Radeon 9600 XT vs GeForce FX 5900

Which of these two cards would be better? Everybody is either ATI biased or NVIDIA biased. In all seriousness which of these two cards is better, I hear the 5900 is though since it has 256 bit and the 9600XT is 128 bit. Give me details and feedback please... thanks!!!!!!

5900 non-ultra I'd wager.

The 5900 has a massive advantage in bandwidth due to the 256 bit memory bus, but the 9600 has an advantage in vertex and pixel shader power due to much better architecture.

This means that the 5900 will kick the 9600's ass in DirectX 7 and 8 titles, because it's shaders are OK but it's superior fillrate is the deciding factor.

But in most future DirectX 9 titles, the 9600XT's superior shaders will give it a slight edge, even though it's bandwidth is limited. Although it will be a much closer race in those titles because bandwidth is still a factor, especially when AA and Ansio are enabled.

It's a tough call. I think the 5900 is a better card, but I also think the 9600 has better image quality and better prospects for the future.

I don't think you can go wrong with either if they're the same price though.

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<font color=red><b>Radeon 9500 PRO</b></font color=red> <i>(hardmodded 9500, o/c 322/322)</i>
<font color=red><b>AMD AthlonXP 2600+</b></font color=red> <i>(o/c 2400+ with 143 fsb)</i>
<font color=red><b>3dMark03: 4055</b></font color=red>

Pics of my card? Haven't bothered...

It doesn't look special really. The hardmod only involves a bead of solder, and you can't even see that because it's under the stock cooler.

It looks like a generic Powercolor Radeon 9500 non-pro. I'll probably add an aftermarket cooler someday, maybe I'll take a pic then...

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<font color=red><b>Radeon 9500 PRO</b></font color=red> <i>(hardmodded 9500, o/c 322/322)</i>
<font color=red><b>AMD AthlonXP 2600+</b></font color=red> <i>(o/c 2400+ with 143 fsb)</i>
<font color=red><b>3dMark03: 4055</b></font color=red>

Zalman, eh? Are you happy with it? Must be nice and quiet...

Does it overclock well?

_______________
<font color=red><b>Radeon 9500 PRO</b></font color=red> <i>(hardmodded 9500, o/c 322/322)</i>
<font color=red><b>AMD AthlonXP 2600+</b></font color=red> <i>(o/c 2400+ with 143 fsb)</i>
<font color=red><b>3dMark03: 4055</b></font color=red>