View Full Version : Saphire vs ATI... need input
My ti4800 died on me yesterday and i figured it was time to give my nVidia fanboy antics a rest and try something different.
Im shopping for a radeon 9800pro, i dont want an xt as its too much money but it really comes down to 1 question now.
What is the difference between a saphire card, and a direct ATI card? besides the obvious price difference. i would assume the ati would outperform the saphire? if so by how much. What are your guys' experiences with the 9800pro saphire/ati cards.
any stories or input would be fabulous :p
dalilman52
02-27-04, 05:19 PM
well, to be honest, sapphire makes a large amount of the "built-by ati" cards, and sapphire's card is basically just a BBA card with the sapphire sticker on it, sapphire is cheap but at the same lvl as the BBA(built by ati) cards
diggingforgold
02-27-04, 05:26 PM
Newegg.com has a sapphire radeon 9800 pro 128MB 8x agp for $214 or less with free shipping. As for exact results/performance with the card- I'll leave it up to the others, as I am in the same market as you looking at the same card (almost bought it today).
I know there are different versions of that sapphire pro 128MB version card out there- most noticably by the heatsink it uses. But as far as specs or performance, I don't know if they differ.
The difference between 'Built by ATI' compared to 'Powered by ATI' is the quality of parts on the card itself- most important is memory. All 9800 pro's are powered by the same exact chip, however.
I'm not sure about the details tho, as I said, I am interested in learning the specs and performance myself.
so i'll need to go and look at the box in the store to see if it says "built by ATI" to make sure it has better components..? if i can find one then it may be worth it to buy the saphire over the ATI card? There is still quite a difference in price though so im a bit leary. if im spending the money to get a good card i might as well not fudge myself like those people who got the powercolor or cooler or what ever that brand is hah
glock19owner
02-27-04, 05:34 PM
Originally posted by Blz
if im spending the money to get a good card i might as well not fudge myself like those people who got the powercolor or cooler or what ever that brand is hah
Powercolor is actually better then the cheaper saphire 9800 Pro...
it doesn't seem that way from what ive read but i'll take that into account. i dont have a powercolor card available to buy right now anywyas, its going to be either saphire or ati. i just need to figure out what one is best to buy :D
Well i just ordered it online actually. i found an ATI Radeon 9800pro 128mb card that is pretty much the same price as the saphire one that i would have to buy from the store locally.
im paying a bit more due to 1-2businessday shipping but hopefully its worth it =)
My Sapphire 9800 pro overclocks better then my friends ATI 9800 pro AIW.
Sentential
02-27-04, 10:12 PM
Thats not saying much. The AIW have a history of being poor OCers.
juliendogg
02-28-04, 07:25 AM
sapphire/ati, ever heard the saying 6 in one, half dozen the other? well, that couldn't be more true here. You will not find more difference between a bb ATI and a sapphire card of the same model than you would between any 2 bb ati cards or any 2 sapphire cards. At that point it comes down to luck of the draw... so far as overclocking is concerned anyway. The 2 cards are identicle. In fact, if you buy a built by ati card, it was most likely built by sapphire anyway. go figure :D.
J.
Originally posted by sLk
My Sapphire 9800 pro overclockers better then my friends ATI 9800 pro AIW.
Thats because your card doesnt have to deal with the heat of a TV Tuner as well ;)
Originally posted by Sentential
Thats not saying much.
For your information I wasn't boasting.
I was merely stating that my Sapphire card overclocks better than my friends ATi AIW card.
:rolleyes:
Originally posted by diggingforgold
I know there are different versions of that sapphire pro 128MB version card out there- most noticably by the heatsink it uses.
Can you explain this? I had no idea that there were more than one bersion of the 128meg sapphire 9800pro out there. :confused:
Originally posted by dreIU
Can you explain this? I had no idea that there were more than one bersion of the 128meg sapphire 9800pro out there. :confused:
Sapphire made some 9800 pros out of their extra 9700 pro black pcbs. Here is a URL for the refurb at newegg, as I don't see the non-refurb version anymore:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-304R&depa=0
harryinny3
02-29-04, 06:53 AM
Sapphire Supplies the BBAti cards boards. ATI actually doesnt Fab cards, sapphire builds them and slaps The ATI stickers on them. Thats really the only difference in the cards, Bundle and a BBAti logo on a ATI Radeon box.
Harry
Originally posted by harryinny3
Sapphire Supplies the BBAti cards boards. ATI actually doesnt Fab cards, sapphire builds them and slaps The ATI stickers on them. Thats really the only difference in the cards, Bundle and a BBAti logo on a ATI Radeon box.
Harry
Sorta right, sorta wrong....ATi builds them, but in Sapphire fab plants. They are built to ATi's specs, ATi buys all the parts they specifically want, etc etc, they just "rent" Sapphire fab plants so they dont have to build their own
Sneakytermite
02-29-04, 01:28 PM
I bought a refurbished ATI OEM-Power by ATI 9700Pro for $160. It'll come tomorrow. There is a ref. Powercolor 9700Pro for only $147. But Newegg didn't have that at the time I bought it.
I really don't know which brand is better but they probably don't differ that much from one another. I don't oc that much so I really don't care.
Originally posted by durrem
Sapphire made some 9800 pros out of their extra 9700 pro black pcbs. Here is a URL for the refurb at newegg, as I don't see the non-refurb version anymore:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-304R&depa=0
Ok i see thanks for the clarification. So then are all red sapphire 9800pro boards the same?
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