16 out of 16 people found this review helpful.
Now Is The Time to Buy
Date of Review: Oct 31, 2003
The Bottom Line: The 9500 Pro or 9600 Pro are adequate for most new games, but if you want silky smooth graphics, get the 9800 Pro!
I just picked this card up at BestBuy for $299 (includes a $50 rebate) to replace my Radeon 9500 Pro 128MB. I've used the 9800 Pro for the past week and here are my observations.
Introduction
This is one serious card! Check out all the gaming sites and you'll notice that this one has been rated number one for the past few months. Now the XT version is available (for a couple hundred dollars more) which knocks it down from king of the hill, but the XT is only a little faster.
The Package
Let's begin with what's in the box. The retail version comes complete with S-Video cable, DVI to RGB Converter, RCA Cable, RCA to S-Video Converter, and the usual driver CD-ROM. Let's not forget the instruction manual, but who reads that? :) Right out of the box, you'll notice the card has a big warning that mentions the power cable must be connected. It uses the same type of power connector that attaches to your other components (ex. hard drive and DVD; with the only exception being the tiny floppy/zip drive power connector.) Plug that baby in and you are off to the races! The Catalyst drivers supplied by ATI are already out of date on the CD-ROM. Take a trip over to the website and download the latest reference drivers. They should install within a few minutes.
The Good
Now get ready to experience some great gaming! I just finished HALO with the card and the frame rates always averaged around 45 to 60fps with all the game settings maxed out. I ALWAYS have V-Sync enabled because I like everything to look really pretty:) The screen resolution is set at 1024x768 /32bit / 72hz. Believe me, these frame rates are quite an accomplishment for HALO with my P4 2.4C w/ 1GB of RAM. I highly recommend a 9800 Pro owner install the free utility called Rage3D Tweak and start having fun with overclocking. You thought it was fast without doing anything; try kicking up the frequency a few Hz at a time and watch your smile expand as your FPS increase. The ATI Graphic utilities are excellent. It is easy to adjust your resolution and most other aspects of the graphics. The texture quality is simply amazing and the 2D performance is excellent. The latest drivers offer a utility call VPU Recover that keeps your system from locking up if your card decides to take a vacation during an overclocking session.
The Bad
Want to roast a chicken in your case? Overclock the 9800 Pro and watch your case temperatures rise like giant solar flare. I watched the drain on the power supply as the card raised my temps 15 degrees in 10 minutes of playing HALO. I guess I'll have to look into some better cooling :)
Let's talk about pricing. $300 for a card is my limit. Anything more expensive is simply not worth it, but let's face it, it's still expensive for a video card. Yes, it kicks butt, but can you imagine the people that paid over $450 when it first came out?
I benchmarked this card against my 9500 Pro 128 and the 9500 held up remarkably well. We're talking only a 10 fps difference in HALO, until you bump the resolution up to 1280x1024. Then the 9800 really jumps ahead. Basically, if your not running above 1024x768 and don't mind the 10 fps difference, stick with a 9500 Pro or 9600 Pro and save $150.
Summary
If you are a gamer, you'll want this card. The 9500 Pro or 9600 Pro are adequate for most new games, but if you want silky smooth, get the 9800 Pro!
Links
Rage3D Tweak - http://downloads.driverheaven.net/R3Dtweak39.zip
ATI Radeon Catalyst Drivers- http://www.ati.com/support/drivers/winxp/radeonwdm-xp.html
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