What is 9800se?

[chipandboard]

Model: RADEON 9800?SE 128MB DDR DVI+CRT+TV AGP 8X
Cinematic Rendering: Immerse yourself in the world’s fastest and most compelling game play, courtesy of the unprecedented speed and control of RADEON?9800 family of visual processors


Maximum 3D: Brace yourself for feature film quality on your PC, the new standard in 3D entertainment.
* SMARTSHADER?2.1 technology supports the latest Microsoft?DirectX?9.0 feature sets, enabling more complex and cinematic-quality lighting effects
* SMOOTHVISION?2.1 technology delivers the sharpest, clearest textures, removes jaggies and brings out fine texture details without sacrificing frame rates
* 128-bit full floating point precision enables billions of color variations to render the same lighting and effects as Hollywood studios


Generation New Technology Advanced stability meets revolutionary features in the RADEON?9800 Series, the only 8-pipeline graphics solution in its 2nd generation.
* ATI’s award-winning Visual Processing Unit (VPU) is optimized to run the most demanding 3D and 2D next-generation games and applications
* Supports the latest Microsoft?DirectX?9.0 and OpenGL?2.0 feature sets.
* FULLSTREAM?and VIDEOSHADER?produce smoother looking, higher quality video and streaming Internet content without putting extra strain on the CPU.


Accessories: Manual
CD Diskette driver
S-Video cable
Power extension cable
Note: Specification is subject to changes without notice

 

[Crashman]

The 9800SE is the 2nd revision of the 9500 non-pro. It uses the same PCB and memory. It offers newer versions of Smoothvision and Smartshader, but only through software.

It's slower than both the 9500 Pro and 9600 Pro. In fact, it's specs are similar to the 9600 non-pro that cost half as much. The 9600 Pro is far faster an far cheaper.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[chipandboard]

What about it using the R350 structure design same as 9800pro?

 

[ufo_warviper]

Don't even consider a 9800SE.

My OS features preemptive multitasking, a fully interactive command line, & support for 640K of RAM!

 

[Crashman]

The 9500 used the R300, the 9800 used the R350. The difference is simply clock speed.

Compare the performance of the 9700 Pro to the 9800 Pro. Notice that nearly all the difference can be accounted to the higher clock speeds on the 9800 Pro. The "newer features" are purely software, built into the driver, which goes by card BIOS. In other words, a hacked driver can turn an R300 into an R350, features wise.

Given the R350 was only modified from the R300 in order to support higher clock speeds, I can say that the 9500 NON pro, and the 9800SE, are the same card, plus or minus a few MHz.

The R300 had 4 rendering pipelines cut to make the 9500 non-pro. The R350 had 4 rendering pipelines cut to make the 9800SE.

Now on to cards in the same "price range". The high end cards all have a 256-bit memory bus, the midrange cards (including the 9800SE) have a 128-bit memory bus. You have the 9500 Pro, 9600 Pro, and 9800SE.

1.) The 9500 Pro used all 8 pipelines, but can't be clocked very high because its .15 micron process die produces a lot of heat.
2.) The 9600 Pro used only 4 pipelines, but is based on the .13 micron process, so it's clocked a lot higher. Features compare to the 9500 non-pro, but at much, much higher clock rates
3.) The 9800SE has only 4 pipelines and is on .15 micron, so it can't clock very high

So that concludes:
9500 Pro; 8 pipes, low MHz
9600 Pro; 4 pipes, high MHz
9800SE 4; pipes, low MHz
9500 non-pro; 4 pipes, low MHz

Now look at the prices:

Best Performer: 9500 Pro $200
Great Performer: 9600 Pro $160
Fair Performer: 9800SE $200
Fair Performer: 9500 non-pro $130

Oh, and here's the final insult to the 9800SE: The 9500 Non-Pro can be turned into a 9800SE simply by using a modified driver.


<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[Crashman]

Oh, I should probably tell you why the 9800SE even exists:

ATI is discontinuing the R300 (9500/9700 chip). That means no more 9700, 9500 Pro, 9500 cards. The 9800 Pro is replacing the 9700 Pro, the 9600 Pro is replacing the 9500 Pro, and the 9800SE is replacing the 9500 non-pro. This is why the 9800SE uses the same card and RAM as the 9500 non-pro.

The 9500 non-pro was made from chips originally intended for 9700 card, but failing a tests due to defects in one or more pipeline. These same defects in the R350 chip make it a candidate for the 9800SE. So the 9500np and 9800SE are ways to get rid of chips they would otherwise be forced to throw away!

Considering the scarcity of the 9500 Pro, the 9600 Pro is the ONLY good choice in the $150-$200 price range. The 9800SE is a low end part like the 9500 non-pro and 9600 non-pro. ATI targets these types cards toward the "mainstream" buyers, not gamers. Cards with this level of performance are supposed to cost $100-$150. So the question is, why pay $200 for a card that's built toward the sub $150 market?

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[chipandboard]

How about $168 in www.pricewatch.com?Is it acceptable?

 

[cleeve]

The 9800SE with a 128 bit memory interface is about as fast as a 9500 non-pro. Not so good.

The 9800SE with the 256 bit memory interface is on par, but a bit slower, than the 9600 PRO. Not bad, but too expensive for the price.

9600 PRO is a way better bet.

------------------
Radeon 9500 (modded to PRO w/8 pixel pipelines)
AMD AthlonXP 2000+
3dMark03: 3529

 

[Crashman]

I don't see why we're having this discussion. The Saphire 9600 Pro Light (light meaning contains no free games) is cheaper, performs better, produces less heat, and consumes less power. In other words it's better in every performance and price aspect than the 9800SE.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[Guest]

Captain Obvious says crashman is correct!
Better Value from the R9600pro especially when overclocked!

<b><font color=red>Captain Obvious To The Rescue!!!</font color=red></b>