![[img]http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20030604/images/image2.jpg[/img]](http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20030604/images/image2.jpg)
Overview of the new Radeon 9800 Pro 256 MB.
With respect to 3D features, there are no changes compared to the Radeon 9800 Pro with 128 MB, which we reviewed in detail recently. The external appearance of the new card, however, is considerably different from the 128-MB variant.
The board, which ATI has kept in its typical red color, is longer, and on each of the 16 Samsung K4N26323AE-GC22 memory components in BGA packaging, there's a silver cooling unit. And this is urgently needed, too, because the DDR II memory develops an enormous amount of heat. In operation, the coolers become so hot that you can barely touch them. The GPU cooler is the same as on the 128-MB card. Otherwise, there are no other noteworthy external differences to report.
![[img]http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20030604/images/image3.jpg[/img]](http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20030604/images/image3.jpg)
The backside of the card.
![[img]http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20030604/images/image4.jpg[/img]](http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20030604/images/image4.jpg)
The fan did not change. It sits a bit loose on the GPU. The card gets very hot while in use
At the launch of the R350 VPU (alias ATI Radeon 9800) at the beginning of the year, it was already clear that a 256-MB version would also be arriving on the market. And, as usual, the higher the numbers on the data sheets in the sales pamphlets, the more impressive the products seem to be, and the more eagerly anticipated. After all, this was why AMD introduced the new P-ratings with its CPUs: despite the lower clock speed, you still don't want to give the impression that you're slower than the competition from Intel.
Numbers are also important - at least for marketing. In practice, it looks completely different for the most part. Memory capacities grew by leaps and bounds with the graphics cards. It started with 4 MB, and then there was 8, 16, 32, 64 and, most recently, 128 MB. In the early days, you could directly use and benefit from the increased memory. It made higher gaming resolutions possible, and FSAA required more memory as well. However, the jump from 64 MB to 128 MB was initially a questionable matter. There were no applications that could take advantage of the increased memory. Only the most recent high-end cards, with their extremely fast chips and memory buses, could make use of this much memory. But the usage was limited, above all, to FSAA in the highest resolutions. 4x FSAA in 1600 x 1200 wouldn't have been possible with 64 MB. At the time, there weren't any games that could take full advantage of 128 MB.
And now, once again, we've come to the point where another upgrade is in sight. The memory size is to be doubled - from 128 MB to 256 MB. On paper, this looks impressive, but it's really not. You have to look extremely carefully to find situations where 256 MB brings advantages. What the old rule dictates is true: in games of the future, you're sure to need this at some point, but when that point will come is written in the stars. Even in our tests with the long-awaited Doom III with high quality settings (see...), the Radeon 9800 Pro 256 MB didn't show any advantages over the 128 MB variant.
If you were expecting the card to be faster clocked than the 128-MB version, you will be disappointed. The VPU runs at the same clock speed, only the memory is 10 MHz faster. However, this is an advantage that is countered by the slower latency times of DDR II. But more on that later.
If you ask ATI about the advantages to having more memory, you immediately get a key point thrown at you: high-res FSAA. What they mean by this is FSAA in the highest resolutions, higher than 1600 x 1200. With 256 MB, 2x and 4x FSAA, up to 2048 x 1536 is possible, and with 6x FSAA, up to 1920 x 1200 is possible. Also, there are only a few games and benchmarks for which the memory for 128-MB cards in 1600 x 1200 at 4x and 6x FSAA comes up short.
We'll explain what advantage more memory brings in practice, and what it doesn't. Next, however, we'll take a look at the card itself.
![[img]http://image.age.pl/gfx/images/KG/ZDJ2/4b4741475f5341504852394b385055325444.jpg[/img]](http://image.age.pl/gfx/images/KG/ZDJ2/4b4741475f5341504852394b385055325444.jpg)
![[img]http://www.yuser.nl/shop/media/ax800xt_l.jpg[/img]](http://www.yuser.nl/shop/media/ax800xt_l.jpg)
![[img cacheid=0013329c00146ecc5bb3e2df1a00730aa1]http://www.pcmegastore.nl/catalog/images/9800_Pro_Sapphire_256bit_2.jpg[/img]](/images/cache/0013329c00146ecc5bb3e2df1a00730aa1 "Bron: http://www.pcmegastore.nl/catalog/images/9800_Pro_Sapphire_256bit_2.jpg")
![[img cacheid=0013345e001474c59ed5917c1a00730aa1]http://www.pcmegastore.nl/catalog/images/xfx6800le.jpg[/img]](/images/cache/0013345e001474c59ed5917c1a00730aa1 "Bron: http://www.pcmegastore.nl/catalog/images/xfx6800le.jpg")
