Are the ATI9800SE's any good?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Dedet
  • Start date Start date
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Dedet

When doing some shopping i saw a 9800se(SAPPHIRE card) for $347AU which is
very cheap, i just want to know if these cards can out preform the
9600(XT/PRO) based cards
 
i just want to know if these cards can out preform the
9600(XT/PRO) based cards
Click to expand...

On average they're very similar. I bought the AIW version
recently, mainly for the AIW features, and to be honest it's
not much faster than the ti4200 I had in this AMD 1700+ box
already. In I could go back 2 weeks I'd probably not buy it
again, choosing a Hauppauge card to do the video input and
saving the difference towards a later upgrade.

As ever, Tom's guide is as good a place to start checking as
any...
http://www6.tomshardware.com/graphic/20031229/index.html

Andrew McP
 
I'd agree with that to.

There is an "outside chance taht you could unlock the other 4 pipelines
via the driver to increase the performance to near 9800 levels.
This is very hit and miss though as not all 9800se cards take well to
this and they suffer from graphical artifacts and checkerboarding effect.
 
I'd agree with that to.

There is an "outside chance taht you could unlock the other 4 pipelines
via the driver to increase the performance to near 9800 levels.
This is very hit and miss though as not all 9800se cards take well to
this and they suffer from graphical artifacts and checkerboarding effect.
Click to expand...

I've seen 2 Hercules AIW9800SE's be unlocked like this, and they both
worked fine. Benchmarked at 9800Pro levels after that.

Have a look at www.ocfaq.com

D0d6y,
 
I've seen 2 Hercules AIW9800SE's be unlocked like this
Click to expand...

Some do, some don't... including mine. It's probably a bit
late in the day to be gambling on this, as a lot of failures
will have been "accidentally" returned to the supplier &
repackaged. Mine certainly showed signs of pre-ownership, and
if I hadn't already got a 9700Pro in the other box I'd
probably have tried to return it as well.

Andrew McP
 
I've seen 2 Hercules AIW9800SE's be unlocked like this, and they both
worked fine. Benchmarked at 9800Pro levels after that.

Have a look at www.ocfaq.com

D0d6y,
Click to expand...

Tried to locate Hercules AIW9800SE in the UK and had a very hard time
finally found someone that had 3 in stock. Looks like that they got wise to
the PRO mod and made changes. Because the AIW can be modified. I used the
Omega drivers and checked that it had 8 pipes to use but got green dots on
MPEG playback. So uninstalled them installed ATI drivers and run now on 4
Pipes because I don't do gaming just want the AIW stuff. Will consider at a
later time replacing the hacked *.sys driver with one that opens 8 pipes.
All in all love it and did my first VHS recordings.

One2Go
 
Because the AIW can be modified
Click to expand...

Depends, "can" is a bit strong. The SE version is/was a way of using up
9800pro chipsets that are slightly broken. If one or more pipeline
structures has a defect, they disable the relevant block of 4 and flog it
as an SE. Some cards will have minor defects which most users won't worry
about or even notice. Some will have much worse defects... mine is much
worse :-) It runs, but it ain't pretty... chequerboard patterns
everywhere.

But like you I was motivated by the AIW features on a "solid" performer
that might be a bargain. In the end it wasn't a bargain but it's still
relatively good value. I just think that any that are around at the moment
are probably the dregs, likely to have been through at least one pair of
eager hands already, and hence with very slim chance of success.

Andrew McP
 
(e-mail address removed) (Andrew MacPherson) wrote in
Some will have much worse defects... mine is much
worse :-) It runs, but it ain't pretty... chequerboard patterns
everywhere.
Click to expand...

I read this chequerboard pattern what is it and how does it manifest
itself? With the first Omega drivers when I played back in WMPlayer any
video it had like a grid of green dots and also anytime I clicked on
desktop icons it had sort of a green dots surrounding it.
But like you I was motivated by the AIW features on a "solid"
performer that might be a bargain. In the end it wasn't a bargain but
it's still relatively good value. I just think that any that are
around at the moment are probably the dregs, likely to have been
through at least one pair of eager hands already, and hence with very
slim chance of success.
Click to expand...

What I was impressed with were all the cables and other accessories that
cam with it and mine was definetly a "factory sealed box". Having worked in
this type of business I know how to identify if it has been used before or
opened before, no telltail on this one. Being not a gamer 4 pipes is plenty
for me.

One2Go
 
I read this chequerboard pattern what is it and how does
it manifest itself?
Click to expand...

In DX apps (ie games & benchmarks mainly) a lot of the surfaces
are basically textured with a black & white chequerboard pattern
instead of what they should be. Not at all pleasant.
What I was impressed with were all the cables
and other accessories that came with it
Click to expand...

Yes, nice bundle. My external packaging was perfect, but the
antistatic bag for the card was very crumpled and unsealed in a
way which -- IME anyway -- a brand spanking new, untouched by
'uman 'ands card never has been in the past. I'm sure most big
suppliers will have the means to do basic repackaging on goods
returned as functional but unwanted (distance selling act type
returns). And even if they don't, ATI's main UK distributer (or
in this case Guillemot's) certainly will.

But I'm speculating on the basis of a scruffy bag, I may be
over-thinking :-)

Andrew McP
 
Even if softmodded to 9800 pro, it is still 128bit as oppose to 256bit on
pro versions. However 9800se IS much better than 9600se or 9200se, but they
also are much cheaper.
 
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