Need help deciding on these two cards, wanted to jump on ati bandwagon but
prices here are insane!

9600GSO @ ZAR 1270
http://www.take2.co.za/electronics [...] 78046.html

9600GT @ ZAR 1629
http://www.sybaritic.co.za/store/p [...] s_id=16178

I googled a lot, came up with 9600gt > 9600gso,
but is it worth the additional price? Would a 3850 (about ZAR1500) even touch them?
My budget doesn't allow for anything higher.
Gaming @ 1280*1024 now but will get a 19" LCD later and I'd prefer not to OC them.
I'll have the card for a long time.

TIA.
(exchange rate is about 7.5, if you were wondering)

the 9600 gso is basically a renamed 8800 gs

this is a 8800 gs
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130332

this is a 9600 gso
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130364

here are reviews for the 8800 gs

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews [...] _GS/7.html

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] ew-benches

Your 3850 is a good card, but it depends on what you can afford.

The prices are a pretty good reflection of the performance you are going to get. If you are tight on cash, go with the 9600 GSO. It is a good card and will give you the performance you need.

Lol i don't have a 3850, i have a shi.tty 8500gt. Thanx for the reviews, when i searched i only got forum threads. I can afford the 96gt but i will have to borrow some money from pops first .
Which one will last longer?

@ 1280 resolution I think 9600gso would be good as 9600gt. I say save the money. You might want to get a different brand as that XFX use cheaper memory and a fan that runs 100% all the time so it's going to be loud.

Cheapest 9600gso i can find, the rest costs more than that 9600gt. I wanted to take the gso, but i hate loud fans