Picked up a 9600XT

[Ray5150Ray]

I'm putting another rig together abd was wondering, should I go with a 9600 Pro, or the XT? I'm putting it on a NF7-S with a gig of RAM and a 2500+ Barton. What are the pros and cons? Forgive me for asking, but I just haven't been able to keep up with graphics cards as of late. Thanks for the help in advance...

Oh, and does the 256 Meg of RAM really matter that much on some of the 9600's that do have it? As I recall, the XT only has 128, and it would seem that some of the reviews say that the 256 is overkill on this card. Is that right?

 

[clicknext]

I'd say 9600XT is much better value if you want Half-Life 2. If you don't, I'd just take the Pro, personally, and possibly overclock it to XT speed.

 

[Ray5150Ray]

Is it possible to overclock it to the XT speeds easily, or would I have to "get lucky"?

 

[Blastman]

256MB is overkill on a midrange card like the 9600, also, the fastest 256MB 9600?s are clocked slower (400/200 DDR usually with 5ns memory) than the 128MB 9600pro.

9600XT is clocked 500/300, 9600pro is 400/300. XT?s are scarcely available right now. I?d say the XT is about 10-12% faster than the pro. Not huge.

9600pro cores usually get to about 470 - 490 range. You would probably need to overclock the memory a little too to get to XT speeds if the core didn?t make 500. A 9600pro at ~ 470/320 would be as fast as a XT. The vast majority of 9600pros would probably make this.

The more expensive 9600pro?s (~ $175 range) have faster ram 2.8ns Samsungs, $150pro?s usually have 3.3 Samsungs. The 2.8?s don?t seem to overclock (345 - 365) a heck of a lot more than the 3.3 Samsungs (320 - 340). So you can decide if the extra $25 is worth it.

XT cores are getting close to 600Mhz with overclocks.

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: Ray5150Ray
Is it possible to overclock it to the XT speeds easily, or would I have to "get lucky"?

you have to get lucky and get 2.8ns memory

 

[Ray5150Ray]

I've found an ASUS 9600XT and a Connect3D, but the ASUS seems to bet setup better. I read a post over at ard|OCP where a guy got 500/370 with 2.8ns Samsung chips. I wonder if the 3D XT would have the same chips...

 

[Ray5150Ray]

I got the ASUS 9600XT, it does come with HL2, and it SHOULD be shipping with the Samsung 2.8ns RAM per a review I read today.

 

[JvD]

Originally posted by: Ray5150Ray
I got the ASUS 9600XT, it does come with HL2, and it SHOULD be shipping with the Samsung 2.8ns RAM per a review I read today.

Ray5150Ray, PLEASE, give us some info about, clock speed and core-speed (default) and what you can bring it up to. Been waiting on the 9600xt for some time now. The Asus comes with video in/out, right? Seen people having cpu/core at 625/350x2.

 

[Tab]

I'll be posting when I get my ASUS 9600XT TVD.

What program should I be using to o/c?

 

[JvD]

Doesnt matter, just pick one up as soon as you can. When do U get yours? Since ATI had some time so reconsider ther spec on 9600XT it should be some suprise there, we just have to find it. The Powercolor 9600XT Bravo edition is clocked at 550Mhz core and 760Mhz memory sounds like a decent mid-range card though, should be a great performer.



More info!

 

[Pete]

Can the Asus do video-in? That might make it worth an extra $20 over a Connect3D XT.

BTW, ATi Radeon 9600P's w/HL2 are $150 @ CompUSA next week. Tempting compared to a $180 C3D XT, but a downright bargain compared to a $200 Asus XT--at least, in current games. I suspect HL2 may actually show a 25% increase in framerates with the XT, corresponding to its 25% faster core.

 

[Tab]

Yes, it has VIVO (Its has a Rage Theater Chip on it as well as a dongle box)

 

[JH68]

Yea Tabb i would be interested how your 9600xt does. im thinking about getting that one or the 9800xt.

------------
Rig

 

[JH68]

Yea Tabb i would be interested how your 9600xt does. im thinking about getting that one or the 9800xt.

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Rig

 

[Pete]

What program should I be using to o/c?
Doesn't Asus include its own OCing program? You'll find out soon enough, I suppose.

 

[Ray5150Ray]

Well, so far it's not spectacular. I'm not using the ASUS o/c program because it doesn't keep the speeds constant(it works just like ATI's overdrive). I'm currently at 535/332. I've scored 33273 in aquamark3 @ 534/348. I have no idea if that is a good score, nor do I really ever use Aquamark3, I just did it for you guys. I'm not too thrilled with the o/c, but I really just wanted the VIVO function and a decent card.

edit: Temps are 33 GPU/35 RAM idle

 

[PClark99]

My advice is use the omega drivers 3.7 or later, they have a built in control panel for overclocking.

 

[Ray5150Ray]

That's what I was using. I have since changed to the CAT 3.9 with radclocker added and I'm up to 540/696. My temps also dropped.