9500 np - sorry!

[del_35]

I have read alot of post concernings the 9500np > 9700 mod.

I am looking to buy a goof value for money card and have decided that the 9500np is good value and if i can mod it all the better.

My question is this: If i buy a 'RADEON 9500 64MB DDR 8X' is it certainly going to have a 128-bit DDR memory. Do i have to get a 128mb version to have the 256-bit bus? I understand that i can still have a chance to turn it into a 9500 pro if its 128-bit, is this corrrect?

Thanks in advance - del

<font color=purple> "Overclocking is like jumping traffic lights - theres always a bit of slack"</font color=purple>

 

[phsstpok]

The 64 MB 9500's never used the 9700 PCB which means they can't be mod'd.

Only the older 128 MB 9500 NP's can be mod'd to 9700's and only the one with the "L" memory configuration.

The newer NP's have all the memory chips along the top edge of the board. The older boards have two chips along the top and two down side, hence the meaning of the "L" of which everyone speaks.

<b>56K, slow and steady does not win the race on internet!</b>

 

[del_35]

Thanks for the reply 'phsstpok' that was what i feared and thought. But is it still possible to mod it from a 64mb 9500np to 9500pro?

I have found UK suppliers for the 9500np (which show the 'L' shaped memory) but the price differnce is quite a bit between the 64mb and 128mb versions, i.e.

*Sapphire Radeon 9500 Atlantis 128MB DDR- AGP, ATI 9500, DVI, TV-Out, Retail £125
*Sapphire Radeon 9500 Atlantis 64MB DDR- AGP, ATI 9500, DVI, TV-Out, Retail £92

Can anyone recommend a good value card that costs about £100. I have found a new TI4200 for £68! I wish to play RTW and HL2 when they are relesed.

My rig is a AXP 2500+ (watercooled), twinmos 512 pc3200, NF7-S V2.0



<font color=purple> "Overclocking is like jumping traffic lights - theres always a bit of slack"</font color=purple>

 

[phsstpok]

The 9500 NP has 4 pipelines while the PRO has 8. I don't think you can mod the former into the latter.

You can still overclock it. You just can't turn it into a PRO.

The TI4200 is a good value for today's games. Ti4200's are cheap and many are very overclockable.

I'm sure others will try to persuade to buy a directX 9 card but I'm not convinced that the budget models will be of any use when directX 9 games actually arrive. I think the cheap cards will just be underperformers at that time.

Just my opinion.

We'll know in a few months when HL2 is released.

I think Radeon 9100 (not a great performer but really cheap), TI4200, 9600 PRO, and 9700 non pro are all good values today. You get a lot for their respective prices.

Personally, I'm hoping the 9600 PRO drops in price a little more. $120 USD at Xmas time would be nice.


<b>56K, slow and steady does not win the race on internet!</b>

 

[Crashman]

The 128 bit RAM version does modify into a 9500 Pro by enabling the other four pipes, just like the 256-bit version modifies into a 9700 Non-Pro using the same driver hack.

It works on around 50% of cards without causeing video glitches such as artifacts.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[Crashman]

The driver hack that turned a 256-bit 9500 Non-Pro into a 9700 Non-Pro enables the other four pipelines. Doing this to a 128-bit card makes it a 9500 Pro.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[phsstpok]

I didn't know that. So you can mod the newer 9500 NPs?

Can you mod the 64MB cards? The 9500-->9700 mod didn't work with the 64MB cards.

<b>56K, slow and steady does not win the race on internet!</b>

 

[Crashman]

Right, the mod enabled the four missing pipelines. That makes a 256-bit 9500 non-pro into a 9700 non-pro, and makes a 128-bit 9500 non-pro into a 9500 Pro.

Think about it, official specs:
9700 Pro, 8 pipes, 256-bit
9500 Pro, 8 pipes, 128-bit
9500 Non-Pro, 4 pipes, 128-bit.

The hack enables the other four pipes, so the "non-standard" 256-bit card becomes a 9700 while the 128-bit card becomes a 9500 Pro.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[del_35]

Thanks for the positive reply folks.
So what do we know about the 64mb mods? What do i look out for on the card - the 'L' shape memory again? I would be quite plesed if i could mod it to a pro as i understand they outperform the 9600. I have a short list of the cards i want to buy which are, but price is a concern here. What do you think about the price/performance/longativity:

*Ge-force fx5600 (normal) £100.00
*Ge-force ti4200 £67.36
*Radeon 9600np £86.50
*Radeon 64mb 9500np £91.50


<font color=purple> "Overclocking is like jumping traffic lights - <font color=red> not recommended </font color=red> but theres always a bit of slack"</font color=purple>

 

[Crashman]

The only cards with a 256-bit memory interface were 128MB cards that used the 9700 PCB, they had two memory chips at the rear of the card and two on the top edge, people call that "L-shaped". Those could be modified to 9700 specifion.

The 128-bit memory cards, including newer 128MB and ALL 64MB cards, can be modified to 9500 Pro standard with the same hack. 9500 Pros were faster than 9600 Pros. I don't know how the non-pros compare.

For £91.50, you could get the 9500np and try to hack it to 9500 Pro standards. Around 1/2 of the cards work fine with that hack, the other 1/2 work, but with video anomolies. So if you got yours, and the hack didn't work, you'd still have an OK card.

The Ti4200 from your list has a very good price.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[del_35]

Cheers Crashman your a star

I have ordered a ti4200 and decided to sit on it till cards become cheaper or i see a bargan. It already in the post and will arrive monday, together with a few other bits n bob's 🙂

I came to the conclusion that the 9500 is a legacy card that anit worth bothering with for the price. It was only a sweet spot if the mod DID work and like you said it was 50/50.


Cheers folks

<font color=purple> "Overclocking is like jumping traffic lights - <font color=red> not recommended </font color=red> but theres always a bit of slack"</font color=purple>

 

[Titanion]

Shouldn't the DX9 factor make any 9500, mod or no mod, a better bet over the 4200?

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