Radeon 9600 XT vs Radeon 9700 Pro

[ae8616v]

I got a question. I need to buy a new video card for my PC and my question which one of these cards are better.

I was thinking of either picking up a new 9600 or buying a used 9700.

I realized that the 9700 is last generation, but at least it was top of the line.

Which one would you guys recommend.

 

[Nebor]

And you realize you can't buy a 9600 XT yet?

 

[Budman]

9700 Pro hands down.

 

[XBoxLPU]

9800 Np

 

[Budman]

Originally posted by: XBoxLPU
9800 Np

Would that be cheaper than a used 9700Pro ?

 

[Redviffer]

Heck. Even a 9700 NON-PRO is faster than a 9600 - even when the 9600 is overclocked. Of course, this just what I've gathered from all the benchmarks that are posted all over the web in various forms. I don't have a 9500/9600 myself, but I do have a 9700Pro and all I can say is that it totally rocks, even if it is the "last" generation.

 

[XBoxLPU]

Originally posted by: Budman

Originally posted by: XBoxLPU
9800 Np

Would that be cheaper than a used 9700Pro ?

Probably not but both are great cards

 

[ae8616v]

Originally posted by: Nebor
And you realize you can't buy a 9600 XT yet?

Yeah, but 1 month wait isn't too bad. . . plus free Half-Life 2 .

But it seems like everyone is agreeing that the 9700 Pro is better. (I can't afford the 9800 Pro.)

 

[BaboonGuy]

the 9600XT will have 4 pipelines, which will seriously hold you back in the newer games. get a 9700 (from fs/ft you'll get a great price), you wont regret it

 

[ae8616v]

By the way, both cards are 128mb of ram right? I swear I saw somewhere that the 9700 Pro had 256mb.

 

[RanDum72]

I don't think there are 256mb 9700's. I've seen 256mb 9600 pro's but the memory clocks are clocked much lower than the regular ones. I was going to buy a 9600pro off Newegg but after seeing a deal on a used 9700pro for around the same price, I went that route instead.

 

[tenoc]

By the way, both cards are 128mb of ram right? I swear I saw somewhere that the 9700 Pro had 256mb

I believe that the 256 you saw was 256 bit memory, not 256 mb of memory.

 

[Zeeliv]

From Anand's review:

"According to ATI, the Radeon 9600 XT should be the first mainstream part to outperform the Radeon 9700 Pro in all situations ? not bad for a $199 card. "

 

[Megatomic]

Originally posted by: Zeeliv
From Anand's review:

"According to ATI, the Radeon 9600 XT should be the first mainstream part to outperform the Radeon 9700 Pro in all situations ? not bad for a $199 card. "

You beat me to the quote.

 

[Buzzman151]

damn i hope that's true. HL2 is going to be the first game for me to buy in a while and I need to upgrade my vid card so I guess I may as well kill 2 birds w/ one stone.

 

[sellmen]

Originally posted by: Megatomic

Originally posted by: Zeeliv
From Anand's review:

"According to ATI, the Radeon 9600 XT should be the first mainstream part to outperform the Radeon 9700 Pro in all situations ? not bad for a $199 card. "

You beat me to the quote.

If that quote is true, the 9600XT is the better card to get, hands down. $200 for a faster, cooler running, possibly more overclockable card, which comes with Half Life 2. The cheapest 9700 pros are $250 on pricewatch, and they don't come with HL2.

I would wait, and see how the 9600XT turns out.

 

[RanDum72]

Thats according to ATI. Looking at Anand's latest reviews, the 9600pro falls way short of the 9700pro especially when enabling AA/aniso. I don't think the speed bumps in the 9600XT (which is essentially just a a higher clocked 9600pro) would be enough to overtake the 9700pro.

 

[GTaudiophile]

Originally posted by: RanDum72
Thats according to ATI. Looking at Anand's latest reviews, the 9600pro falls way short of the 9700pro especially when enabling AA/aniso. I don't think the speed bumps in the 9600XT (which is essentially just a a higher clocked 9600pro) would be enough to overtake the 9700pro.

True, whether it bests the 9700 PRO or not, it's still my next card.

As always, reserve final judgement until Anand's Radeon 9600XT vs. NV36 with HL2 benchmarks.

 

[sellmen]

Originally posted by: RanDum72
Thats according to ATI. Looking at Anand's latest reviews, the 9600pro falls way short of the 9700pro especially when enabling AA/aniso. I don't think the speed bumps in the 9600XT (which is essentially just a a higher clocked 9600pro) would be enough to overtake the 9700pro.

The main problem with that quote to me, is that the 9600XT will still have 1/2 the memory bandwidth of the 9700 pro. I don't see how the 9600XT will outperform the 9700 pro in bandwidth dependent situations.

 

[ae8616v]

Originally posted by: BaboonGuy
the 9600XT will have 4 pipelines, which will seriously hold you back in the newer games. get a 9700 (from fs/ft you'll get a great price), you wont regret it

Yeah, I am worry about this. The thing is that this will be long term (e.g. 2 to 3 years or at least until my next computer). But according to the review the 9700 clear beats out the 9600 Pro is everything.

I could get an used one for $200 off Craigslist right now, some guy is selling one in my area.

Go for it?

 

[Lyfer]

Originally posted by: XBoxLPU
9800 Np

If you can find one, most if not all 9800NP's can be flashed to 9800 PRO speeds.

 

[GnomeCop]

as far as I'm concerned, the 9700 pro is still THIS generation, the new radeons are not too different (not enough) to be considered a whole new generation.
But just get the fastest one you can afford, it will last longer and you'll get more for your money

 

[XBoxLPU]

Originally posted by: Lyfer

Originally posted by: XBoxLPU
9800 Np

If you can find one, most if not all 9800NP's can be flashed to 9800 PRO speeds.

i think i saw somone selling a flash NP to Pro for $250 here

 

[mrgoblin]

ure better off getting a 9600xt. Its a newer card and it probably performs on par with the 9700 pro. AND you get hl2

 

[Johnbear007]

He is asking about the 9600 XT you retards.

ATI has stated that the 9600 XT is supposed to outperfomr the 9700 PRO. I would wait and see how it does. If so, buy it.