Sapphire vs Powercolor

[travis2615]

I am about to purchase a radeon 9800 pro 256MB, and i was wondering which brand would be better, the powercolor or sapphire.
Rest of system is
P4 3.0 w/800MHZ FSB
1 GB PC3200 RAM
Intel D875PBZLK mb
seagate 120GB HD
sony dvd rom
water cooled case
audigy 2 platinum
Or, if there is a better brand to go with on the radeon... possibly the gigabyte?? OH, and i plan on oc'ing the vid card, but not the processor as the mobo i have doesn't really support proc ocing

 

[Maverick494]

I have nothing but great things to say about my Sapphire 9500Np. I like Sapphire. I have avoided powercooler because of their past reputation when they first hit the GFX card scene. I cannot comment on how they are now. I say go Sapphire.

Just a computer junky

 

[travis2615]

thanks for the input... I am not purchasing for about a week so i still have time to do a little research. So far i have found that PC 9800 pro 128MB comes with better mem, but that is the 128mb version... Like i said, i have more time to do some research and hopefully get some other peoples insight

 

[GeneticWeapon]

I agree with Maveric..(even though his name reminds me of that Top Gun movie)

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

I'll comment on them now, The Powercolor's STILL come under-clocked (See the review at [H]ard|OCP ), and often have INFERIOR memory.

The two makers I say 'STAY AWAY from' the most are Powercolor and GigaCube.


- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! <A HREF="http://www.redgreen.com" target="_new"><font color=green>RED</font color=green> <font color=red>GREEN</font color=red></A> GA to SK

 

[Maverick494]

So they haven't changed from when they were in the GF 2 and 3 arena providing sub-par cards with craptastic support. Too bad. Sapphire is 180 degrees oppisite that. I had a minor problem with my OEM 9500np from sapphire, called tech support and they fixed it right up in less than 15 minutes.

Just a computer junky

 

[travis2615]

read that review from [H]ard|OCP, thanks for the link. so the sapphire it is. From newegg, i can order the OEM or the retail version for roughly the same price. I don't really care about the games the retail version comes with, as i already own them. Is there any other major reason to purchase the retail over the OEM??? they also have a version of the sapphire with a huge ass heatsync (sp). As i plan on removing the stock fan anyway to install a water block, this would be useless. speaking of which, is it easy to install a waterblock onto the radeon 256MB. I can see it being a prob with all the mini heatsyncs for the VRAM in the way. Ne1 have any experience with this? Thanks again for all your help.

 

[travis2615]

bump