

The card seems to run good, less of a hassle than my 9500 pro was, but ofcoarse maybe all the quirks have been eliminated for an ATI card on this system (fingures crossed). I've been able to crank up the res to GTA Vice city and other games and haven't yet had to see its limitations. When I installed the drivers to the card it is listed as a Radeon 9800 pro under hardware properties. Could it be I got lucky and got a pro card anyway?

My 9500 pro will go back in this sytem once I get all my stuff for the new 2nd system.:shrug: .

[The__tweaker]

My 9500 pro will go back in this sytem once I get all my stuff for the new 2nd system.:shrug: .

Damn ya made a sweet deal there m8, may I ask what ya specs are for the new system..? :)

[segageo64]

Damn ya made a sweet deal there m8, may I ask what ya specs are for the new system..? :)

I havent ordered the parts yet:eek: . I'm planning on a P4 system with atleast another 2.4 ghz CPU like I just put together a few months ago but I'll probably go alittle higher than that this time, might go with a P4 2.8 ghz 800 CPU. I like the fast Ram so I think I'll get about 512 to 1024 mb of atleast DDR 2700 300 or better, I'm running more than I need now so I might swap half of it from this system to my new one to cut expences. I'm stumped on the Mobo, could use some help there. I got a Gigabyte brand last time. Good tech support but system resources seem to get tight way too often with it. It'll have a 120 gb harddrive with 8meg buffer, I wouldn't go without that, I perfer Maxtor to WD becuase they are quiter, I might even try the new Seagate model. I'm not too picky with sound just so the card has a left and right output to go with my Cambridge soundworks 4 point surrond sound speakers, it seems that almost all soundcards are close to 100% compatible with stuff nowdays. The system will definitly be aimed at video gaming since it will go in my boys room. Any suggestions would be helpfull on that mobo, but I'd like to keep it under $120(US).

[maximus7001]

Stick with the WD or the seagate, maxtor is not so good for long term.(Had 2 rma's with maxtor, had the fireball the whole time, np)

[The__tweaker]

I like the fast Ram so I think I'll get about 512 to 1024 mb of atleast DDR 2700 300 or better

Try and get two pc 3200 memory stick on a dual channel mobo if ya going for a cpu like that with 800 fsb. :)

The 865PE chipset is fast as hell and stable, It's cheaper than 875P chipset mobos and sometimes even faster.

:cheers:

[Bulldog_UK]

Well if your card shows a 9800pro under the hardware manager that is strange, I used to have a radeon 9700 non pro and that did'nt show as a pro in the hardware manager so maybe you did get lucky you are better off asking somone who has the none pro to see if it is the same for them, I think the pro dose have slightly better memory and of course it will have better cooling and if you go for hercules you get a cool heasink and crystall orb fan witch are one of the best if not the best graphic card fans on the market.

[segageo64]

Well if your card shows a 9800pro under the hardware manager that is strange, I used to have a radeon 9700 non pro and that did'nt show as a pro in the hardware manager so maybe you did get lucky you are better off asking somone who has the none pro to see if it is the same for them, I think the pro dose have slightly better memory and of course it will have better cooling and if you go for hercules you get a cool heasink and crystall orb fan witch are one of the best if not the best graphic card fans on the market.

I called ATI Tech support today and he told me that since my card is listed as a pro that I got the better card since a pro is better than a non-pro (Duh!). I would suggest that everyone here that buys an ATI Radeon 9800 non-pro and it actually is just that to return the product and rebuy it until they get a pro card, becuase from what I just heard it sounds as if its a 50\50 gamble you could get more for less. This is strange is you ask me.