CONTENTS
- Video card features
- Testbed, test tools, 2D quality
- Test results: Quake3 ARENA
- Test results: Serious
Sam: The Second Encounter
- Test results: Return
to Castle Wolfenstein
- Test results: Code
Creatures DEMO
- Test results: Unreal
Tournament 2003
- Test results: Unreal
II: The Awakening
- Test results: RightMark
3D
- Conclusion
When did we speak about Sapphire Technology's products last time?
It was quite long ago. Today we've got an interesting suite of video cards.
By the way, C.P.Technology won't be left aside either. I'm not going to blame
anybody but believe me, I do have the reason.
You all know that the RADEON 9800 PRO is a super accelerator with
an incredible speed in shaders, a usual cooler and an impressive price. Many
heard of it, but few saw the real card. Why do the prices for High-End cards
keep on growing? Do they think that wages are getting higher that fast? Or
they decided to kill the sales? Masochists end up badly, as you know: Hercules
Computer, 3dfx Interactive, S3 (without VIA)... (Diamond Multimedia! It was
such a great trade mark! ). Gainward probably aims the same target with its
$1000 video card with a water cooler.
When the RADEON 9700 PRO was just released, the prices could be
justified as there were no competitors. Today we have the GeForce FX 5900
and previous versions of the 9700 PRO... The price is anyway too high. Later
they will complain about 0.5% of sales... Who's going to pay so much for
a piece of textolite able to execute some Assembler programs per clock just
for the sake of more realistic 3D water?
I'm well aware that development, researches, scientific works, designing
requires a lot of money. But High-End cards never exceed $300 before! Memory
is expensive, that's right... But earlier it wasn't cheap either for High-End
products.
The card makers are getting more impudent. Poor users... accelerators
are getting less affordable. Vendors also suffer as they get little profit.
We are waiting for the FX 5200 to make DX9 games more playable, but it's only
RADEON 9600/FX5600 and higher versions which can ensure a more or less appropriate
speed in DX9. By the way, you can get more information on the RADEON from
the reviews listed below.
Theoretical materials and reviews of video cards which concern
functional properties of the GPU ATI RADEON 9500/9600/9700/9800
- Analysis
of RADEON 9700 architecture and Microsoft DirectX 9.0
- ATI RADEON
9700 Pro 128MB Review
- Gigabyte
MAYA II R9700Pro 128MB - performance estimated on the new Pentium 4 2.53
GHz based platform, comparison with the NVIDIA's 40.41 driver
- Hercules
3D Prophet 9700 Pro 128MB - new CATALYST 2.3 driver estimated in 3DMark2001
SE, and Unreal Tournament 2003 DEMO final release
- PowerColor
Evil Commando2 RADEON 9700 Pro 128MB - performance of the new CATALYST
2.3 driver estimated in game tests, 3D quality issues
- Hercules 3D
Prophet 9700 Pro on ATI RADEON 9700 Pro: extreme overclocking
- ATI RADEON 9500,
9700 and Gigabyte MAYA II RADEON 9500
- Sapphire
Atlantis RADEON 9500 128MB and videocards tests in DOOM III v.0.02
- ATI RADEON 9500
PRO 128MB
- Gigabyte
MAYA II RADEON 9500 PRO and Hercules 3D Prophet 9500 PRO - detailed analysis
of anisotropic filtering of RADEON 9700
- Sapphire
Technology RADEON 7500, 8500, 9000/Pro, 9700 Pro, anisotropic filtering
of RADEON 9700
- HIS Excalibur
RADEON 9700 PRO - Tests in DirectX 9.0 RC0
- ATI RADEON
9500 64MB, 9500 128MB, 9500 PRO, 9700 and 9700 PRO in DirectX 9.0: Part 1
- Game tests in 3DMark2001, and Soft9700!
- ATI RADEON
9500 64MB, 9500 128MB, 9500 PRO, 9700 and 9700 PRO in DirectX 9.0: Part 2
- Tests in DirectX 9.0 - synthetic tests from RightMark 3D
- Sapphire
Atlantis RADEON 9700 and RADEON 9700 PRO Ultimate Edition
- YUAN SmartVGA
RADEON 9000 64MB and RADEON 9700 PRO
- Connect3D
video cards on the ATI's chips
- ATI RADEON
9800 PRO 128MB
- ATI RADEON 9600 PRO 128MB: Part 1 - game tests and
performance
- Hercules 3D Prophet 9800 PRO 128MB and Hercules
3D Prophet 7500 128MB, and scandal around the 3DMark03
- Hercules 3D Prophet 9800 PRO 128MB and Hercules
3D Prophet 7500 128MB (single page)
- Sapphire Technologies ATI RADEON 9200/9600/9600PRO/9800PRO
video cards
- Connect3D, Gigabyte and CP.Technology ATI RADEON
9800 PRO video cards
- Sapphire Atlantis RADEON 9600 256MB, Sapphire Atlantis
RADEON 9600 PRO Ultimate Edition 128MB, Gigabyte RADEON 9600 PRO 128MB, Hercules
3D Prophet 9600 PRO 128MB
- Manli RADEON 9800 PRO 256MB on ATI RADEON 9800
PRO
- ATI RADEON 9600/9600 PRO based cards from Gigabyte,
Hercules and Sapphire
- Sapphire Atlantis RADEON 9800 PRO 256MB Ultimate
Edition on ATI RADEON 9800 PRO - graphics quality in UT2003/Unreal II and
other games, tricks with anisotropy
- Connect3D ATI RADEON 9200/9600/9600 PRO/9800
PRO
- TYAN Tachyon G9600 PRO 128MB on ATI RADEON 9600 PRO
- PowerColor RADEON 9600 PRO EZ 256MB, RADEON 9200SE
128MB, RADEON 7000 64MB
Even the release of products weaker than the RADEON 9800 PRO mustn't slow
down the price falling. But if NVIDIA doesn't wish to cut prices for its
FX5900 which have a lower shader speed, I have nothing to say about ATI.
So, let's get back on the track. Today we have only RADEON 9600
PRO and 9600 within the DX9 line which are weaker than the RADEON 9800 PRO.
But these cards are much cheaper than the RADEON 9800 PRO. So, what will
be between them? RADEON 9700 PRO/9700 based cards are not produced anymore.
One of the expected solutions was the RADEON 9800 with lower clock speeds.
The same PCB comes with cheaper and slower memory (3.3ns) and chips clocked
at 325 MHz (i.e. which do not operate properly at 380MHz). The solution is
similar to the RADEON 9700 PRO though the clock speeds are 325/590 MHz instead
of 325/620. But the difference is almost unnoticeable. The gap between $300
and $350 is now filled up, and the 9700 PRO is done away with.
For the $220 to $270 niche ATI used a different approach, like that
for the RADEON 9500. When all working chips were selected out from the cullage
of the RADEON 9800 PRO for the RADEON 9800 (the chips had just lower clock
speeds) the next stage was to select cores with a defect in rendering pipelines
or in the HSR unit. Like the RADEON 9500, such R350 had half of the processor
disabled and was named RADEON 9800SE... But where is it used?
We will see that the 9800SE can be used for different PCBs to get
different cards but under the same name. You can see from the headline that
there are 256bit cards based on the 9800SE and there are 128bit models. Moreover,
such cards have different clock speeds.
But ATI has nothing to do with it. It's the intrigue of the Chinese
card makers who were allowed to use the cullage for the internal market only.
If you remember, ATI also kept silence about the RADEON LE as if they weren't
aware where PC Partner (their premier partner) could take such chips from.
I'm sure if I raise a discussion around the situation with TWO RADEON
9800SE (actually, three) RADEON 9800SE chips, (like it was with NVIDIA's
two GeForce FX 5600 Ultras) ATI will answer they are not in change of it!
Nevertheless, I doubt that the Canadian company knows nothing about
it and has no means to influence the situation. They simply don't care about
users.
At price.ru you can find various kinds of the 9800SE, some with
the information on the bus, others without, ar the similar prices. Some RADEON
9800SE are even offered just at $140(!). What's it? The dealers, even if
they get cards at $130 will sell them at least at $220 to keep together with
the rest.
Marketers have lost the control over the situation and do not know
what cards and where are selling.. It's possible to trace them only according
to the P/N. That's why the P/N should be indicated in the pricelists as a
distinguishing feature of such cards.
Today we will also examine Saphhire's card based on some RADEON
9800 PRO Lite (!). This unique model has the same clock speeds as the RADEON
9800 PRO but the PCB is not reference and the price is lower by $70. Hmm...
The low-level cards will be tested as well. It's especially interesting
to test the RADEON 9200 with the PCI limited by the 64bit bus. Also we have
the widely known RADEON 9200SE coming from Sapphire's factory.
The companies themselves need no introduction. Sapphire Technology
is a well known brand name after ATI. It makes a wide range of high-quality
products, but its solutions often have unpredictable combinations of core
and memory clock speeds and memory bus bandwidth.
C.P.Technology which is known due to its popular PowerColor trade
mark was recently restructured and now offers a broad range of products ATI
is actively promoting now.
Cards
Sapphire Atlantis RADEON 9200 PCI 64MB 64bit |
|
Sapphire Atlantis RADEON 9200SE 128MB |
|
Sapphire Atlantis RADEON 9800SE 128MB 128bit |
|
Sapphire Atlantis RADEON 9800 128MB |
|
Sapphire Atlantis RADEON 9800 PRO Lite 128MB |
|
PowerColor RADEON 9800SE 128MB 256bit (Gold) |
|
Sapphire Atlantis RADEON 9200 PCI 64MB 64bit |
PCI interface, 64 MB DDR SDRAM memory in 4 chips on both PCB sides.
A-Data 4ns memory chips, it corresponds to 250 (500) MHz, but the
memory works at 200 (400) MHz. GPU clocked at 250 MHz. The memory bus
is 64bit!!! 64MB results from halving the memory chips (see free space on
the PCB), each chip is 16 bits, which totals 64 bits.
|
|
Sapphire Atlantis RADEON 9200SE 128MB |
AGP x8/x4/x2 interface, 128 MB DDR SDRAM memory in 4 chips on both PCB
sides.
A-Data 6ns memory chips, it corresponds to 166 (333) MHz, and the
memory does work at this clock speed. GPU clocked at 200 MHz. 64bit memory
bus.
|
|
Sapphire Atlantis RADEON 9800SE 128MB 128bit |
AGP x8/x4/x2 interface, 128 MB DDR SDRAM memory in 8 chips on both PCB
sides.
EtronTech 3.3ns memory chips, it corresponds to 300 (600) MHz but
the memory works at 270 (540) MHz. GPU clocked at 325 MHz. 128bit memory
bus. Note that there are 4 rendering pipelines instead of 8!
|
|
Sapphire Atlantis RADEON 9800 128MB |
AGP x8/x4/x2 interface, 128 MB DDR SDRAM memory in 8 chips on both PCB
sides.
Samsung 3.3ns memory chips, it corresponds to 300 (600) MHz but
the memory works at 290 (580) MHz. GPU clocked at 325 MHz. 256bit memory
bus.
|
|
Sapphire Atlantis RADEON 9800 PRO Lite 128MB |
AGP x8/x4/x2 interface, 128 MB DDR SDRAM memory in 8 chips on both PCB
sides.
Samsung 2.8ns memory chips, it corresponds to 350 (700) MHz but
the memory works at 340 (680) MHz. GPU clocked at 380 MHz. 256bit memory
bus.
|
|
PowerColor RADEON 9800SE 128MB 256bit (Gold) |
AGP x8/x4/x2 interface, 128 MB DDR SDRAM memory in 8 chips on both PCB
sides.
Hynix 2.8ns memory chips, it corresponds to 350 (700) MHz but the
memory works at 340 (680) MHz. GPU clocked at 380 MHz. 256bit memory bus.
Note that there are 4 rendering pipelines instead of 8!
|
|
Comparison with the reference design, front view |
Sapphire Atlantis RADEON 9200 PCI 64MB 64bit |
Reference card ATI RADEON 9200 |
|
|
Sapphire Atlantis RADEON 9200SE 128MB |
|
Sapphire Atlantis RADEON 9800SE 128MB 128bit |
Reference card ATI RADEON 9500 PRO |
|
|
Sapphire Atlantis RADEON 9800 128MB |
Reference card ATI RADEON 9800 PRO |
|
|
Sapphire Atlantis RADEON 9800 PRO Lite 128MB |
|
PowerColor RADEON 9800SE 128MB 256bit (Gold) |
Reference card ATI RADEON 9700 PRO 128MB |
|
|
|
Comparison with the reference design, back view |
Sapphire Atlantis RADEON 9200 PCI 64MB 64bit |
Reference card ATI RADEON 9200 |
|
|
Sapphire Atlantis RADEON 9200SE 128MB |
|
Sapphire Atlantis RADEON 9800SE 128MB 128bit |
Reference card ATI RADEON 9500 PRO |
|
|
Sapphire Atlantis RADEON 9800 128MB |
Reference card ATI RADEON 9800 PRO |
|
|
Sapphire Atlantis RADEON 9800 PRO Lite 128MB |
|
PowerColor RADEON 9800SE 128MB 256bit (Gold) |
Reference card ATI RADEON 9700 PRO 128MB |
|
|
- RADEON 9200 PCI is similar to the reference RADEON 9200, and the 64bit
bus is used as half of the memory chips are removed.
- RADEON 9200SE has a low-profle design. Sapphire's solution is deprived
of two heads, in contrast to the earlier tested cards, and of a DVI-out.
- Sapphire's RADEON 9800SE is built on a special PCB based on the one
used for the RADEON 9500 PRO. That is why the card has the 128bit memory
bus. Unlocking 4 rendering pipelines results in a hybrid which must be more
efficient than the RADEON 9500 PRO due to the speeds of 325/570 MHz.
- RADEON 9800 is a version of the RADEON 9800 PRO with lower clock speeds
(the PCB is the same).
- RADEON 9800 PRO Lite is Sapphire's unique product. Actually, all components
of the RADEON 9800 PRO are moved to the altered PCB of 9700 PRO which has
a place for the RAGE Theater, and such cards can be equipped with VIVO. But
if the card of the old design works perfectly why did they make a new one
for the RADEON 9800 PRO? I think it's one of Sapphire's tricks ATI shuts
its eyes to. The most notable is the price. It's $70 lower compared to an
average card based on the 9800 PRO. I think that such card was ordered by
some assembler who then brought them to the gray market, and quick dealers
made use of it. But such cards weaken sales of Sapphire's 9800 PRO based
cards, that is why they can quickly disappear.
- PowerColor RADEON 9800SE has a 256bit bus as it's based on the 9700
Pro's PCB. Unlocking the rendering pipelines turns it into a normal RADEON
9800 PRO (though the tests show that speed is a bit different).
Both RADEON 9200/9200SE cards have ordinary sinks without fans, the other
cards from Sapphire have a proprietary silvery cooler. PowerColor's solution
has a black sink with a fan in the center typical of the 9700 PRO.
While it's not worth removing sinks from the RADEON 9200/9200SE,
it's really interesting to have a look at the mirror surfaces of the RADEON
9800/9800SE (on the first photo you can see ATI's color logo which is not
attached with a graphics editor, but it's taken close to the card and die
reflects it).
The mirror also reflects the camera lens
Pomegranate flower's reflection.
In most cases the cards sell in OEM packages, i.e. they have only software
CDs, TV extension cords and adapters supplied.
Testbed and drivers
Testbed:
- Pentium 4 3200 MHz based computer:
- Intel Pentium 4 3200 MHz CPU;
- DFI LANParty Pro875 (i875P) mainboard;
- 1024 MB DDR SDRAM;
- Seagate Barracuda IV 40GB HDD;
- Windows XP SP1; DirectX 9.0a;
- ViewSonic P810 (21") and ViewSonic P817
(21") monitors.
- ATI drivers v6.368.
VSync off, S3TC off in applications.
Cards used for comparison:
- Hercules 3D Prophet 9800 Pro (RADEON 9800 PRO, 380/340 (680) MHz, 128
MB DDR).
- ASUS V9950 Ultra (GeForce FX 5900 Ultra, 450/425 (850) MHz, 256 MB
DDR, driver 52.10).
- Albatron Gigi GeForce FX 5900 (400/425 (850) MHz, 128 MB DDR, driver
52.10).
- ABIT Siluro FX5600 Ultra OTES (GeForce FX 5600 Ultra, 400/400 (800)
MHz, 128 MB DDR, driver 52.10).
- MSI FX5600-VTD (GeForce FX 5600, 325/275 (550) MHz, 128 MB DDR, driver
52.10).
- Hercules 3D Prophet 9600 Pro (RADEON 9600 PRO, 400/300 (600) MHz,
128 MB DDR).
- ASUS V9250 Magic (GeForce FX 5200, 250/166 (333) MHz, 128 MB DDR 64bit,
driver 52.10).
Test results
Before we start examining 2D quality, I should say there are no complete
techniques for objective 2D quality estimation because:
- 2D quality much depends on certain samples for almost all modern 3D
accelerators;
- Besides videocards, 2D quality depends on monitors and cables;
- Moreover, certain monitors might not work properly with certain video
cards.
With the ViewSonic P817 monitor and BNC Bargo cable the cards showed excellent
quality at the following resolutions and clock speeds:
|
Sapphire Atlantis RADEON 9200 PCI 64MB 64bit |
1600x1200x75Hz, 1280x1024x85Hz, 1024x768x100Hz |
Sapphire Atlantis RADEON 9200SE 128MB |
1600x1200x75Hz, 1280x1024x100Hz, 1024x768x100Hz |
Sapphire Atlantis RADEON 9800SE 128MB 128bit |
1600x1200x85Hz, 1280x1024x100Hz, 1024x768x120Hz |
Sapphire Atlantis RADEON 9800 128MB |
1600x1200x85Hz, 1280x1024x100Hz, 1024x768x120Hz |
Sapphire Atlantis RADEON 9800 PRO Lite 128MB |
1600x1200x85Hz, 1280x1024x120Hz, 1024x768x160Hz |
PowerColor RADEON 9800SE 128MB 256bit (Gold) |
1600x1200x85Hz, 1280x1024x120Hz, 1024x768x160Hz |
Test results: cards' performance
Conventional signs: ANISO 8xP - Anisotropic 8x Performance (earlier it was
called Balanced), ANISO 8xQ - Anisotropic 8x Quality, ANISO 16xQ - Anisotropic
16x Quality.
Test applications:
- Return to Castle Wolfenstein (MultiPlayer) (id Software/Activision)
- OpenGL, multitexturing, ixbt0703-demo, test settings - maximum, S3TC
OFF, the configurations can be downloaded from here
- Serious Sam: The Second Encounter v.1.05 (Croteam/GodGames) - OpenGL,
multitexturing, ixbt0703 demo, test settings: quality, S3TC OFF
- Quake3 Arena v.1.17 (id Software/Activision) - OpenGL, multitexturing,
ixbt0703 demo,
test settings - maximum: detailing level - High, texture detailing
level - #4, S3TC OFF, smoothness of curves is much increased
through variables r_subdivisions "1" and r_lodCurveError
"30000" (at default r_lodCurveError is 250 !), the configurations
can be downloaded from here
- Unreal Tournament 2003 v.2225 (Digital Extreme/Epic Games) - Direct3D,
Vertex Shaders, Hardware T&L, Dot3, cube texturing, default quality
- Code Creatures Benchmark Pro (CodeCult) - the game that demonstrates
card's operation in DirectX 8.1, Shaders, HW T&L.
- Unreal II: The Awakening (Legend Ent./Epic Games) - Direct3D, Vertex
Shaders, Hardware T&L, Dot3, cube texturing, default quality
- RightMark 3D v.0.4
(one of the test scenes) - DirectX 8.1, Dot3, cube texturing, shadow buffers,
vertex and pixel shaders (1.1, 1.4).
If you want to get the demo benchmarks that we use let me know by e-mail.
Quake3 Arena
RADEON 9800 PRO Lite falls behind the basic RADEON 9800 PRO which can be
explained by different PCBs and memory timings. ATI's flagships lose to the
GeForce FX 5900.
It a unique case when the RADEON 9800SE with a 256bit bus loses
to the RADEON 9600 PRO with a 128bit bus exactly in the AA mode! Something
must be wrong with the drivers. In the heavy mode it loses too, as well as
to the GeForce FX 5600 Ultra (400 MHz). Unlocking the pipelines brings this
card very close to the RADEON 9800 PRO.
The RADEON 9800SE with the 128bit bus looks very weak compared to
the RADEON 9600 PRO (325 MHz vs 400 MHz). It loses to the FX 5600 too. The
pipeline unlocking didn't help the RADEON 9800SE outdo the RADEON 9600 PRO.
The 9200 and 9200SE cards lost to NVIDIA's counterpart.
Serious Sam: The Second Encounter
The RADEON 9800 PRO Lite is again behind the RADEON 9800 PRO and GeForce
FX 5900.
The RADEON 9800SE with the 256bit bus loses to the RADEON 9600 PRO
card with the 128bit card in AA once again! In the heavy mode it loses too,
as well as to the GeForce FX 5600 Ultra (400 MHz). Unlocking the pipelines
brings this card very close to the RADEON 9800 PRO.
The RADEON 9800SE with the 128bit bus loses to all its competitors.
The pipeline unlocking didn't help the RADEON 9800SE outdo the RADEON 9600
PRO.
The 9200 and 9200SE cards finally outscore NVIDIA's FX5200 64bit
card.
Return to Castle Wolfenstein (Multiplayer)
The RADEON 9800 PRO Lite is still weaker than the RADEON 9800 PRO. As to
comparison with the GeForce FX 5900, ATI's solution beats it in the heavy
anysotropic modes.
The RADEON 9800SE with the 256bit bus loses to the 128bit RADEON
9600 PRO card again, as well as to the GeForce FX 5600 Ultra (400 MHz). With
the pipelines unlocked the card becomes almost equal to the RADEON 9800 PRO.
The RADEON 9800SE with its 128bit bus loses to everyone again. The
pipeline unlocking doesn't help.
The 9200 and 9200SE cards beat NVIDIA's solution.
Code Creatures
Sometimes the RADEON 9800 PRO Lite wins against the RADEON 9800 PRO, sometimes
it falls behind it. The competition against the GeForce FX 5900 looks the
same.
In this case the RADEON 9800SE with the 256bit bus wins a victory
over the 128bit card based on the RADEON 9600 PRO, though it loses to the
FX 5600 Ultra (400 MHz). The pipeline unlocking makes this card almost equal
to the RADEON 9800 PRO.
The RADEON 9800SE with its 128bit bus performs worse than its competitors.
But the pipeline unlocking helps the RADEON 9800SE outdo the RADEON 9600 PRO
by a great margin.
The RADEON 9200 PCI fails to work in this test, and the 9200SE loses
to the FX5200 64bit.
Unreal Tournament 2003 DEMO
The RADEON 9800 PRO Lite is still behind the RADEON 9800 PRO, though the
competition against the GeForce FX 5900 is more complicated.
The RADEON 9800SE with the 256bit bus again yields to the RADEON
9600 PRO card with the 128bit bus as well as to the GeForce FX 5600 Ultra
(400 MHz). The pipeline unlocking helped this card come close to the RADEON
9800 PRO.
The RADEON 9800SE with the 128bit bus again ends up losing. Unlocking
the pipelines doesn't let it outsmart the RADEON 9600 PRO.
The RADEON 9200SE loses to NVIDIA's card but the 9200 PCI wins the
battle.
Unreal II: The Awakening
The RADEON 9800 PRO Lite is near the usual RADEON 9800 PRO, but, still, it
looks a bit worse. The GeForce FX 5900 is beaten.
The RADEON 9800SE (256bit) is generally on the level of the RADEON
9600 PRO. Also, sometimes it loses and sometimes wins against the GeForce
FX 5600 Ultra (400 MHz). The pipelines unlocking brings it close to the RADEON
9800 PRO.
The RADEON 9800SE (128bit) looks bad, and the pipelines unlocking
can't help it outrun the RADEON 9600 PRO.
The RADEON 9200SE loses to NVIDIA's card but the 9200 PCI wins the
fight.
RightMark 3D
The RADEON 9800 PRO Lite is almost equal to the RADEON 9800 PRO and beats
the GeForce FX 5900.
The RADEON 9800SE (256bit) looks stronger than the RADEON 9600 PRO
and GeForce FX 5600 Ultra (400 MHz). The pipelines unlocking makes it almost
equal to the RADEON 9800 PRO.
The RADEON 9800SE (128bit) beats the RADEON 9600 PRO with the pipelines
unlocked.
The 9200 and 9200SE lose to NVIDIA's card.
Conclusion
- Sapphire Atlantis RADEON 9200 PCI 64MB 64bit belongs to the Low-End
level, the speed is matching, but the low price is adequate to the card's
capabilities, plus it can be installed into the systems without AGP;
- Sapphire Atlantis RADEON 9200SE 128MB is a similar solution, plus,
its price will quickly fall down to $40;
- Sapphire Atlantis RADEON 9800SE 128MB 128bit - the tests show that
the maximum possible price for such card is $130 (today you can find them
even at $200 and over since far not everyone knows the difference between
two 9800SE versions), the pipelines unlocking helps it reach the level of
the RADEON 9500 PRO and even a higher one but this operation doesn't guarantee
the success;
- Sapphire Atlantis RADEON 9800 128MB: I hope the price for this card
will correspond to its capabilities; it has almost no competitors in its
price segment;
- Sapphire Atlantis RADEON 9800 PRO Lite 128MB is a unique product:
its performance is almost on the level of the RADEON 9800 PRO, though sometimes
it's a bit lower, but its price is pretty low (it's the current price/speed
leader);
- PowerColor RADEON 9800SE 128MB 256bit (Gold) is overpriced. Sometimes
it yields to the RADEON 9600 PRO having the price about $260. One had better
get the RADEON 9700 PRO which has 8 pipelines and a 256bit bus and where there's
nothing to unlock.
In our 3Digest
you can find full comparison characteristics for video cards of this and other
classes.
Remember that there are two kinds of the RADEON 9800SE on the
market: with a 256bit bus (the design of the RADEON 9700 PRO, red textolite,
black reference cooler, memory chips located at the angle of 90 deg.); and
with a 128bit bus (unique design similar to the RADEON 9500 PRO, the textolite
can be of different colors, but such cards are currently produced only by
Sapphire, that is why the textolite is black, the memory chips are located
in a line). There is also the THIRD kind which differs from the SECOND one
in the memory chips (TSOP instead of BGA).
I want to thank ATI for not letting users to buy what has its own
unique features. If you call a coffee-pot a tea-pot, it won't change its
functions. But is that a right way?
I also feel sorry for the guys at Sapphire who will have to carry
the burden of explaining the difference between the 9800SE variations, why
the Pro Lite was released and who needs the Pro after that...
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