Can you help me understand these 9600 specs?

[Denis54]

I just bought a Sapphire Atlantis 9600 for $40. I know that normally I should have checked the specs first and made the buying decision after. However, I tought that at that price there was not much risk.

When I run Everest / Aida 32, I get the following specs:

256 MB Memory Size
324 Mhz GPU Clock
400 Mhz RAMDAC Clock

128 bit Memory Bus Width
189 Mhz Memory Real Clock
378 Mhz Memory Effective Clock

Which of these specs are important?

How good are these specs for a 9600?

 

[HotsForNicole]

wow 40$, where?

 

[EarthwormJim]

They're regular 9600np specs. You got a good deal though, does it have dual outputs?

 

[Denis54]

What does 9600np means? I am familiar with 9600 SE, 9600, 9600 Pro, 9600 XT but have never heard of 9600np.

It has DVI, analog and S-Video outputs.

I bought it used (2 months old) from my brother-in-law who wheels and deals PCs as a part-time hobby. He has a lot of customers and got it real cheap from a customer who upgraded to a 9800Pro.

 

[Theslowone]

9600np is the same as the 9600; for some reason people put that to indicate that its regular, they also use other terms for some cards like vanilla.

 

[Sylvanas]

9600np= 9600non pro. looks like you got a good deal, if your up to it, you can always overclock it a bit for that little extra

 

[Denis54]

Which of the specs reported by Everest / Aida 32 are important?

For the GPU, what is more important GPU clock or RAMDAC clock?

For memory, what is more important real clock or effective clock?

 

[Pete]

All specs besides RAMDAC are important. RAMDAC clock is irrelevant because no CRT will come close to being able to output a 400MHz signal, AFAIK. 2048*1536*100Hz requires only about a 325MHz RAMDAC (RAM digital to analog converter, converts digital signal in video card memory to an analog signal that is output to your monitor), and CRTs that can go that high are few and far between. LCDs that use a DVI connector bypass the RAMDAC entirely (though they're limited by the 165MHz TDMS, which means a nominal max of 1920*1200*60Hz).

GPU clock, number of pipelines, and memory clock and bus width go hand in hand in hand in hand. GPU clock is more important at lower resolutions and with lots of fancy effects (pixel shaders), while memory clock and bandwidth become the bottleneck at higher resolutions and with anti-aliasing.

Effective clock is basically the same as actual clock, as virtually all video cards use DDR memory (double data rate). So either say 200MHz DDR or 400MHz, as long as you're consistent in referring to either the actual or effective rate when comparing cards.

Anyway, the 9600 is a relatively slow card by today's standards (the top of the line cards are literally five times faster than yours in terms of GPU/shader power), but $40 for a 256MB, 128bit version of the 9600 is a great price.

 

[Denis54]

Pete, thanks for the detailed answer. I am not a gamer so this card should be sufficient for my needs.