Video Card: Crucial RADEON 9800 Pro 256MB Review :: Conclusion

So what do I like about the Crucial 9800 Pro 256MB? This card is fast. Considering that the 9800XT is on average about 5-10% faster than this card, it's performance is right up there. Image quality is top notch from this card, with the ability to turn on full screen anti-aliasing without issue even at 1280x1024 32bit 6x AA 16x AF in most games. FSAA can make an incredible difference in the images presented to you.

I had no stability or compatibility problems with this card which is a good thing. Crucial's limited lifetime warranty and free technical support is a good thing. Unlike a company like BFG, which frankly is only about 2 years old, Crucial is part of one of the largest corporations in the world, and has been around for many years.

Truthfully, there are few, if any games today that require a 256MB video card frame buffer. Most games are still geared towards the 64MB cards of a couple of years ago with some geared towards the 128MB models popular today. If you want to buy a 9800 Pro and use it for high-resolution FSAA, the extra frame buffer is helpful.

The price of the 256MB 9800 Pro from Crucial is $459.99 on their website which is a bit excessive, as there are 9800XTs available in that same price range. Unfortunately, I had difficulty finding this card on the websites I normally purchase computer parts from. Websites such as Newegg and Pricewatch don't have this card listed. I dislike looking on the manufacturer's website for a card as that usually means that you'll have to pay the MSRP.

Given that the next generation from ATI and Nvidia is probably just around the corner, I have a hard time justifying a $400+ purchase of a video card today. Purchasing a $200 video card like the 9600XT from ATI or a 5900XT from Nvidia might be a safer and wiser choice at least in the interim.

In the meantime, the Crucial Radeon 9800 Pro is their flagship card for the moment. They put the same quality into their video cards as they do their memory, which is a good thing. I can't wait to see what comes next from ATI and hopefully Crucial will release a board based upon that chip at the same time ATI does.