ATI 9800 pro (is this a good buy)

glenpinn

hi again.

just found this ATI branded 9800 pro 256mb card on ebay, i can get 2 of them for the $159 price as listed and wanted to know if it would be a good buy as compared to buying 2x abit 9600xt 256mb cards for $140au each.
are ATI BRANDED cards as good as say sapphire and other better quality branded cards ??? as this appears to be a good buy at $159au for 2 of them.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=5251355675&ssPage Name=STRK:MEWA:IT



this 9800pro 256 card is the same as the ATI 9800 pro card thats on the ATI website but this guy told me that ATI is the actual maker of thier own cards

http://www.ati.com/products/radeon9800/radeon9800pro/gallery.html

MY QUESTION, is it correct that ATI dont actually make cards any more, that they have them made by another company using the ATI chipset, then simply put the ATI sticker on the fan and ATI then sell them as thier own branded cards.
i have been told that SAPPHIRE make all ATI BRANDED graphics cards ??? funny thing is the sapphire made cards are black with simple fan on it, but the ATI brand card (from thier website) is red and looks totally different layout than sapphire cards, so im thinking that ATI actually get some generic company to produce thier cards, and not sapphire, or does sapphire make them different deliberately.
can someone tell me for sure if ATI do or dont make thier own cards and is it true that sapphire does actually make the ATI BRANDED cards ???

THANKS AGAIN AND CHEERS.....GLEN

glenpinn

hi again, well i just realised that ATI 9800pro card on ebay is actually a 128mb/256bit version.
i thought it was a 256mb version, he has listed it with 256bit in the card title, not as a 128mb/256bit version, and i told him its a bit decieving running the title like that (makes it read like a 256mb version) and a bit unfair to those (like me) who actually misreads it as being a 256mb card and not a 128 card.
even still, is it still a good buy at $159 compared to buying a 960oxt 256 card at $150au, but im told that if one wants to buy a 9800pro, it should be a 256mb/256bit version, is that correct ???

cheers.....GLEN

BTW, which is better of these 2 cards for the same price of $159au

xpertvision 9800pro @ 256mb ddr/128bit

ati 9800pro @ 128mb ddr/256bit (as listed in ebay)

Nforce2XP

Hey hello fellow.

If i were you i would go for the two 9800 pro ati card cause they have 8 pipelines on the chip, and the 9600 pro has only 4 pipes. don`t matter if they have 256 memory
the important part is that the 9800 pro has the 8 pipes and that they have 256 bit statment, the story would be different if the 9800 pro cards were 128 bit cards. and btw get the ati branded becouse its manufactured from the chipmaker.
ok if somebody else can give you a better ideo cuz my english its not the bets .,
cheers my friend.

glenpinn

thank you my friend, all i needed to do was find out what i suspected that the ATI brand 128mb ddr/256bit card is better than the 256mb ddr/128bit card.

that ATI 9800pro 128 card is not that far behind the 9800pro 256 card in performance for such a low price and will certainly be a better card than the 9600pro that it is replacing, my son will be thrilled.

btw, so it is TRUE that ATI do make thier own cards at thier own factory because some have told me at pc hardware forum that ATI def dont make them and that SAPPHIRE make the rebranded cards for ATI.

thank you for your input......GLEN