Crucial Radeon 9700 Pro

Conclusion

Let me make one aspect perfectly clear. The Crucial Radeon 9700 Pro is no different from the reference Radeon 9700 Pro that I reviewed recently. It features the same PCB, the same components, the same HSF. Indeed, I would be hard-pressed to tell the difference without getting a magnifying glass out, save for the Crucial sticker on the heatsink's fan. This is no bad thing, however, as reference designs usually work extremely well.

During the days of testing, I had no untoward incidents, no random locks or reboots. If you're worried about going over to an ATi-branded video card for stability reasons, please put those fears away right now. The R9700 Pro caters for all. For those of you with smaller monitors (and, like me, a TFT), simply dial the resolution down and turn the anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering to the maximum permitted amount. Only the very latest games will cause the Radeon 9700 to run anything but smooth. Larger monitor users simply need to turn their resolutions up to 1600x1200x32 and enjoy liquid frame-rates.

The Radeon 9700, and by inference the Crucial Radeon 9700 Pro, has a lot going for it. Exemplary 2D, low fan noise (something that is high on my personal list of priorities), outstanding performance, and decent drivers to name but a few. The downside to adopting the fastest graphics card in town has always been price. There's little that we can do to counter this issue, though.

I've mentioned that a number of 3rd-party retailers have their names on a reference Radeon 9700 Pro. Crucial Technology is no different in this respect. I'll go so far as to say that no modifications have been made to the reference design at all, bar the fan sticker. Even the packaging is identical to the ATi card I received a few weeks ago. This is not a criticism but more of a general observation. Just like the reference design, this Radeon 9700 Pro ships without games or demo. That's kind of poor as I'd want more than just a basic card and hardware accessories if I was paying out near £300.

Where the Crucial Radeon 9700 Pro does appeal is in the quality of the vendor. Crucial are renowned for having world-class customer service and support; a reputation that has been rightfully earned in my opinion. Not only do you have the assurance of purchasing from a rated vendor, the price at £279.15 including free delivery is keen in the current climate.

If you're seriously looking to purchase a Radeon 9700 Pro in the near future, do your research carefully and find out what each competing Radeon 9700 can offer you. In the case of the Crucial Radeon 9700 Pro, it would be a reference design backed by a competitive price and outstanding service. Whatever path you choose, I doubt you'll be disappointed with the product.

Highs