help choosing- Radeon 9600Pro vs 9500 Pro

[airlonnie]

Hello...Im kinda a newb to video card buying, but Im on a budget. I have read the video card FAQ, and I have pretty Much decided on the Radeon 9500 pro. The faq says its a great card, though discontinued. I see it everywhere online.

After seeing that the price for the 9600 pro and the 9500 pro are very close... Im wondering if I should change my decision. The FAQ keeps saying that the 9500 is faster than the Radeon 9600 Pro...soo... If I can get either for the same price, which should I go for?

For $100.00 dollars, excluding shipping, I can get this.

ATI PowerColor Radeon 9600 Pro 256MB DDR 8X AGP DVI/TV-Out
Brand NEW in its original wrapped RETAIL box

RADEON?6¾4 9600Pro 256MB DDR 400/400MHz delivers a cinematic experience to devoted gamers and casual enthusiasts alike, featuring optimized DirectX?0…3 9.0 and AGP 8X support to push next-generation 3D games to their limit.
Monitor support
CRT Monitor : 15-pin VGA connector
S-Video or composite connector
DVI-I (flat panel display) connector Monitor support
Display support
Register compatible with VGA
BIOS compatible with VESA for super VGA
DDC 1 /2b/2b+ monitor support

DVI and TV/Video output support
RADEON 9600Pro technology supports combinations of traditional CRT monitors, flat panel displays and TV.
Features 165MHz integrated TMDS transmitter to support DVI up to UXGA (1600X1200) resolution.
Get all of the incredible 3D and DVD of RADEON 9600Pro with the benefit of flat panels - crisper images, significantly reduced eyestrain and space savings.
Use video-out to connect your PC to TV or VCR.
Get in the Game
Full AGP 8X support doubles available bandwidth for the most engaging game play in its class
Four parallel rendering pipelines process up to 1.6 billion pixels per second
128-bit full floating point precision enables billions of color variations to render the same lighting and effects as Hollywood studios

Microsoft?0…3 DirectX?0…3 9 support
Enjoy better performance and 3D imagery in multimedia, games and applications with Microsoft' DirectX?0…3 9 optimized architecture
Supported by CATALYST?6¾4 the industry's most stable 3D acceleration software
Also supporting the latest OpenGL?0…3 functionality and feature sets
Extra Life
Optimized to run the most demanding 2D and 3D next-generation games and applications without putting extra strain on the CPU
FULLSTREAM?6¾4 removes blocky artifacts from streaming Internet video to deliver smoother looking, higher quality online content
VIDEO IMMERSION?6¾4 integrates features to. provide unprecedented support for digital and high definition video.

for the same Price I can get this one

At-a-glance
Fast 3D gaming performance
Complete Microsoft?0…3 DirectX?0…3 9.0 support
128MB of DDR memory
8-pixel pipeline architecture
128-bit memory interface
Video output support
Featuring CATALYST?6¾4 - Industry-leading software suite

So Im kinda confused, one has more ram, but some how it is slower? Im sure any of these cards is a big step up from my 64meg G-force3 Ti500. But Id still like to get the most for my money, thanks



I ask so that I can learn.

 

[airlonnie]

I also forgot to say that I use graphics cards for gaming. Good graphics is great, but I dont want to sacrifice it for preformance. Also, if you think there is a better card around the same price range that I should pick, feel free to suggest them. My mother board is a P4T-E Asus, if thats important in anyway. Thanks again-

My system Specs
2ghz P4(northwood? north glen or something chip)
768 Rambus Ram (expensive, wish I could get DDR)
anything else I left out thats important?

I ask so that I can learn.<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by airlonnie on 07/09/04 03:47 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[cdpage]

Im guessing that the second card you metion was supposed to be the 9500 PRO

Since its been discontinued for so long you might want to looking it to it further to make sure that it is in fact a 9500PRO.

If it is, and its not used... I would recomend that one over the 9600Pro, even if the 9600Pro has more Ram.

As far as i can tell from alot of the threads here, the 256 RAM doesn't help too much on a card like that as the card can not compute 256 MG fast enough.

However the 9500Pro has the 9700PRO's architecture and is a better card.

There is of Coarse the 9600XT and that it self is a good card too. Comparible to the 9500Pro, very little better in some places, very little worse in others. If you can find that card for within your budget then you might concider getting that if 9500Pro turns out to be something else.

<b><A HREF="http://www.digitalgunfire.com" target="_new">DigitalGunfire-Industrial EBM</A></b>
ASUS P4S8X-P4 2.4B - 2x512M DDR333 - ATI 9500Pro - WD80G HD(8M) - SAMSUNG SV0844D 8G HD - LG 16X DVD - Yamaha F1 CDRW

 

[DonnieDarko]

I'd get the 9500pro and softmod it to a 9700pro.

AMD64 2800+
MSI Neo-Fis2r
512mb Kingmax ddr400
Sapphire 9800pro 128mb
10K WD Raptor

 

[Titanion]

that cannot be done...

<font color=red><b>NF7-S/Mobile Barton 2600+
211x11.5 1.824v SLK900A
1GB Corsair XMS PC3200
Sapphire 9500np@9700np</font color=red><font color=black>
NF7-S/Barton 2500+
200x11.5 1.76v
512MB XMS PC2700
XFX Ti4200

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

At stock the R9500PRo is a better card 90-95% of the time, and even with it overclocked like mine the figures are still around 60/40 in favour of the R9500Pro.

If you're concerned about power consumption and heat like me, then the R9600Pro is good, otherwise the R9500P is likely your best choice IMO.

And <b>DD</b> the <i>PRO</i> cannot be moded to an R9700.

- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! - <font color=green>RED </font color=green> <font color=red> GREEN</font color=red> GA to SK

 

[phial]

cant be done, your thinking of the 9500nonpro, and then its only special and rare versions

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[Crashman]

Ooops, my bad, memory issue is mine. The 9600 Pro you're considering is not only a bit slower, but further handicapped by it's 2/3 speed memory. I'd go with the 9500 Pro.<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Crashman on 07/10/04 00:27 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[HardWareBoss]

Don't waste your money on power crapper. I mean powercolor. :frown:

 

[phial]

YES I AGREE


my Powercolor 9800pro's fan died 2 weeks after i got it. looking at the fan itself, you can tell it cost no more than a dollar to make

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[davemar14]

9500 Pro is better, cause it has 8 pipes, compared to 4 on the 9600 Pro.

 

[phial]

exactamundo


my 9500pro owns. im using it right now, because my 9800pro's fan died..

overclocked to 350core/315ram , it it about as fast as a 9700non-pro . <A HREF="http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=7863151" target="_new">almost 16k in 3dmark2001 </A>

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