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This & That >> This & That >> Update on Sapphire Radeon 9800 MAXX.
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Message started by Tim on 12.04.10 at 23:57:51

Title: Update on Sapphire Radeon 9800 MAXX.
Post by Tim on 12.04.10 at 23:57:51





I managed to track down the last remaining above mentioned card.

Unfortunately it's MIA.

Little backstory on the card. My contact's english isn't very good, so if parts sound weird, that's why, I had trouble figuring out exactly what I meant and had to ask to clarify a number of times.

Sapphire made two cards for CEBIT, both were non functional. According to my contact this was just a " for fun project". At one point Sapphire did want to make a Dual 9800 card but (the following is not 100% clear to me) Either ATi restricted it via not providing a multiGPU driver, or just didn't support Sapphire in it. Also it didn't make sense for Sapphire to put a Dual 9800 to market with the X800 being so close.

Anyway, Sapphire showed them behind glass so people would not spot it being a fake. It was basically two parts of PCB fused together. The second GPU has no traces to the first. So the two boards were not functioning.

After Cebit, Sapphire wanted to throw them away. My contact asked if he could have one of them, and Sapphire agreed.

After a long time my contact gave his private collection to several people. He couldn't remember who he gave this card to, but eventually tracked it down. Unfortunately his friend has been searching for it for a long time, he thought he gave it away to neighbor kids to play with (since it wasn't working anyway), he asked if they knew were it was, and they didn't recall getting the card from him.

So that's where the search ends I'm afraid. If the card is still around, it's most likely somewhere in Russia.

It's very likely the second card got thrown away after Cebit by Sapphire.



http://www.abload.de/thumb/9800maxx0lcpxs1.jpg http://www.abload.de/thumb/maxx-frontyyc1.jpg http://www.abload.de/thumb/maxx-front2bzbh.jpg http://www.abload.de/thumb/maxx-scan-front-with-c7917.jpg http://www.abload.de/thumb/scheda_bigfxkw.jpg http://www.abload.de/thumb/taipei-004d93i.jpg http://www.abload.de/thumb/9800promaxxnaked__g9nm.jpg

Title: Re: Update on Sapphire Radeon 9800 MAXX.
Post by oldskool on 13.04.10 at 01:07:48
Looks nice, 9800 was an awesome chip.

Title: Re: Update on Sapphire Radeon 9800 MAXX.
Post by Drakan Player on 13.04.10 at 03:13:33
You never know both might be around some ware even the original cup that was to be installed in place of the lamp on the statue of liberty is still around in Russia but that is a story for a different time.   

Title: Re: Update on Sapphire Radeon 9800 MAXX.
Post by exxe on 13.04.10 at 16:17:11
one of this cards is seen at the VGA wall


Title: Re: Update on Sapphire Radeon 9800 MAXX.
Post by ultima on 13.04.10 at 16:37:15
who's wall is that?? do you know?

Title: Re: Update on Sapphire Radeon 9800 MAXX.
Post by G1nX on 13.04.10 at 18:30:03
One of the reviewers from ixbtlabs.com you can see the logo on the picture and if I'm not mistaken this one.
http://ixbtlabs.com/articles/asus7700ultra/index.html

Title: Re: Update on Sapphire Radeon 9800 MAXX.
Post by Tim on 13.04.10 at 19:11:28
The card I mentioned is from that wall. That graphics card collection is the one I was talking about. It no longer exists.

There was a Savage XP in there, which has been thrown away by the person he gave it away to, it was no longer functional.


:)

Title: Re: Update on Sapphire Radeon 9800 MAXX.
Post by exxe on 13.04.10 at 19:45:29
how can someone give a collection like that to someone how trow them away/ into trash?

thats bad

Title: Re: Update on Sapphire Radeon 9800 MAXX.
Post by Tim on 13.04.10 at 19:57:03

exxe wrote on 13.04.10 at 19:45:29:
how can someone give a collection like that to someone how trow them away/ into trash?

thats bad


Yea I know. I don't think he thought they would do that though.

As far as I know He gave different cards to different people, not just to one person.

Then again, engineers have been known to just throw rare prototypes in the bin because they no longer want to feel attached to them. Most prototypes etc landed up there anyway.

Title: Re: Update on Sapphire Radeon 9800 MAXX.
Post by razrx on 13.04.10 at 20:51:40
This card looks great.  The extras on the card make it very original and distinctive.

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