Conclusion
It appears as if the newest Catalyst drivers have given the Radeon 9800 Pro a little extra oomph in our benchmarks. The Crucial 9800 Pro behaved exactly as one would expect. It was fast, I.Q was fantastic, and it countered the twin bandwidth evils of anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering with aplomb.
ATI has sensibly gathered a number of partners for their Radeon series of cards. However, unlike NVIDIA's partners, where each partner usually goes to some length to distinguish their card from one another, ATi's crew seem content to just place their sticker on the card's GPU fan. The obvious exception to this observation is the funky blue Hercules 9800 Pro. Therefore, it stands to reason that if most partners' cards look the same, they'll perform the same, too.
Where Crucial might seek to exploit a competitive advantage is in the high regard the company is held in by many users. Crucial's name is synonymous with excellent service and backup, and that's what Crucial will play on. However, the lack of bundled games and a basic bundle may deter many a potential buyer. It's up to one to balance out the merits of each ATi partner and choose the card that best for them. At the time of writing, the Crucial Radeon 9800 Pro was offered at £274.94 including delivery. That makes it one of the cheaper 9800s. If a gaming bundle isn't necessarily for you, this card is as attractive as any doing the rounds at on-line retailers. Another solid addition to the Crucial range.
Highs
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It's a Radeon 9800 Pro. That's enough to warrant a high
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One of the cheaper 9800s
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Decent e-tailer support
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Sample was a decent overclocker
Lows
- Lack of bundled games
- Generic looks
