Please help! I'm dying here...

[Snorkius]

With the <A HREF="http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=388543#388543" target="_new"> bastard sh¡te swiss company screwing me </A> I'm not sure what to do.

I'm obviously not going to buy the 9600se, but, with all the alphabet soup releases, I'm no longer sure what the best solution is for my money. Keep in mind that the price situation in Switzerland is vastly different than in the US. (the 9600pro costs 2x the regular, for example)

My main request: BENCHMARKS!
Does anyone know a good review, comparing ALL the availible mid-range solutions. I waded through hundreds and I've yet to find a direct comparison between a, for example, 9600(<b> non pro! </b>) a 5600(ultra) a 5700(non ultra) and a 5600XT plus a 9100pro and 4200ti. All with the latest drivers and optimisations. (Too many reviews with using older drivers :frown: )

And not just benchmarks, trusted benchmarks. I've seen more than enough sites that do their tests on two 'the way it's meant to played' games with no AF or AA and draw their conclusions on that.

Many many thanks!




A long long time ago, but I can still remember, how that music used to make me smile... <A HREF="http://www.nexus.hu/zonix/DIGGER.MID" target="_new"><b><font color=blue>Digger rulz</font color=blue></b></A>

 

[agcheavin]

THG came out with a review a few months back, and at the end it did something real neat, they worked out a frames per dollar type formula, ie: value for money and the end result was a 9600XT, in Au there around the 250 dollar mark, which is around 150 bucks US my guess. Based on that and a bit of other research i switched form Nvidia to ATI and bought one. 3Dmark 2001 scores are around 12500 ( 13000 with a fresh install) aquamark3 is 30000 (not bad) and overall I'm quite happy with it.

Gary

....................
<font color=red>AMD 2700 XP<font color=red>
<font color=red>PC 9600XT<font color=red>
<font color=blue>ASUS A7N8X deluxe<font color=blue>
<font color=blue>1024 meg DC DDR 3200<font color=blue>
....................

 

[Snorkius]

Yes, it works fine in the US, but: I can get a 9600(non-pro) for $130. An XT costs closer to 250. I can also get a 5600Ultra(the old type: 350Mhz) for ~125$. It's difficult to decide without benchmarks. And my head is going in cercles from the shear amount of info I'm able to google. Plus I have the flu, and it's <i> NOT </i> helping.

A long long time ago, but I can still remember, how that music used to make me smile... <A HREF="http://www.nexus.hu/zonix/DIGGER.MID" target="_new"><b><font color=blue>Digger rulz</font color=blue></b></A>

 

[TheRod]

TA DAM :
<A HREF="http://www.tomshardware.com/graphic/20031229/index.html" target="_new">http://www.tomshardware.com/graphic/20031229/index.html</A>

And for a the "fbucks" chart :
<A HREF="http://www.tomshardware.com/graphic/20031229/vga-charts-16.html" target="_new">http://www.tomshardware.com/graphic/20031229/vga-charts-16.html</A>

The fbucks is outdated, but you can easily make one with MS-EXCEL. Basically you divide the BENCHMARK score by the PRICE. So you get a price/performance chart.

--
Would you buy a GPS enabled soap bar?

 

[Snorkius]

I've obviously seen that before. I'm not sure I like the games they test it on. It'll have to do, I guess, if I can't find anything better.

A long long time ago, but I can still remember, how that music used to make me smile... <A HREF="http://www.nexus.hu/zonix/DIGGER.MID" target="_new"><b><font color=blue>Digger rulz</font color=blue></b></A>

 

[TheRod]

These games will give you a good indication. Because usually, you will not see much difference in other games. Every 3D engine use the same DirectX and OpenGL instructions. Sometimes 3D engines are optimized for one family of GPU, but usually, there is not much difference. If card X is 12% faster in one game, you should expect the same diffence in other games.

--
Would you buy a GPS enabled soap bar?

 

[Snorkius]

A lot of 5600XTs for cheap. On the sites that bother to write that type of info, they are marked as 64 bit.

Are they all 64 bit or does Nvidia have a 9800se type scenerio?

A long long time ago, but I can still remember, how that music used to make me smile... <A HREF="http://www.nexus.hu/zonix/DIGGER.MID" target="_new"><b><font color=blue>Digger rulz</font color=blue></b></A>

 

[pauldh]

OK Snork, here is a review for you.

<A HREF="http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/over2003/index.html" target="_new">http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/over2003/index.html</A>

As for the fbucks on the VGA charts III, They are outdated and don't help you. The overall summary score is pretty good, yet I feel that since Aquamark 3 was left out, so should Quake 3 scores. I mean the fact that the framerates are so high throws off the average for other games. What I mean is, if a R9800 non pro beats out a FX5900 non ultra in almost every test, but then the FX5900 scores 27fps higher in Quake 3 and ends up with a total fps of 6 fps more than the R9800. So it looks to be the better card. yet cancel out Quake 3 and the R9800 was 20fps ahead of the FX5900. Then look at the quality scores and the R9800 blows the heatsink off the FX5900. So I like the total score, but really feel Quake 3 scores should be deleted or scaled down to not throw off the total fps comparison. Does that make sense?

ABIT IS7, P4 2.6C, 512MB Corsair TwinX PC3200LL, Radeon 9800 Pro, Santa Cruz, TruePower 430watt

 

[hippo]

mine is a ati 9600 non-pro and since many has already offer great selection of review sites, I'll offer from a user's point of view.

Aquamark- for some reason I can't get to their site, so I just ran it again

stock
Tri/Sec- 6,156,398 tps
20.45 fps
gfx-2562
cpu-5072

overall-20,450


oc(430/241)
Tri/Sec- 7,481,406 tps
24.85 fps
gfx-3300
cpu-5030

overall-24,852



3dmark01se

stock
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=7348822
oc (430/241)
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=7411455

3dmark03

Stock
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k3=1754335
OC (430/241)
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k3=1842704

Personally if the cost of a 9600pro is $30 more then I'll probably get a pro, but since your case is 2x then 9600 isn't too bad. Most dx8 base games I could turn on 1024x768 or 1280x1024 and have full quality, 2x anti and 4x anisotropic without being choppy. on dx 9 I'll tune down the levels a bit and use 1024x768. I usually oc for dx 9 games since it's very stable.

From personal experience moving from dx8 to a dx9 card video ram is everything and make sure the brand you're buying from is respectable.

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

MY Aquamarks with the BBA R9600Pro;

Using the same setup/drivers.

<A HREF="http://arc.aquamark3.com/arc/arc_view.php?run=1413950593" target="_new">Stock = 24.7K</A>

<A HREF="http://arc.aquamark3.com/arc/arc_view.php?run=1145865560" target="_new">OC'd to 538/369(738) (plus an FSB OC)= 30+K</A>

And yes Aquamark does seem to be down, tried them earlier down, and still down.

I'd also say that a REAL R9600PRO is worth a slight premium if you can afford it.


- 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

 

[dhlucke]

Just a side note. I ended up getting that 9600np and putting it in my machine. The thing that's great is that it uses passive cooling so that my machine is getting really quiet. I just need a quiet HSF and I'm good to go.

I put the GF2 in my parents rig.

<font color=red>_________________________________________</font color=red>
<b><A HREF="http://kevan.org/brain.cgi?dhlucke" target="_new">Wiggidy Wack!!!!</A></b>

 

[Snorkius]

Also, we tested the modern cards without AA and anisotropic filtering...

I've never really had the chance to test them. Are they really worth it? If not, I would just get a 4200 and wait untill later to upgrade.

The more I think about it, the more I'm leaning towards a ti4200.


A long long time ago, but I can still remember, how that music used to make me smile... <A HREF="http://www.nexus.hu/zonix/DIGGER.MID" target="_new"><b><font color=blue>Digger rulz</font color=blue></b></A>

 

[agcheavin]

Go for a 9600XT if you can afford it, the differance between it and the 9600XT is worth the money plus you get directX 9 support.

Gary

....................
<font color=red>AMD 2700 XP<font color=red>
<font color=red>PC 9600XT<font color=red>
<font color=blue>ASUS A7N8X deluxe<font color=blue>
<font color=blue>1024 meg DC DDR 3200<font color=blue>
....................

 

[Snorkius]

It's <i>not</i> worth the money. Not in europe anyway. I can consider ordering it from Russia, but I don't trust anyone with my choices of hardware. (I've been in a 'the salesperson said MX stands for MegahaXor cool' scenerio before and don't want to repeat it.)

A long long time ago, but I can still remember, how that music used to make me smile... <A HREF="http://www.nexus.hu/zonix/DIGGER.MID" target="_new"><b><font color=blue>Digger rulz</font color=blue></b></A>

 

[Snorkius]

Any chance of the Sapphire atlantis 9600(non-pro) NOT having 5ns POS memory?

I'm deciding between an SG(?) ti4200 and the 9600. The 4200 does better in most of the old benchies, and I play a lot of old games... plus it's cheaper. Prolly go with the 9600 even with the crap memory. (My Geforce2 has faster mem :\)

A long long time ago, but I can still remember, how that music used to make me smile... <A HREF="http://www.nexus.hu/zonix/DIGGER.MID" target="_new"><b><font color=blue>Digger rulz</font color=blue></b></A>

 

[HardWareBoss]

</font color=purple> Use some cotton. That will keep it nice an quiet.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by HardwareBoss on 02/19/04 00:02 AM.</EM></FONT></P>