9800 Pro 128MB or 256MB?

jparnell

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Oct 3, 2004
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Hi,
Im currently in the middle of choosing the components for my new PC. I have chosen most of it (Athlon 64 3400, MSI k8T, 1024MB RAM, 160 SATA HDD etc) but im unsure as to what graphics card to buy.
Im pretty sure im going to go with a Sapphire Atlantis Radeon 9800 PRO. Ive seen good reviews, and they arent to expensive either. I cant decide on the amount of memory to go for though. The 128MB version is £140 and the 256MB version is £205. Is it worth spending the extra money? From the benchmarks i have seen i would say no, but im thinking about the future too.Im wondering whether its worth spending the extra,so games in the future will make use of the extra memory.

Any hints, tips etc would be great.

James
 

priyajeet

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128MB ram is faster than the 256MB ram, and boards with equally fast 256mb ram are not there bcos of price factor, for those 9600s - low to mid end.

Anyway choice is yours.
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gothitbycar

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The 256mb version of the 9800pro actually has a little bit higher memory clock (not much) but performs on par with the 128mb 9800 pro. You can start to see the difference in newer games between the two when you crank up the resolution and max out AA/AF. Neither would provide acceptable performance though. In my opinion, the 256mb model isn't worth it.

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skinnyjoint

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rofl short and sweet yea i was just thinking pro and flashing to xt i guess thats what everyone and there mom is doing so ill join in
 

Crashman

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Former Staff
BE VERY CAREFULL WITH SAPHIRE, I just talked to a guy who bought a 256MB card for only $20 more than the standard 128MB card, only to find it was a 128-bit version. You have to MAKE CERTAIN whatever card you buy is a 256-bit version, be it 128MB OR 256MB. This applies to 9800 Pros from both Saphire and Powercolor, and possibly other brands who use these manufacturers.

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jiffy

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My concern would be the heat from the 256MB card. Last I new they were hotter and I don’t know if this change or if there’s been issues. I bought a 256 card, but it didn’t work from day one, so I got a 128MB card instead. I’m not saying the memory was the problem, but I did learn they ran hotter and this is going back a ways.
 

ChipDeath

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I've stuck that card into 3 rigs so far (including my own), and it's been a good purchase. As crash says, just make sure it's not the 128-bit memory bus version.

I tried the XT BIOS flash and it screwed it up completely, and my card would only OC to ~400mhz with the Stock HSF anyway (even though it's a R360 core :frown: ), so don't expect wonderous results from Ocing/Flashing... The ones I bought for the other 2 ppl seem to be better overclockers, but they're not my rigs so I can't risk blowing them up :frown: , and they're not Overclocking nuts like me....

I would recommend the VGA Silencer Rev 3 if you want to dabble with overclocking - the stock HS is really tiny + feeble.

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Epox 8RDA+ V1.1 w/ Custom NB HS
XP1700+ @200x10 (~2Ghz), 1.4 Vcore
2x256Mb Corsair PC3200LL/1x512Mb Corsair XMS PC4000 2.5-3-3-7
Sapphire 9800Pro (VGA Silencer Rev3) @418/742
 

skinnyjoint

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man that sux that companies have to do that [-peep-] and rip ppl off. but if i was just going to buy the 128 then i wouldnt have to worry about that so... yea