9800 pro question

[jeff b]

I'm seeing this card for $200 on-line. It's
by Sapphire, is there a performance difference
between this one and a 9800 pro built by ATI,
which goes for about $250? And what is an 'Atlantis'
by Sapphire?

Jeff

 

[Dark Avenger]

I'm seeing this card for $200 on-line. It's
by Sapphire, is there a performance difference
between this one and a 9800 pro built by ATI,
which goes for about $250? And what is an 'Atlantis'
by Sapphire?

Jeff

Atlantis means the card is passively cooled, and Sapphire is the
compagny that builds most cards of ati so every card is "build by ati"
expect the cooling solution...

 

[Wayne Youngman]

Atlantis means the card is passively cooled, and Sapphire is the
compagny that builds most cards of ati so every card is "build by ati"
expect the cooling solution...

Hi,
I don't think that's correct. I have a Sapphire Atlantis 9800 which isn't
passive and has the regular ATI HSF. I'm not sure what Atlantis means,
guess it's just a marketing name or maybe it means it's a Radeon?

 

[Sham B]

I also have this model and it is the standard 9800 design, and IMO very good value for money if you
dont intend to upgrade your PC to PCExpress any time soon (I dont because I see no compelling reason
to upgrade everything to meet the CPU industry's marketing expectations... plus Im finding that the
Barton chips are very compatible with older Mobos, so it makes sense to get a faster CPU
(XP2800-3000) and faster GfX card (9800 pro) that uses my current mobo, because both are dirt cheap
right now)

The standard ATI HSF isnt that good for overclocking on any 9800 pro model, but you dont really need
to overclock this card.

All I will say is that the 9800 pro can run very hot when playing games, so make sure you have good
case cooling (I found that I had to replace the stock HSF with an artic cooler, which blows the GPU
heat straight out of the case), but I would have had the same problem with any 9800 pro.

S

 

[jeff b]

I'm assuming that both Sapphire and ATI build the
9800 pro. Is there a difference in performance?
I just want to make sure that Sapphire isn't using
lower rated (binned) GPUs and memory. Does one have
a reputation to be more OCable than the other?

Jeff B

 

[Wayne Youngman]

I'm assuming that both Sapphire and ATI build the
9800 pro. Is there a difference in performance?
I just want to make sure that Sapphire isn't using
lower rated (binned) GPUs and memory. Does one have
a reputation to be more OCable than the other?

Hi,
have no fear, Sapphire build very good Radeon Cards indeed, if not the best!

 

[Sham B]

Sapphire have a very good reputation, I believe their 9800s are identical to the built by ATI ones
(Sapphire actually make the ATI ones, so its simply a case of rebadging).

S

 

[Dark Avenger]

Hi,
I don't think that's correct. I have a Sapphire Atlantis 9800 which isn't
passive and has the regular ATI HSF. I'm not sure what Atlantis means,
guess it's just a marketing name or maybe it means it's a Radeon?

Damn you are right.. it was ULTIMATE that meant it was passively
cooled, but ... 9800 Pro's are damn hard to passively cool. Zalman
advices not for nothing to use the fan in case that you have a 9800
Pro... because the 9800 pro is a hot chip...that is indeed true!

 

[jeff b]

Sapphire have a very good reputation, I believe their 9800s are identical to the built by ATI ones
(Sapphire actually make the ATI ones, so its simply a case of rebadging).

S

Ok, I'm satisfied....thanks for the response.

Jeff B

 

[zealot]

Damn you are right.. it was ULTIMATE that meant it was passively
cooled, but ... 9800 Pro's are damn hard to passively cool. Zalman
advices not for nothing to use the fan in case that you have a 9800
Pro... because the 9800 pro is a hot chip...that is indeed true!

artic cooling VGA Silencer. I thought it was bogus until I saw a pix
of the heatsink. It's ****ing huge. Plus there's a blower that pushes
all the heat generated right out the back door (pci slot). Has two
speed fan switch on rear pci slot to crank it up for games.

http://www.heatsinkstore.com/vga-rev3.html

check the price, you'll like it. Rev 3 of course.