AIW 9800SE Review from Hexus

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

A review of a succesfully moded R9800SE.

Benchies of the Standard SE, the moded SE, and R9800XT, and an R9600XT.

Interesting. And really if it keep close tabs on the R9600XT, and has a chance of being softmoded, it's not all that bad IMO.

But then again, it really comes down to price.

<A HREF="http://www.hexus.net/content/reviews/review.php?dXJsX3Jldmlld19JRD02NTU" target="_new">http://www.hexus.net/content/reviews/review.php?dXJsX3Jldmlld19JRD02NTU</A>


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[HardWareBoss]

AIW 9800SE from Hercules.

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

True, and Hercules does make good stuff. But the point is that it did do well compared to what we thought they would acheive.


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[HardWareBoss]

Right. Only problen it's a se.

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Yeah I know that hence the title. However if it's cheaper than an AIW R9600P or an R9600XT, then in this case according to this review it may be a better buy in many cases, and even more so if you can get a succesful mod out of it (which I'm still not convinced is common enough).


- 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

 

[OLDSKOOL]

At overclockers they have being doing a bit of a survey.

Taking into account all cards (Built By ATI and Hercs), scores now are :-

55 cards in the thread (including the two i got, both successful).
37 Successful softmod.
18 Unsuccessful softmod.

That gives you a 67% chance of getting a successful softmod, so 2 out of 3.

Just under 70% chance to get a 9800Pro for the price of a 9800SE not bad eh.

 

[cleeve]

At a Rage3d poll the score was almost exactly 50%

------------------
Radeon 9500 (hardmodded to PRO, o/c to 322/322)
AMD AthlonXP 2400+ (o/c to 2600+ with 143 fsb)
3dMark03: 4055

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Well the figures are looking better Cleeve. Maybe we need to re-adjust our position on the R9800SE. IT's still not a great card, but the above review showed that even without the softmod, it's not terrible. Maybe at the right price point it would be worth recommending. I'm still a little leary of SE anything. But it appears to do ok without the mod, and I would NEVER recommend anything based on the possibility of a mod. Even with the R9600Pro(s) I have always said, that some overclock well but don't rely on that when spending your money.

A risky game, and for those willing to risk their money it could pay off well, but it's still a risk although it appears that unlike the R9500, the R9800SE appears to leave you with a slightly better card than the R9500 that won't mod.


- 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

 

[cleeve]

I've always thought the 9800SE with a 256 bit bus is a decent card, if the price is around that of the 9600PRO.

They do a decent job. Remember though that the only reason they look better than the 9500 non-pros with a 256 bit bus is that they come with higher clockspeeds.

It's the 9800SE's with the 128 bit bus that are total dogs. No reason to ever get one of those.

Unfortunately, the 9800SE's with a 128 bit bus are the vast majority of 9800SE's out there...

------------------
Radeon 9500 (hardmodded to PRO, o/c to 322/322)
AMD AthlonXP 2400+ (o/c to 2600+ with 143 fsb)
3dMark03: 4055