New video card... Comments?

[Danielsd]

I heared that the 256MB card is slower than the 128MB, but I'm not sure! oh, good not slower but that they have nearly the same points in the tests.

[SDK]

9800 SE is a low version of 9800. Less working pixel piplines, less working vertex engines, low vpu frequency, low ddr frequency and sometime smaller bus.

[Terr]

Hmm.

Sapphire 9600 XT 128mb: ~$140
Sapphire 9800 (blank designation, non-SE) 'Atlantis' 128mb: ~$140
Sapphire 9600 XT 256mb: ~$155
Sapphire 9800 (blank designation, non-SE) 'Atlantis' 256mb: ~$170

So there's the toss-up. Anybody wanna be the tiebreaker? I need to choose between the two listed 128mb choices. According to ATi's comparison thingy, here are the main differences in the chipsets:

Product Name            RADEON 9800 128MB       RADEON 9600 XT  
ASIC                    RADEON 9800             RADEON 9600     

Technology Features
SMARTSHADER™            2.1                     2       

Specifications
Memory Interface        256-bit                 128-bit 
Memory Clock (MHz)      290                     300     
Engine Clock (MHz)      325                     500     
Pipelines               8                       4       
Pixel Fillrate          2.6 Gpixels/sec         2.0 Gpixels/sec 
Geometry Rate           325 MTriangles          250 MTriangles 

Since I doubt I can overclock the 9600XT enough to make it match the vanilla 9800, I'll probably be going with that.

Edit:

Aw fiddlesticks! It seems that Sapphire DOES NOT include the HL2 voucher except in 9800XT and 9600XT ULTIMATE types. Hmmmmmm. That was a real draw and hidden-benefit for me too. I'll do what I did the last time Valve (I'm pleasantly surprised that they are not a one-trick pony) made a game... I'll buy it later when it's cheaper.

Interesting---it seems some folks mistake the vanilla 9800 from sapphire for a Pro version, or did a while back--some broo-hah-hah and apologies by sapphire for confusing labels...

Odds are I'll be sticking with the non-pro vanilla 9800 128mb then :/ And getting it from NewEgg rather than one of the minisculely cheaper places which don't show you their warranty policies.

So in the end--is $30 or so worth 256mb ram up from 128?

[SDK]

Take this:
Sapphire 9800 (blank designation, non-SE) 'Atlantis' 128mb: ~$140

You'll be able to over cloak the CPU/Memory to a 9800 Pro and maybe XT without problem. 9800 performances are better that a 9600 XT.

Take 128MB. The 256MB is just marketing and doesn't really help in game except the latest game.