ATI 9500pro vs 9600pro

[Stug]

Hi, I'm looking to upgrade my video card and I was looking at the mid-range ATI cards. I've been told by a few people and read in a few reviews that it would be better to get a 9600 pro, as the performance difference between it and the 9500 pro is negligible. However, I've also read in some reviews that it would be a good idea to get a 9500pro while it's still possible since it performs better. I know I can find a Sapphire 9600pro online for 150 dollars or so, and an ATI 9500pro for around 180. I'm also looking to upgrade my motherboard and cpu, so I'd like to save money where possible. So is the 9500pro enough better (if at all) to warrant spending another 30 dollars? Or perhaps there's another video chipset I should be looking at instead?

 

[modedepe]

The 9500pro is better performing than the 9600pro at stock speeds. IMO, it wouldn't be worth an extra $30 for the 9500pro though.

 

[Mem]

I agree the 9600 Pro seems a good choice for the price,if you`re thinking of spending the extra $30 or so for the 9500 Pro you might as well spend another $20 on top and get the 9700NP which are around $200 or so.

 

[Stug]

Well, I just might be willing to pay an extra 50 for the 9700 nonpro. I was more concerned becuase the difference between the 9500pro and 9600pro varies depending on what one looks at, and some things I've read show the 9500pro as being only marginally better. Does the 9700 significantly outperform the 9500pro?

 

[tenoc]

I agree the 9600 Pro seems a good choice for the price,if you`re thinking of spending the extra $30 or so for the 9500 Pro you might as well spend another $20 on top and get the 9700NP which are around $200 or so.

To expand on what mem said a bit, the 9500 costs 20% more but will not be 20% more powerful.

The 9700np costs 33% more than the 9600 and will be at least that much faster.
Plus, if the np has decent memory chips (Samsung), you can easily flash it with the Pro bios and, voila, instant Pro.

 

[Corporate Thug]

when both are OCed performance is identical

 

[bunnyfubbles]

OC is irrelevent because it is a risk and results always vary. Chances are you 9700 non Pro might be the best bet and probably will last you longer.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

i would say its 6 n two 3's really the 9500pro is a very good card - i have one myself - but the 9500pro was kinda a rush job, it is basically the same core as a 9700pro only without the 256bit memory, but the problem is the chip is "optimized" for a 256 bit and not the 128bit memory it has.

the 9600pro is optimized for its memory bandwidth, so theres one up for the 9600. its also has the later R350 core with a few tweaks over the R300. but it only has 4 pipe lines where as the 9500pro has 8, i think they aimed to ge by that by upping the clock speeds, which they can do easily seen as the 9600 is 0.13 microns

the 9600 out performs the 9500 in a few cases due to optimization, but most of the time the 9500 is king.

i would go for the 9600 coz the 9500 aint worth the extra few frames per sec. not that u can distinguish between 120fps and 150ps anyway.

but i would watch out tho, becoz some manufacturers actually built their 9500's on a 9700 pcb which means their 9500's have the 256bit memory!!!! jus watch out for one of those!

 

[Corporate Thug]

it isnt irrelevant if he does want to actually OC. OCing the the strong point of the 9600 pro

 

[Stug]

Is it agreed that the 9700 np would be a better card to get?

 

[modedepe]

Originally posted by: Stug
Is it agreed that the 9700 np would be a better card to get?

Yes, if you're willing to spend that much I would definitley recommend you get the 9700np.

 

[Mem]

Stug,the 9700NP is an excellent card for peformance and good value for money.

 

[McArra]

Originally posted by: modedepe

Originally posted by: Stug
Is it agreed that the 9700 np would be a better card to get?

Yes, if you're willing to spend that much I would definitley recommend you get the 9700np.

 

[Haunter9X]

What 9600 pro models are the best for overclocking?? I read a review of the tyan tachyon 9600 pro where they said that the heatspreader/sink thingie actually held back the memory overclocking because heat from the processor was going to the memory chips? I think I read somewhere else that there's three kinds of memory available for the 9600 pro and that the samsung chips @ 2.2ns are the best.... So which 9600 pro gives you the best chance of getting a good oc?

 

[techwanabe]

I've been consdering a video upgrade to my computer, and the GF4 128 mb isn't that much less than the Radeo 9600 128 mb... is the latter a much faster card? Ain't that much more expensive. Comparison reviews?

 

[tenoc]

wanabe, is that a GF4 Ti? What model, how much? Is that a Radeon 9600np or Pro? How much?

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Originally posted by: shady06
it isnt irrelevant if he does want to actually OC. OCing the the strong point of the 9600 pro

No, it is irrelevent, OC ability really only should be considered if you're looking at two things that are practically identical and you need a tie breaking factor, that could be OC. The fact that a 9500 Pro is actually superior to a 9600 Pro at stock speeds tells you that it is superior right out of the box no questions asked. IF you decide oc MAYBE you could get kilelr results out of a 9600 Pro but maybe you might not be able to. Overclocking, despite what everyone claims, increases chance of instability, risk of damage to hardware or loss of life (that's probably why you hear about people's boards dying in a matter of months instead of years), and the risk that you wont get the results at all, there is no "guarantee" for overclocking, especially with warranty that will guarantee the card at stock speeds and overclocking will only nullify the warranty if your card even comes with one.

 

[JK949]

go with the the 9500 pro. i have one and bought the 9600 pro but returned it when my 3d2001se
and 3d2003 benchmarks were lower on the 9600 pro. the extra pipelines make a difference.

 

[Haunter9X]

So you guys would recommend getting the tyan tachyon g9500pro over the tyan tachyon g9600pro then?

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: bunnyfubbles

Originally posted by: shady06
it isnt irrelevant if he does want to actually OC. OCing the the strong point of the 9600 pro

No, it is irrelevent, OC ability really only should be considered if you're looking at two things that are practically identical and you need a tie breaking factor, that could be OC. The fact that a 9500 Pro is actually superior to a 9600 Pro at stock speeds tells you that it is superior right out of the box no questions asked. IF you decide oc MAYBE you could get kilelr results out of a 9600 Pro but maybe you might not be able to. Overclocking, despite what everyone claims, increases chance of instability, risk of damage to hardware or loss of life (that's probably why you hear about people's boards dying in a matter of months instead of years), and the risk that you wont get the results at all, there is no "guarantee" for overclocking, especially with warranty that will guarantee the card at stock speeds and overclocking will only nullify the warranty if your card even comes with one.

i agree ocing is hit and miss but i disagree about the stability issue. you can test for stabilty. in both my rigs both the cpu and the video cards are OCed and i have no stability issues at all. and for nullifying the warrenty, how exactly is the company gonna tell you overclocked the card again????

 

[techwanabe]

GF4 Ti4200 128

As for the Radeon 9600/9500, don't know much about them and how they compared to the GF4, which is why I asked.

 

[modedepe]

Originally posted by: techwanabe
GF4 Ti4200 128

As for the Radeon 9600/9500, don't know much about them and how they compared to the GF4, which is why I asked.

ti4200 is faster than a non pro 9600 or 9500. However, the pro versions of those two are considerably faster than a ti4200, especially with AA enabled.

 

[techwanabe]

Thanks modedepe

I'll factor that into my buying plans.

 

[niggles]

Originally posted by: modedepe


ti4200 is faster than a non pro 9600 or 9500. However, the pro versions of those two are considerably faster than a ti4200, especially with AA enabled.

Last night I installed a new 9600 Pro after taking out an Asus 4200 (8420DVI) and my 3DMark scores more than doubled. I went from 1355 up to 3241. I think it's worth the purchase, nothing wrong with the 4200, it's just that the 9600 Pro is so much better