$270 for 128 megs of Ram?

[Aknot]

$428 RADEON 9800 256MB
$156 RADEON 9800 128MB

OK little help. I use pricewatch to "gauge" a product price. The 9800 128/256 are the same boards with just a little extra memory right?

The Pro:
$428 - RADEON 9800 Pro 256MB, is the same price as the "regualr" version,

And the XT $465 RADEON 9800 XT 256MB, is about $40 more.

Now I know there are "supposedly" differences between the cards (pro and non pro) so why no price difference? And the 128/256 "regualr" boards just have memory difference right? I mean I can see SOME difference with manfactures and supplied software but $250+ dollars worth?

So Im confused.

 

[Brian Damage]

I'd say that if you asked them, they'd say it was the cost of the extra time figuring out the specifications for a 256MB card.

They'd be fibbing, of course.

You'd probably just be paying for the "Wow! factor".

 

[RoyalEF]

You are probably also being confused by inaccurate product names on web sites. ATI certainly doesn't make it easy to understand their products, but that's one way to sell stuff.

Check ATI's compare

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

9800 128Mb
9800 Pro 128Mb (higher clock than 9800)
9800 Pro 256Mb (higher clock than 9800,different memory type)
9800 XT 256Mb (same memory type as 128 versions, higher clocks than all)

I imagine a 9800 Pro XT with the GDDR2 memory is in the wings.

The interesting part is the GDDR2 memory doesn't increase fill rate over the Pro 128Mb--so I'm not sure why it is so much more expensive. If it doesn't boost performance what's the point? The XT is probably just an overclocked 9800Pro with 256Mb.

I'm still wondering how many games are using all this video memory and if it is having a speed benefit.

 

[SidewinderX]

Aknot, if you click on the links to that actual products, you'll notice that the site links you to the 9800SE, which is a lower clocked and crippled card.

 

[Willber123]

my advice, get a hercules 3D prophet 9800 pro 128mb great card!

 

[iamironsam]

Stay as far away from the 9800SE as possible. It's the Special Edition, but Special as in Special Olympics.

 

[Bobo Vieri]

hahhaa, like the Ti4800 i ws going to get for a good price. Than when i looked at the box it had SE on it, so i saved my money and brought a Ti4200, which is basically the same as a Ti 4800SE. haha, Special Olympics, good one.