possibly buying a vid card.

[Marke522]

when he got it they didnt give him a mouse, power cable, etc, and the comp had already been used

That simply amazes me, I know things like that happen, but it's still hard for me to belive. There is a girl I work with whose father ordered a CTO (configure to order) from COMPAQ, and when he got it, the harddrives were not plugged in, so it said no OS found, and all kinds of other strange things. Also there was a grapefruit rine inside the box. Someone should be fired for that one.

He sent it back. It gave him nothing but trouble. Ended up getting a SONY VAIO.

[inflames988]

Originally Posted by Marke522 That simply amazes me, I know things like that happen, but it's still hard for me to belive. There is a girl I work with whose father ordered a CTO (configure to order) from COMPAQ, and when he got it, the harddrives were not plugged in, so it said no OS found, and all kinds of other strange things. Also there was a grapefruit rine inside the box. Someone should be fired for that one. He sent it back. It gave him nothing but trouble. Ended up getting a SONY VAIO.

yup. well they reformatted it, fixed it up, and gave him half-life two for free...makes it somewhat worth it. it might have been an open box or shelf model i think.

[inflames988]

looks like we have a price drop on the 9600XT...lookin good just found out my friend's rebate isnt any good anymore, which is fine with me. im looking OEM or refurb anyway. hopefully by the time im ready to buy (parents say i need a job first) i will be able to snag the gfx card and doom III for under 100 $...thatd be nice. as of now its only 110 so it seems more then possible,

[Marke522]

If you get on OEM card and need an S-Video cable just let me know, I have 3 and don't use any right now. Send me your house address in a PM and I'll mail it to your house if the card doesn't come with one.

[inflames988]

Originally Posted by Marke522 If you get on OEM card and need an S-Video cable just let me know, I have 3 and don't use any right now. Send me your house address in a PM and I'll mail it to your house if the card doesn't come with one.

Thanks. like i said i wont be buyin for a while. im still debating the 9800 as a possiblity, cuz i checked out some more of the benchmarks at tom's hardware like u showed me (incredible--they test on tons of different games and the results really help to show performance)...and at newegg one of the baseline 9800s is down in price a bit too 128 mb Sapphire Radeon 9800 and i cant imagine the price would go up any higher, in fact by the time i buy im sure it wil be within my price range as long as it doesnt go up.

[inflames988]

http://www2.newegg.com/Product/Produ...2E16814102379R

saw this, really like it but stila little pricey...also just wondering why is the core clock so low (lower then the 9600Xt's?)

[Tin]

Originally Posted by muskie88 http://www2.newegg.com/Product/Produ...2E16814102379R saw this, really like it but stila little pricey...also just wondering why is the core clock so low (lower then the 9600Xt's?)

the 9800 pro doesnt need the clockspeed of a 9600XT because it has 8 pixel pipelines and 256-bit memory. the 9600XT has 4 pixel pipelines ans 128-bit memory. more pixel pipelines means you can run higher resolutions and/or run more antialiasing and anisotropic filtering.

[inflames988]

Originally Posted by Tin the 9800 pro doesnt need the clockspeed of a 9600XT because it has 8 pixel pipelines and 256-bit memory. the 9600XT has 4 pixel pipelines ans 128-bit memory. more pixel pipelines means you can run higher resolutions and/or run more antialiasing and anisotropic filtering.

ok, thanks, dont understand exactly what u mean but i catch the drift. basically i thought it was something of the sort because of the whole AMD thing; the slower clock speeds dont always mean much in any processing unit. I do [/I] really [/I] like that card though. i bet it would give me alot more performance then the 9600XTs, even the baseline 9800. Well im going to drop off two applications today at staples and officemax, and pick some up at EBgames and gamestop if possible. do you guys think i could work at a video game store at only 16? (almost 17) the problem with some stores is age limits due to what products they carry (sports stores wouldnt hire me cuz they sell guns), and these stores sell "M" video games? i think id have a shot becuase theres alot of difference between a rifle and a video game

EDIT: the whole job comment was because i cant get the card till i have a job, sry its a little random.

[Tin]

a baseline 9800 with 256-bit memory is about on par with a 9700 pro. as for the difference bewteen a 9600XT and 9800 pro....the 9800 pro takes the ball and runs like hell.

[inflames988]

Originally Posted by Tin a baseline 9800 with 256-bit memory is about on par with a 9700 pro. as for the difference bewteen a 9600XT and 9800 pro....the 9800 pro takes the ball and runs like hell.

Ya. i REALLY like that 9800pro, even tho its refurb. they might not give a power supply connector, but i do have a free one in my case so thats not a problem anyway. i can download the software like everybody said. but the price is steep. if i bought doom III with it itd be at least 150 dollars w/ shipping and all...but geez do i like that card--so basically ur saying the 9800 would be a bit better then the 9600XT, and the 9800 woudl beat da crap out of either of them?

[inflames988]

the 9800 pro has its own toolbar button in my firefox. i checked it today and its down, but the parents are still pushing against me buying it and against me getting my drivers license....hopefully the downward trend continues, but right now id rather buy it at 103 and be able to game then just sit here waiting...o well 9800 pro

[inflames988]

Err...i read an article in maximum pc, guy had a ncie gfx card and all and was saying his game was running slow, but he could get like 150fps in other games. this guy had an AXP like me but a 3200+, and 1 gig ram--should i be worried about this? im leaning more towards getting guild wars anyway as opposed to DIII but is this comp really too "budget" for gaming?

[Marke522]

Not at all, you may have to turn off everything else while running the game, but that's not a bad idea anyway. If you have a firewall, stop all internet activity, and close your other applications.

There may be some shawdows and reflections you might have to turn down or off, and you may not be able to run the game in 1280 x 1024, but it will still keep you satisfied. In fact, you might be so happy with the improvement that you won't even notice what you're missing.

[inflames988]

Originally Posted by Marke522 Not at all, you may have to turn off everything else while running the game, but that's not a bad idea anyway. If you have a firewall, stop all internet activity, and close your other applications. There may be some shawdows and reflections you might have to turn down or off, and you may not be able to run the game in 1280 x 1024, but it will still keep you satisfied. In fact, you might be so happy with the improvement that you won't even notice what you're missing.

Ya i thought so. just got a little scared when a demo of a game alone required 1800MHz processor (this was a maximum CD demo for Chronicles of Riddick game) and right next to it, it says you have 1866 MHz AMD...i talked to yuanji today on xbox live while we smacked down some people in halo 2, not to get off topic he told me that mainly focuses towards p4 processors. I cant play any of these Maximum PC demos anyway, with my current card. it said i need "OpenGL" support to play the demo, others will install but just lock up at the part when u actually launch the game. Anyway i just took the job at staples! I have to do an orientation in a couple weeks, then work on my last weekend of school....then finals on everything from the year (harsh, just harsh)...after that ill have income and nothing better to do then game (except work) and im sure ill be able to order the card. *one more price drop, come on*

[inflames988]

well, i knew it would happen eventually. they only had the card i wanted in refurb which was fine by me, but obviously they had a limited supply. and it's gone now. myparents had no reason not to let me get it (i was even going to pay for it all myself, and i got the job which was what they wanted me to do), and i dont have my own credit card. Guess ill have to pick something else...i really liked that one though.

EDIT: is this card worth the money? i like the nice cooling unit for a possible overclock HIS video card

[glc]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102362

[inflames988]

Originally Posted by glc http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102362

better then the refurb HIS hightech? whats the diff between that and the other sapphire 9800pros? they have a couple cheaper then that thatre refurb, thats oem anyway so its basically the same thing--no accessories.

[glc]

I'll take a new OEM Sapphire over any refurb any day at the same price. Retail is only a couple bucks more too.

[inflames988]

Originally Posted by glc I'll take a new OEM Sapphire over any refurb any day at the same price. Retail is only a couple bucks more too.

k, i didnt know oem was so much better then refurb....ill take a look at the diff sapphires in OEM...just cant believe i missed out on the one i really wanted. i do like the HIS one alot but i guess the sapphire is somewhat simpler and of course from a reliable brand which means much more....ill take a good graphics card that will last over a better one that might not.

EDIT: they have 100556L (retail, 124.00) and the one u showed me GLC, 100556 (OEM, 124.99) are they the same thing?

[glc]

Yep, get the retail at that price - after shipping the price is identical. The retail is marked down for the weekend. Retail comes with all accessories, OEM is a card in a bag with a CD and maybe a DVI to VGA adapter.

The reason I would not take a refurb is you don't know WHY it's a refurb and what it comes with. If there's a considerable price difference, it may be worth a chance, but when the new retail is CHEAPER than a refurb, it just doesn't make sense. If you bought the refurb and you didn't like it, there would be a 15% restocking fee - keep that in mind. Also, retail is warranted by Sapphire and their support is excellent if you ever need it, OEM warranty is questionable on exactly how it would be handled.

[inflames988]

Originally Posted by glc Yep, get the retail at that price - after shipping the price is identical. The retail is marked down for the weekend. Retail comes with all accessories, OEM is a card in a bag with a CD and maybe a DVI to VGA adapter. The reason I would not take a refurb is you don't know WHY it's a refurb and what it comes with. If there's a considerable price difference, it may be worth a chance, but when the new retail is CHEAPER than a refurb, it just doesn't make sense. If you bought the refurb and you didn't like it, there would be a 15% restocking fee - keep that in mind. Also, retail is warranted by Sapphire and their support is excellent if you ever need it, OEM warranty is questionable on exactly how it would be handled.

thanks glc, ur a wealth of info gonna put the order in now. its a little steeper then i had hoped to spend but hey, who can beat the retail deal for the weekend, its 99 cents cheaper then OEM and from what i can tell theyre the same thing. thanks for the help everybody!!