Which is the better chip?

[blackautt]

Hey.. I need a quick and easy to comprehend answer to the following question. I'm considering buying a Radeon 9600 or 9600Pro due to the low cost of the card, but what are the major differences, and which chip can I consider the best, in terms of price vs. performance? Also, if there are alternatives in the same price range that would be a better choice, let me know. My system consists of the following :

Athlon XP 1800+
512 Mb 2100DDR
Soltek DV5 mainboard...

 

[Flinx]

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.html?i=1812" target="_new">http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.html?i=1812</A>
<A HREF="http://mirror.ati.com/support/agpchart/index.html" target="_new">http://mirror.ati.com/support/agpchart/index.html</A>
<A HREF="http://www6.tomshardware.com/graphic/20030306/radeon9800pro-04.html" target="_new">http://www6.tomshardware.com/graphic/20030306/radeon9800pro-04.html</A>

And finally another comparison:
<A HREF="http://www6.tomshardware.com/graphic/20030416/index.html" target="_new">http://www6.tomshardware.com/graphic/20030416/index.html</A>

Read around or wait for <b>brand</b> advice.

The loving are the daring!<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Flinx on 07/30/03 09:15 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Nights_L]

I would say buy Radeon9600PRO, it gives a more potential for overclocking than Radeon9600

 

[Ganache]

9600 pro all the way

 

[Willamette_sucks]

The 9600 Pro is much faster than the non-pro version, get the Pro dude.

"Mice eat cheese." - Modest Mouse

"Every Day is the Right Day." -Pink Floyd

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Just to add my voice (as an R9600PRO user, an the resident 'know-it-all' for R9600s);

The major difference is in the quality of the memory and the potential of the cores. They ae the same cores on paper, but likely the lesser cores get off-loaded onto R9600non-pros (based on the poor overclocking results I've seen). The memeory on R9600N-Ps is TSOP, whereas the memory on R9600PROs is BGA. BGA is a better method of connections and the memory used is usually of better quality (both leading to better speeds especially in overclclocking).
It all comes down to speed. Thee are no pipeline or architecture diff. between the two, however the core and memory speeds start off diff. (usually 325/200[400] vs 400/300[600]) the 'chip's themselves are basically the same, except as I mentioned the core's potential speed.

And I'd say go with the PRO if you can afford it. It's the better choice IMO. Which is why I have one.

<A HREF="http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=353530#353530" target="_new">HERE</A>' my original thread on my experiences (up to a point; it's an old thread).


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[marneus]

the 9600pro, though if you can find a 9500pro going for the same price it would be even better choice...

Trust me I know what I'm doing... ooops, grab the cat...