Sub $100 is kinda dismal. If you could aquire about $50 more you could get yourself a 256mb Radeon 9800se ~$150 and turn that sucker into a 9800 Pro.

Heres a post someone wrote on Hardocp about it:

Hot on a budget | 256-bit 9800SE -> 9800Pro Powercolor from newegg

Most of you have likely seen the guide to modding your 9800SE->9800Pro here:

http://www.rojakpot.com/default.asp...var1=101&var2=0

I just got a 9800SE 256-bit from http://www.newegg.com for $153 shipped. The card converted to a 9800Pro with a simple click of a toggle button in the Omegadrivers. Now I am clocked at 420 core 350 memory and getting 5900+ 3dmark for my $153 bucks.

I have heard hearsay that the conversion success rate on Powercolors is 70-80%. Hence, you are taking a bit of a risk, but you save around $40-50 vs. a full 9800Pro. Oh yes, this is RETAIL not OEM.

Links:

Newegg Powercolor 256-bit (ONLY GET 256-bit!):
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...-131-236&depa=1

Omegadrivers:
http://www.omegacorner.com

EDIT UPDATES:

1) Stock cooling is usually sufficient for the stock 380/340 clocks even after a soft mod. My card did 420 core with stock cooling. Of course, the arctic cooler rev.3 will help your clocks. I achieved a massive 446 core 387 mem without artificats with the arctic cooler rev.3.

2) Sapphire 9800SEs are NOT a good choice. The memory is only 128-bit bus even though the config is in the "L" shape according to HF member DaveX. Most Sapphire cards that cost less than $200 are the 128-bit "9800pro" and should be avoided.

3) The 9800SE NON-MODDED is roughly comparable to the 9600XT with both at stock clocks. See Hexus review: http://www.hexus.net/content/review...sX3BhZ2U 9Nw==

Hence, if you do get a softmod, you are saving serious $$ and getting massively more speed than the 9600XT. If the softmod fails, then you are still at 9600XT speeds.