Urgent advice needed: which 2nd hand card (I've got 2 offers to decide from)

[Bruno]

From my hunt for a new graphics card I've got 2 offers:

Hercules 3D Prophet 9800 Pro (retail) 128Mb for £100 incl rec deliv

or

Powercolor 9800 Pro 128Mb with Arctic Cooler for £105 incl spec deliv


I've read that the Hercules is a great overclocker and the powercolor not, but I really wanted an Arctic cooler to get the heat out of the case....

Help me choose - I've got to decide this afternoon.

Bruno

[Hanners]

Be aware that Hercules' graphics division no longer exists - I don't know how that affects warranties etc.

Other than that, if you're replacing the stock cooler you probably won't find much difference between the two. Also, make sure that the Powercolor 9800 Pro is using a 256-bit bus, some of the boards out there only have a 128-bit bus.

[Bruno]

Cheers for the info. - it's a tough choice!

[Rave]

Not much in it TBH. Hercules give you a longer warranty although if you're going to fit an Arctic Cooler you'll void it anyway....

Rich :¬)

[pre]

I'd go for the Powercolor simply for ease. While most 9800 Pros have shims which dont crap on arctic coolers non-indented base some do. Least that way you save the cost of a new VGA cooler.

If you were really picky you could ask if either had a r360 core and what ns/mfg is on the ram chips to work out if it will do XT speeds.