9500Pro vs. 9600XT

[peros]

Hi guys,
After spending a few hours reading the posts in this forum (and the really great FAQ which stopped me from buying an FX5600U) I have narrowed my video card choice down to the 9500 Pro or the 9600XT. However this is where I am flummoxed which is better?
I need a card to handle todays applications with ease and also one that can last for the next 2 years.
I found the 9500Pro and a 9600Pro at my local computer shop and the price is identical on both, a 9600Xt can be had for $25 more .... any advice appreciated.
Thanks.

 

[sirak]

The 9500pro is a bit faster than the 9600pro. The 9600XT is a little faster than the 9600pro. I'm not sure how performance would compare between the 9600XT and the 9500pro. I wouldn't buy the 9600pro, and if money is tight, get the 9500pro. What brands were these cards?

 

[jpw1234]

Well I have the 9500 pro myself and I would recommend it to anyone. From reading a few reviews and benchmark results it would seem the 9500pro and 9600XT are on about the same level for performance. I would pick the 9500pro because I like having the 8 pipelines as opposed to 4 and if its $25 cheaper then thats no question.

P4 2.8ghz 800mhz FSB w/ HT
ECS 648FX SiS MB
1gb (512x2) 3200 Kingston DDR400
ATI Radeon 9500 Pro

 

[GeneticWeapon]

Yep.

<b>I help because you suck</b>

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Yeah, it's a toss-up, but the R9500pro will probably outperform the R9600XT in more games than vice versa. And usually at higher resolutions the R9500Pro will win almost every time.

- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! - <font color=green>RED </font color=green> <font color=red> GREEN</font color=red> GA to SK

 

[peros]

Thanks for the info guys!

Yes, it is a mid-range card in a high-end PC but I gotta cut corners somewhere.

I had one other question - I need a card that will allow me to edit video, accept feed from TV cable etc so I can record TV programs. Is this feature called "DVI"? And is it only offered on the ATI All-In-Wonder cards or do the GeForce's offer them too?

I saw a Sapphire 9600XT card with "VGA/DVI/TV-out" listed and am wondering if this is what it means? (I know in Tom's recent review of the Asus 9600xt he mentioned it had video- in capabilities).

 

[pauldh]

No DVI won't help in editing video. It will allow you to hook up to the digital inputs on a flat LCD.

If you want to edit video, plus play games, and stick around the same price as you are mentioning, IMO - NOTHING would be better than an AIW Radeon 9600 Pro. The retail Built by ATI is a sweet package, has HL2 in it, and is known for being tops in it's class.

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ABIT IS7, P4 2.6C, 512MB Corsair TwinX PC3200LL, Radeon 9500 Pro, Santa Cruz, Antec 1000AMG, TruePower 430watt

 

[Spitfire_x86]

Radeon 9500 PRO is better

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[cleeve]

I'm not so sure the 9500 PRO is better than the XT. From what I've seen they're pretty much neck and neck.

But I'm going to reserve judgement until D3 and HL2 are benchmarked. Not sure what those titles will prefer, more shaders running at lower clocks or fewer shaders runnign at higher clocks...

My gut feeling is that the 9500 PRO will win, but I'm biased, owning one and all.
________________
<b>Radeon <font color=red>9500 PRO</b></font color=red> <i>(hardmodded 9500, o/c 322/322)</i>
<b>AthlonXP <font color=red>2600+</b></font color=red> <i>(o/c 2400+ w/143Mhz fsb)</i>
<b>3dMark03: <font color=red>4,055</b></font color=red>

 

[peros]

the 9500 pro may be better but it doesn't have video editing capability. I need video editing capapbility so the All-In-wonder is my only shot.

 

[phial]

Well I have the 9500 pro myself and I would recommend it to anyone. From reading a few reviews and benchmark results it would seem the 9500pro and 9600XT are on about the same level for performance. I would pick the 9500pro because I like having the 8 pipelines as opposed to 4 and if its $25 cheaper then thats no question.

theres also the fact that the 9500pro has the same pixel/vertex shading capabilities of the 9700 (minus the effects of the reduced bandwidth tho.. otherwise the hardware is identical) while the 9600xt is a "bargain" version of the 9700 core. pretty sure in HL2 it will make a big difference

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[addiarmadar]

The 9500pro can give you the 256bit memory that ATI did not want you to know while the 9600 uses 128bit.

Barton 2500+ @ 2200mhz (10x220 vcore @ 1.8)
Asus A7N8X Dlx 440 FSB
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