Refrub'd Radeon 9700 AIW

[Chowdy]

My ti4200 has served me well these 2 years but the fan died and i might've damaged my core. The card wouldn't work for a while but when i came back a bit ago it turned on fine. I fixed up the fan and applied some thermal paste to the heatsink.

With that said, i want a new card as this card is no longer as reliable as it once was. For all i know, there was core damage and this thing might die when i might need it most. So, how about a new card then?

Are refurbs in anyway a wise thing to buy? I see a refurb'd ATI AIW Radeon 9700 pro @ newegg.com for $219. I have about $150-170 to spend on a videocard and i was also going to purchase a tv-tuner card for about $50. That's my budget, and coincidentally this card fits that budget well.

So has anyone purchased a refurb? I could purchase with the refurb a new hsf to use, as the current one might've gone through some use.

PS: The refurb item says "no accessories" does this mean none of the AIW things such as remote and cords etc..?

[petery83]

if it says "no accessories" it means it's just the card, no remote, cables, etc.

[method().man]

I believe refurbs still have a warranty with them. So as long as you don't plan on doing some crazy mods to the card that you can't undo, you should be covered. I say, go for it. It sounds like a good deal for a 9700 AIW.

[Chowdy]

Alright, i think i'll go for it. I mean, the 9700 is a very powerful card and I'd surely be able to play HL2 and Doom3 pretty well with this setup (the one in sig, swapping ti4200 for 9700 AIW).

PS: Are AIW 9700's clocked @ the non-pro speeds or pro speeds?

[Chowdy]

Wait, by "no cables" you mean absolutely no cables? In that case, does anyone know wher ei can find the molex - floppy power connector thing online?