How to choose my next Radeon wisely?

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TheRod

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I hesitate between 2 cards.

ATI Radeon 9600 PRO Retail (272$)
Sapphire Radeon 9500 PRO OEM (218$)
Sapphire Radeon 9600 PRO (226$)

Which would you choose and why?

I'm not sure I want to pay the extra 50$ for the "Built by ATI" card. And I'm not sure the 20% difference in price will translate in better performance in games.

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W

Willamette_sucks

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To put that in English for you, if you plan to overclock (alot) get the 9600 Pro, if not, get the 9500 Pro.

Really I say get the Sapphire 9600 Pro neways. DO IT!

SIGNATURE: Stop asking people "whats up" or "hows it goin", you know you don't give a sh*t. And noone cares how you're doing either.

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S

scottchen

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Sapphire 9500pro gets my vote because it's very overclockable since it uses 3.0ns Samsung memory.

-Intel PIV 2.4C @ 3.84G -Asus P4P800 -OCZ Copper 2x256 4000EL memory @ 275mhz 3-4-4-8 -Sapphire 9800pro @ 490/780 -SB audigy -80G Maxtor Diamond Plus9 Ultra ATA-133 hdd -450 Enermax PSU
 
T

TheRod

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I think I will buy the Sapphire 9600 PRO, but there is opposite comments in replys.

You say get the 9600 PRO for best O/C and "scottchen" says the Sapphire 9500 RPO is best for O/C because it use 3.0 nsec memory modules...

And this will be a bargain! Because I sell my "old" 8500 LE 128 Megs that is very overclockable for 100$, so the upgrade to Radeon 9600 PRO will cost me only 120$ (Canadian).

Thanks for the reply!

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R

russmon

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I would actually wait until the 9600XT arrives in a few weeks and choose that over the 9500Pro or 9600Pro (depending on the benchmarks - which I haven't seen yet). It will be around $199, come with overdrive and will come with HL2.
 
cleeve

cleeve

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The 9500 PRO is the obvious choice.

Everyone on this board seems to forget that the 9500 PRO not only is slightly superior to the 9600 PRO, but that an overclocked 9500 PRO is STILL slightly superior to an overclocked 9600 PRO.

The 9500 PRO is cheaper, faster, has twice the pipelines, and is much better when using Antialiassing.

Having said that, you can't go wrong with either card. They're very close in performance.

But why would you want to pay more for the slower one?

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Radeon 9500 (hardmodded to PRO, o/c to 322/322)
AMD AthlonXP 2400+ (o/c to 2600+ with 143 fsb)
3dMark03: 4055
 
T

TheRod

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Good to hear that!

So, I will get a 9500 PRO if it still in stock... If not, I will get the 9600 PRO.

But, I'm a bit confused... I tought there would be less contradiction in this forum about GPU choice!

I checked the THG articles... And I can confirm that you are right about performance.
<A HREF="http://www.tomshardware.com/graphic/20030416/radeon_9600-07.html" target="_new">http://www.tomshardware.com/graphic/20030416/radeon_9600-07.html</A>

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cleeve

cleeve

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You're right, this is one of those things that is so close to the wire, there's quite a bit of dissention in the THG ranks.

It's not a cut and dry argument. The 9600 PRO wins some, the 9500 PRO wins some.
The 9600 PRO has greater overclocking potential, but the 9500 PRO does MORE with LESS of an overclock because it has twice the pipelines.

Like I said, you really can't go wrong with either card. Mostly it's an academic discussion that will likey continue until the end of time. :)

------------------
Radeon 9500 (hardmodded to PRO, o/c to 322/322)
AMD AthlonXP 2400+ (o/c to 2600+ with 143 fsb)
3dMark03: 4055
 
T

TheRod

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I just read the new THG article on the 9600 XT and the "old" 9500 PRO still wins in many benchmark against the 9600 PRO and 9600 XT. So for the price/performance ratio. The 9500 PRO is still a winner!

I hope the place where I will buy my next card will still have 9500 PRO in stock next week!

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Would you buy a GPS enabled soap bar?<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by TheRod on 10/15/03 02:39 PM.</EM></FONT></P>
 
TheGreatGrapeApe

TheGreatGrapeApe

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Ok first things first, cross the Sapphire off your list unless you can physically get it in your hands. Most Sapphires are NOT good overclockers, as very few of the regular atlantis(s) have he 2.86ns memory found on the BBA cards. The Firblade is the excepetion, whihc has guaranteed overclockable memory. I've seen Sapphires with anything from the poor Nyix 2.8ns memory (sounds good but ain't) to Samsung's 3.3ns memory.

Depending on what you are going to use it for the R9600P is a good choice. Take anothe look at the reviews and notie that when the R9500P truely pulls away it's at high res. and at high AA/AF, and at that point none of the cards are pulling in good framerates.

Pick the type of game you will most likely play, compare it at PLAYABLE framerates (te R9500P ettin 14FPS and the R9600P getting 12FPS doesn't really make much diff., they BOTH suck at that point).

The R9500P does do VERY well in MANY situations, and the R9600P does do well in some limited situations. As for the Overclocking, don't rel on it even for the BBA board. Many people have been dissapointed with that assumption. Buy the card for it's STOCK values, and then the overclockability can be viewed as a bonus. Sure my BBA R9600P overclcocks like a summa-ma-benq, but not all do.

Anywhoo, that's my two frames worth. Sorry I can't give you an A or B answer, depends on what you plan on playing and at what res/settings.



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C

craqon

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Is that the standard pricing?

I'm buying my 'build by ATI' 9600 Pro end of the month for about $180, depending on currency.
 
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RRAMJET

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9500pro has the potential overclock to a 9700/pro as far as i can tell. The reason they ceased production of this card is so to increase sales of the 9700 range. The 9600 cards only have half the pipelines open but do have fast ram and proc, but without the pipelines are limited. Then again the 9600's are the only raedons to use 13um technology. I'd get the 9500pro if i could find one or a 9700 as they are endabgered to.

If he doesn't die, he'll get help!!!
 
I

Ion

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A bit misleading there, it is true 9500pro can be overclock to 9700pro clock speed with the right RAM, but you cant turn it into a 9700pro due to its 128-bit memory interface...

Different story with 9500np though. :tongue:
 
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valkyr

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since i m lazy n all to start a new thread......
sudnt 9700 np be a good option??
cus some one post the specs.....since i cannot seem to get
hold of em :p
 
cleeve

cleeve

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9700 non-pros are a wonderful thing.

In most cases you cna overclock them to full 9700 PRO specs.

Clockspeed is the only thing that separates them from their PRO brethren.

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Radeon 9500 (hardmodded to PRO, o/c to 322/322)
AMD AthlonXP 2400+ (o/c to 2600+ with 143 fsb)
3dMark03: 4055
 
TheGreatGrapeApe

TheGreatGrapeApe

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I think they are no different than the R9500P or modable R9500n-p (which have been picked clean) in that respect.


- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! <A HREF="http://www.redgreen.com" target="_new"><font color=green>RED</font color=green> <font color=red>GREEN</font color=red></A> GA to SK :evil:
 
cleeve

cleeve

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The Ati site still has the 9700 listed as one of their "current" prodcuts, so I'm sure they're still manufacturing the R300 GPUs.

It's just that no vendor makes 9500's out of them anymore because the 9600 GPU is so much cheaper.

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Radeon 9500 (hardmodded to PRO, o/c to 322/322)
AMD AthlonXP 2400+ (o/c to 2600+ with 143 fsb)
3dMark03: 4055
 
L

LagunaSol

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Why not a 9800 non-pro? Picked mine up from Best Buy for $239. Circuit City has it for $249. Surely this card is a better choice for the money?
 
cleeve

cleeve

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Certainly is.

Still, depends what you can find. I understand both 9700 non-pros and 9800 non-pros are difficult to catch...

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Radeon 9500 (hardmodded to PRO, o/c to 322/322)
AMD AthlonXP 2400+ (o/c to 2600+ with 143 fsb)
3dMark03: 4055
 
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