sapphire relabeling 9800 xt to 9800 pro!?

[sky]

yea, topic says it all.

in case this doesn't belong here - any mod please move it to where you see it fit (gen. hw or stuff, dunno):

i've seen a couple threads regarding this lately. it seems that atm sapphire is relabeling 9800 xt cards to be sold as 9800 pro's with ddr2. it would seem it's something like what happened with those 1700dlt3c's. demand for the lower end product surpasses the production capabilities, so higher end stuff is relabeled to meet the demand.

so far it's only been reported for sapphire 9800 pro cards having 256mb of ddr2 memory. i've seen shots of cards with the exact same layout of the 9800 xt just with a slightly different hs (all shiny) and - of course they have a 9800 pro bios flashed instead of the original xt bios. ppl have been able to flash a regular ati or sapphire 9800 xt bios on those cards and had the full working overdrive stuff plus the xt clockrates, etc.. for just about 290-300 euro compared to ~400 euros for a "real" 9800 xt. now that's what i call a bargain
here's a shot of one such card, sold as 9800 pro /w 256 mb ddr2


image ripped and resized from cyrusthevirus @ forumdeluxx.de. here's the actual link to the thread (just to be pc and all, btw it's in german...)

any similar reports supporting this 'rumour' available? the very first card to be found like this was reported by a french guy. comments appreciated! i think i found my next vc

[Shade00]

Edit: Nevermind, went back and reread what you said. Interesting.

[texuspete00]

The premium for 256MB makes it a risky venture for many that would might otherwise opt for the 128.... interesting indeed though.

[sky]

yea i'm dicing it around aswell ... not sure whether i'll grab one or just wait for the r420 (itching, damn)

shade, what did you want to write? curious - and i'm not easily offended (just in case ehehe)

[Asio]

Hm, im ordering a sapphire 9800 pro on monday
Tho its to risky for me to buy and 256mb model in hope of having a relabeld XT

[sky]

well if it isn't you can just send it back.. onyl have to pay the shipping - and well.. we can live with the risk of that, eh?

[IamAnoobieCheez]

holly crap..


that's a 9800XT platform. That's not a 9800pro 256mb. Nice find, sky.

picture posted by newegg

[mrplow]

Originally posted by sky
well if it isn't you can just send it back.. onyl have to pay the shipping - and well.. we can live with the risk of that, eh?

we can, yeah.. but can he?


first post


nice find, that

[Confused_User]

Holy §§§§ing §§§§!

Someone has to buy one these from newegg and OC it!

[EmineM]

Well a easy way to check if theres a 2,5 ns memory on it or 2,8 ns

[Asio]

I can't actually
I can't even aford one now as I recently killed a SE@pro and been doing a little saving getting my new sapphire

but hey, it will clock better anyway as I have a chance there is some hynix mem on it

[enroscado]

Wellcome to the sickness mrplow !!

:beer:

[pkrew]

Very interesting. It certainly looks like a XT pcb. Has anyone taken off the hsf and looked at the core.

[sky]

i've been told it's r360 - and that would make it CHING!
also, i said earlier, guys flashing the original sapphire 9800 xt bios onto this card had the full overdrive stuff working for them, monitoring and all. and i'd take it this won't work with your average 9800 pro even after flashing the bios since that card just doesn't have the parts necessary to do it.

[G H Z]

Any reports on the clock speeds these can attain with the XT BIOS?

Does it basically match the XT?

[The Stilt]

Err, Sapphire 9800 Pro 256MB costs 20€ more than Hercules 9800XT, so whats the point?

[G H Z]

Originally posted by The Stilt
Err, Sapphire 9800 Pro 256MB costs 20€ more than Hercules 9800XT, so whats the point?

Not in US. It is around $100 less than the XT




So Newegg lists the memory speed at 380Mhz w/DDR II

And the real 9800XT is 412Mhz w/ DDR

Is it the same memory? What exactly is DDR II? Does it perform worse than DDR on the XT? I seem to remember that the 256mb Pro overclocked alot worse than the 128Mb versions.

[saaya]

it still costs 80$ more than a 9800pro, but nice find!

[Semper Fi]

someone needs to find some answers here... I just killed a saph 9800p 128 last night.... I might have to pick one of these up and find out...

[TodB]

Well not long ago I had that same card.... it was a Gigabyte R9800Pro 256MB DDRII.... had the same HSF and clocked to about 440/390.... I'm not sure about the memory though... 2.5ns or 2.8ns....

[sky]

Originally posted by The Stilt
Err, Sapphire 9800 Pro 256MB costs 20€ more than Hercules 9800XT, so whats the point?

eh.. now i am interested in the link to that shop.
as far as i know, the cheapest 9800 xt was like 365 euros for a gigacube 9800 xt/tv/dvi, while that sapphire 9800 pro 256mb ddr2 sells for 289 euros (-76 euros), and the cheapest 9800 pro 128mb (sapphire) is like 199 euros (another 90 euros less). ehhh.. and for guillemot/hercules 9800 xt - cheapest i've seen that was 373 euros.
source: geizhals.at

mind sharing your source?

[pkrew]

What we need is a compairison between this card and the old 9800pro. The XT is quicker clock for clock esp in 3d03

[sky]

so this is what the card (with her default 98oo pro bios) shows up with in the control panel - r360 (xt) with temp control.



so i won't know for sure until i get one. i'm gonna order one on monday and see what i'll get . if it's a "normal" 9800 pro.. well too bad it has to be returned, if it's a 9800 xt .. go figure...

pkrew... yea i'm still waiting for someone to post results with this card. with the writing on the chip and that stuff showing in the control panel, i take it it HAS to be real.

[blinky]

someone put one under cascade phase change, if you can get ~620-640 then its a 9800xt core,

heheheh

[Soulburner]

Originally posted by blinky
someone put one under cascade phase change, if you can get ~620-640 then its a 9800xt core,

heheheh

This is not correct. The Pro cores OC the same as proven by macci with his 9800SE @ 660mhz.