9800 Pro identified as 9500 Pro?

[V8VENOM]

I just picked up a new 9800 Pro 128MB (retail ATI box) and installed the Cat 3.6 drivers and under the Adapter tab in Display settings it says:

Chip Type: Radeon 9500 AGP Pro (0x4E45)
DAC Type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Memory Size: 128MB
Adapter Sring: Radeon 9500 Pro / 9700
Bios Information: BK-ATI VER008.004.008.015

There is a white label on the video board that says:
RADEON 9800 Pro 128MB with a S/N below, but this looks like it was just stuck on.

There is a part No (etched in):
PN 109-A05600-00

Anyone else have this issue, are your cards identified as 9800 Pro? I got this from Best Buy, sealed. I sure hope someone has just done the old buy a 9800 and a 9500 and swap lables and return the 9500 with 9800 lables on it.

 

[Flinx]

<A HREF="http://www.atitech.com/products/" target="_new">ATI</A><<- Follow the link and look under product identification. You should have be able to find id software on CD's provided or download software.

For lack of having these cards myself I cannot give you a fast answer. The 9700 is suspicious and makes me believe that the card is legit. 9700 closer to 9800 in architecture.

The loving are the daring!<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Flinx on 08/09/03 08:31 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Crashman]

Isn't the 9500 Pro simply a 9700 with half the memory bandwidth via it's 128-bit memory bus, as opposed to 256-bit?

I mean, even if the driver doesn't recognise the PROPER card model, under that situation it will still perform as intended, no?

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[TheGreatGrapeApe]

However the R9800 isn't just an R9700 overclocked, and shouldn't appear as an R9500. There's something else going on there. But I don't know what, sorry!

I'd suggest running some benchmarks, checking them against other similar setups, and then also running various OC programs and checking both the chip ID and the clock speeds. If you payed for an R9800 you don't want an R9700, you payed for the extra features (minor though they may be)

Check the Product code/Part# at ATI that should give you a good answer. Contact ATI and ask them as they would also tell you for sure and then you can start the return process if necessary.


- 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

 

[coolsquirtle]

HAHAHAHAHAHA ROFL

i got to hand it to u man
Switching a R9700pro into a R9800pro
let's like a 20% improvement for another $300
great way to spend money
if u got so much why dont u give us some

Proud Owner the Block Heater
120% nVidia Fanboy
PROUD OWNER OF THE GEFORCE FX 5900ULTRA <-- I wish this was me
I'd get a nVidia GeForce FX 5900Ultra... if THEY WOULD CHANGE THAT #()#@ HSF

 

[V8VENOM]

It was indeed NOT a 9800 Pro as per exterior box suggested. Either ATI messed up, or some loser bought a 9800 Pro, and returned a 9500 Pro and got his/her money back on a 9800 Pro (probably someone who is obsessed with other people spending money on hardware they can't afford).

What I find interesting is what looked like a sloppy Inkjet printed label stuck to the 9500 Pro identifying it as a 9800 Pro (with a serial number that matched the box). It sure looks like either a Best Buy employee tried to rip off the company or some customer. But there ain't much one can do about etched PCB numbers without making it look like an obvious dupe job.

I exchanged it for a "real" 9800 Pro. All is good now, video performance is as expected. For reference my 9700 Pro is going into one of my other PCs as the ASUS P4C800-E manual (pg.2-17) identifies stability problems with 9700 Pro PN numbers less than xxx-xxxxx-30, my old 9700 Pro has a -11 number.

FYI. The fake 9800 Pro card (aka 9500 Pro) score was about 20% lower than my old 9700 Pro -- so this was definitely NOT a 9800 Pro.

 

[coolsquirtle]

okay sorry for getting pissed off at u then lol

Proud Owner the Block Heater
120% nVidia Fanboy
PROUD OWNER OF THE GEFORCE FX 5900ULTRA <-- I wish this was me
I'd get a nVidia GeForce FX 5900Ultra... if THEY WOULD CHANGE THAT #()#@ HSF

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

. Either ATI messed up,

Not bloody likely. Hmm yeah we just happen to have some R9500s lying around with these nice new R9800 boxes. That's X-file material.

or some loser bought a 9800 Pro, and returned a 9500 Pro and got his/her money back on a 9800 Pro (probably someone who is obsessed with other people spending money on hardware they can't afford).

Now that's much more likely. In fact there was even a written case of this in Maximum PC last month. So it seems like someone learned something from that scam and is pulling it again (how un-original!).
If Best Buy doesn't track the history of the card and bust the chops of the person who did it, PUBLIC-LIKE, then this may become much more common.

- 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

 

[SHARKMEAT]

I agree that they should check out the history of the card as who was the last pruchase,the problem with this is it could just as well be an employee that did the swap so it would be hard to trace the exchange it would be he said they said thing,so you have to have DNA to prove it lol.Best-Buy sends the returned cards back to ATI or ever who,with a high price range.If it falls below a set value it can be put in open box area for resell.that is my understanding anyway.It,s just some low life that cause alot of problem for others.

TREAD SLOWLY IN DANGEROUS WATERS