Overclocking:
No overclocking software is provided by ATI in the 9800 Pro retail pack so for the purposes of this test we are using Radclocker. Radclocker is a small but excellent program which adds a clockspeed tab to the ATI control panel. You can download Radclocker from: http://www28.brinkster.com/chrisww1942/

Overclocking the card is very simple, all that is required is a simple movement of the slider for either core or memory speed. Using Radclocker the maximum stable speeds with no artifacting were 427Mhz Core and 375Mhz Memory. An increase of 47mhz (11%) on the core and 25mhz (7%) on the RAM. (Because the Radeon uses DDR RAM the actual total increase to the memory speed is 50mhz from 700mhz to 750mhz). Comparing the overclock of the 128mb and 256mb cards shows that the potential overclock on both is almost identical. Both increased by 11% core and 7% memory.

	Settings	1024x768 0xAA 0xAF
Speed
380/350		5497 Marks
427/375		6050 Marks
	Settings	1024x768 6xAA 16xAF
Speed
380/350		2109 Marks
427/375		2312 Marks

Unreal Tournament 2003

1024x768 0xAA 0xAF overclocked	1024x7680 0xAA 0xAF normal
1024x768 6xAA 16xAF overclocked	1024x768 6xAA 16xAF normal

UT’s results with no AA or AF show a small increase in Flyby however when 6xAA and 16xAF are used the flyby difference is 12fps, a 10% increase in performance.

Conclusion:

As the tests show the Radeon 9800 Pro 256mb does provide faster performance than its 128mb counterpart. From an image quality perspective you will see no change in normal use; both cards have very high image quality in 3D and 2D when performing the same tasks. For the performance user the 256mb card is equally as overclockable as the 128mb version. Pricing for the cards in the USA shows about $60 of a difference at newegg.com. In the UK komplett.co.uk show a £90 difference between the two.

So which should you buy? It really comes down to what’s most important to you, future proofing, speed or retail bundle. It is clear that the 256mb card is most future proof; this is best illustrated in the 3D Mark 03 results. Speed wise the 256mb Radeon again is the winner. Almost every test in this review showed it ahead of the 128mb version. The overall bundle is better with the Hercules 128mb card and the card it is more aesthetically pleasing. That said I felt the ATI DVD player gave better image quality than Power DVD XP which will be bundled with many 3rd part Radeon Cards.

If money was no object taking all of the above into consideration, if I was to buy one of the cards today I would chose the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 256mb.