|
Post by BigBear84 on Dec 10, 2004 22:10:56 GMT -5
Since everyone here has had so many problems lately I thought I'd post my own horror story. I bought the 6800GT for my offline machine, what a great card that is, and had plans to move my ATI Radeon 9800 pro to my online machine. The card had been overheating a bit and I figured I just didn't have adequate cooling inside my offline rig so I did a massive cooling system upgrade before I switched cards.
I picked up an Antec 430W PSU from a guy on the UBI forums. Installed it and it worked great (I was super glad I didn't get ripped off). Anyway I go to install the 9800 pro. Works great for about ten minutes and then everybody's favorite: graphic distortions, crazy colors, and all sorts of other fun and exciting crap. I got really worried that there might be a problem with the mother board or the new PSU. I threw my 5500 back in and it worked great, ran it for an extended period and no problems. Threw the 9800 in the offline machine, same problems.
Long story short, my 9800 is no more. I'm super pissed.
|
|
Hund
New Member
Posts: 120
|
Post by Hund on Dec 10, 2004 23:44:53 GMT -5
Sorry to hear that BigBear . Like you I am really impressed with the 6800GT, and really pissed that my 9800Pro ended up in the $hitter after 1 year and 1 month. I bought a Powercolor which isn't the best but still that is unacceptable. No more ATI for me though after reading the testimonies here, all with the same problem. What brand was it? Still under warrenty? I went to Powercolor's site and it directs you to Tul industries or something that looks nothing like it has anything to do with computers. If there is a warranty for my card they sure are making it hard to find initially. When I get some time I'll look harder.
|
|
|
Post by BigBear84 on Dec 11, 2004 0:32:40 GMT -5
I don't know what brand it was. I got it at Best Buy, had some sort of winged creature on the front. I bought it right when they came out so I doubt its under warranty if it had one to begin with. I'm goint to see if I can find the paperwork for it, I misplaced a lot of my stuff after I moved but I hope to find the stuff. I can't even remember exactly how long I've had it.
|
|
Specter
3./JG51 Member
Adjutant
Posts: 889
|
Post by Specter on Dec 11, 2004 10:12:41 GMT -5
I've had an ati 9800 pro for little over a year now and it still runs smooth. I had a 9600 before this one made by Sapphire. That one overheated and actually melted in 6 months.
During this time comparable Nvidia cards were still expensive, so I gave ATI another chance. I made sure to buy a card made by ATI, not a subcontractor. I played for 4+ hours last night and no distortions, no overheat, nothing.
I think its more quality control in the subcontractors, especially in Sapphire. When I was trying to figure out what was going on with my card, this manufacturer came up more than any other. Probably has something to do with them not putting on a cooling fan on a lot of their cards.
However in my next upgrade, I am going to switch to nvidia, Like the posts here and on other forums, it sounds more like playing russian roullet than buying a stable product.
|
|
Mölders
3./JG51 Member
Oberleutnant
Posts: 811
|
Post by Mölders on Dec 11, 2004 12:15:23 GMT -5
I'm thinking about grabbing a BFG 6800OC. Specs look really good, but the price is high. The best thing about is is the lifetime warranty.
|
|
|
Post by BigBear84 on Dec 11, 2004 12:45:56 GMT -5
I think BFG makes a nice product. That overclocking isn't as great as you would think. They definitely don't squeeze as much performance out of them as they could. The BFG6800UltraOC requires a minimum 480W power supply and I've heard nothing but good things about it. The BFG6800GTOC is not as nice as you might think. Its much cheaper and only requires a 300w if I'm not mistaken, but it also has issues with AA. A properly over clocked 9800pro will give you similar performance for less money.
I think I'll just end up getting another 9800. I beat up a lot on my last one because I didn't know enough about cooling side my machine. Even then it lasted for a pretty long time. This time I won't have any of those problems and I'll have plenty of power to run it.
|
|
Stecher
Administrator
Staffelkapitän
Hauptmann
Posts: 2,681
|
Post by Stecher on Dec 14, 2004 19:55:59 GMT -5
Geez, another one? I'm sending Sturtz my 9800 to put in the new machine. If it tests out okay then I'll use it, but might need an additional case fan near by. It seemed to be running really hot when I tested it in this computer. If anything happens to it I'll go nVidia too. Hunde, when you had those problems did they go away with another card, or was it something else too like mine?
|
|
Hund
New Member
Posts: 120
|
Post by Hund on Dec 14, 2004 21:29:56 GMT -5
No problems so far (crossing fingers). I still see rainbow like blocks of colors for a split second when switching from loading screens in certain games (which may be noraml), but nothing in-game.
|
|