Good Deal for a 9800 SE?

[Wraith]

http://www.allstarshop.com/shop/product.asp?pid=7974&sid=4K6DESC168GM8HR07MFSQ4BGWAR34R49


If my 9700 pro is deal, ima need a replacement ASAP, i got LAN's coming up and a need a power card so i can win the cash.....is this a good deal, whats teh SE meen?

[Pinnacle2k4]

SE cards has 4 pipelines instead of 8. I heard the sapphire card also has 128bits memory. Stay away from SE cards.

[pkrew]

From what I've read none of the 9800SE's are good deals they only have 4 pipelines and don't perform very well.

[Yuriman]

Think of them as a higher clocked 9500 standard.

[CamH]

But there is some amount of chance that you can mod them to be a 9800 Pro.

[shiyan]

not really worth the risk if you can find a 9800 NP... problem is, those are dissapearing fast.

[Mustanley]

You can try the powercolor card found here (http://www.gameve.com/store/gameve_viewitem.asp?idproduct=1283).
It has a 256bit memory bus and has the potential to be modded to a true 9800 Pro (not a guarantee).
Thanks to Shade00 for providing the link in another thread.

[dguy6789]

they cannont be thought of as 9500s just becasue of 4 pipelines. They still have pixel shader 9.1 which no 9500 can claim, and the fact that the 9800 sounds cooler makes it cooler. Make sure you get the 256 bit version.

[Shade00]

Thanks for the props Mustanley. If you are going to buy a 9800SE, that is the only one you should consider. The Sapphire cards have lower default clocks AND a 128-bit memory interface. The Powercolor card comes at 380/340, which is fast even with just 4 pipes. If you get one with 4 extra good pipes then you have a 9800 Pro.

In short, no, that's not a good deal. It's basically the same thing as the 9500np for about $135. Yuriman's right, though, it's basically a newer version of the 9500np, except with two confusing flavors.