..::vga card specs::..

[andlcs]

Hi,
Where can I find detailed specs of newer video cards like Texture Units Per Pipe, Pixel Pipelines, performance comparison, DX9/8, core clock, mem clock, etc (geforce fx/radeon 9600pro/etc). I´m a little confused... What ATI card has the same performance of FX5600? The Ti4200 is faster than the FX5200/5600? Radeon 9600Pro is not as good as 9500Pro? Diferences 5200 vs 5200ultra? Is the 5200 a good deal? Which low-end video card is better (mx440/fx5200/radeon9100?)(...)
Thanx

 

[Crashman]

The Radeon 9100 is about the same performance as an FX5600 non-Ultra I think. Of all those listed at the end, the 9100 is the fastest. The 64MB version uses faster memory than the 128MB version and therfore performs much better!

The 9500 Pro performs better than the 9600 Pro, it has twice as many pipelines.

<font color=blue>Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!</font color=blue>

 

[daddywags214]

Read the reviews anywhere (even here at THG) for specs. Okay, let's hit those questions:

1. The ATi 9600 Pro is the main competitor to the 5600 Ultra. It offers similar performance.
2. Not sure, I'll check.
3. Depends on your definition of "good." The reason the 9500 Pro was replaced by the 9600 is because it is cheaper to produce. It doesn't offer quite the out-of-box performance, but it quite an overclocker.
4. Don't even mention 5200 nonultra. It is a poor excuse for a DX9 card. The 5200U ain't THAT much better.
5. You can do WAY better than the 5200U for not much more $$$.
6. Tough call. I assume you meant Radeon 9200? If so, I wouldn't recommend any of those, I'd probably recommend the Ti4200.

Tit for tat, butter for fat, ATi's dog kicks nVidia's cat

(Maximum PC)

 

[daddywags214]

Isn't the 9100 an integrated chip?

Tit for tat, butter for fat, ATi's dog kicks nVidia's cat

(Maximum PC)

 

[marneus]

not yeat, that core is being integrated onto the next series on ATI intel mobos... the 9100 here is just a rebadged 8500 series

Trust me I know what I'm doing... ooops, grab the cat...

 

[cleeve]

1. Performance of the 5600 vs Radeons is as thusly, from best to worst:

1 - radeon 9500 PRO
2 - GeforceFX 5600 ULTRA rev2
3 - radeon 9600 PRO
4 - GeforceFX 5600 ULTRA rev1

2. The Ti4200 is WAY faster than the FX5200, and is about on par with the 5600 non-ultra. Actually, it's faster in most cases, but slower when AA and ansio are enabled.

3. Yes, the 9500 PRO is better than a 9600 PRO. The 9500 PRO has twice the pixel pipelines, but the 9600 PRO was clocked way higher to compensate. Didn't quite make it though, the 9500 PRO is a far better card in my opinion. The 8 pixel pipes gives it a better chance in future games, IMHO.

4. 5200 vs 5200 ultra: clockspeeds are different only

5. The 5200 is never, ever a good deal. It' is disgustingly slow and will lose to the Geforce4 MX in most cases.

6. The best low-end cards are the Radeons 8500/9000/9100/9200, but if you're willing to pay a smidgen more the Geforce4 Ti4200 offers very impressive performance for the price.

- Cleeve

------------------
Radeon 9500 w/256 bit memory bus @ 367/310
AMD AthlonXP 2000+
3dMark03: 3439

 

[andlcs]

Thanks for all replies.. It helped me alot..

2 more questions:
1) What's the difference between Radeon 9600 and Radeon 9600Pro?
2) Who makes the best ATI video card? (Sapphire, Powercolor, BBA, ...)

 

[cleeve]

1) Once again, clockspeed is the only difference between the 9600 and 9600 PRO.

The only Ati card that had a difference other than clockspeed between a PRO and non-pro version was the 9500 and 9500 PRO. The 9500 non-pro is crippled in software so that it doesn't use half of it's 8 pixel pipelines. That's why it can be modded to 9500 PRO or in some cases, the 9700.

For Nvidia cards, the difference between ULTRA and non-ultra versions is always clockspeed.

2) The best Ati video cards are traditionally Ati's own retail cards, as they are more picky about QA and offer better warranties.
However, I believe these cards are made by Sapphire for Ati.

I'm not up on which manufacturer is using the best componentry, but from what I understand there's very little difference. If you want to overclock, you have to do some research on who uses the fastest RAM.

------------------
Radeon 9500 w/256 bit memory bus @ 367/310
AMD AthlonXP 2000+
3dMark03: 3439