Confused as hell, which of these cards would you recommend?

[The Dark Elf]

Ok so I was about to place my order when I noticed something. Both these cards look and sound like their exactly the same, only one is marginally by a couple of pounds cheaper than the other. So which would you go for? Which is the better of the two cause on the surface I can't see any difference other than the name, tried googling but found little in the way of first hand user experience and comparisons between the two of them

128Mb ATI RADEON™ 9600 XT

128MB ATI RADEON™ 9600 PRO


Anyone have any solid facts to back either up as being the better of the two? Or are they infact, as I imagine, just the same card with different names and one with a voucher for HL2.

 

[RoyaleWithCheese]

There are differences, I've looked on a Dutch site and this is what I came across first, but I will post more facts later..

 

[addy]

9600XT is better.

 

[RoyaleWithCheese]

Well, not that much around I guess, every question similar to yours is replied with links to the faq heh...

Well, I've found this comparison, the 9600 pro and xt are compared with the 9800 se.

Hope this helps...

 

[The Dark Elf]

Originally posted by DeusEx2
Well, not that much around I guess, every question similar to yours is replied with links to the faq heh...

Well, I've found this comparison, the 9600 pro and xt are compared with the 9800 se.

Hope this helps...

Thanks Deus, very useful link. The only stuff I was able to find was mostly he says she says sort of thing on googlegroups, nobody could make up their mind

Just reading through and it mentions games such as HL2 or those making use of extensive shader support will benefit the most from the XT version. So I'm leaning heavily towards that one now, and also the mention of the core speed being faster, and I've read about it being cooler and less hassle for PSU's to handle, though those were from google and may or may not be true. The XT it says also has the temp gauges and will speed itself up if cool enough, which could be fun during the winter here when its thankfully nice and cold (but only with the deskfan on full blast into the machine and the windows flung open heh)

The HL2 voucher isn't really a selling point for me, I plan on buying the boxed version and collectors version anyway. And no intention of using Steam again until HL2 is available

hmm, I think looking at this stuff I'm probably best getting the XT version, sounds like it'll do nicely for what I need right now, it was the one I'd picked originally but then seeing the Pro version I wasn't sure then, but yeah XT I think

Thanks very much again

 

[pHATE1982]

Originally posted by Fenric1138
Thanks Deus, very useful link. The only stuff I was able to find was mostly he says she says sort of thing on googlegroups, nobody could make up their mind

Just reading through and it mentions games such as HL2 or those making use of extensive shader support will benefit the most from the XT version. So I'm leaning heavily towards that one now, and also the mention of the core speed being faster, and I've read about it being cooler and less hassle for PSU's to handle, though those were from google and may or may not be true. The XT it says also has the temp gauges and will speed itself up if cool enough, which could be fun during the winter here when its thankfully nice and cold (but only with the deskfan on full blast into the machine and the windows flung open heh)

The HL2 voucher isn't really a selling point for me, I plan on buying the boxed version and collectors version anyway. And no intention of using Steam again until HL2 is available

hmm, I think looking at this stuff I'm probably best getting the XT version, sounds like it'll do nicely for what I need right now, it was the one I'd picked originally but then seeing the Pro version I wasn't sure then, but yeah XT I think

Thanks very much again

I'd go for the 9600 XT...

It's essentially the same card, but a slightly newer build.
The performance is slightly better, but not that noticable. But still definatly a couple of pounds better :cheese:

 

[dawdler]

The difference between the XT and the Pro is that the XT got a built in heat sensor, and thus can automatically control speed (if it runs cool, you just up the speed). Its a really good system, but not very usable, sadly... The XT variants I've seen are to expensive to justify the small gain. It will of course matter more in the future, when you want every little FPS out of the card.

The main thing is that the XT is completely pointless for those that really do want every little bit of performance. They just overclock themselves! For ALOT better results (you wont fluctuate, you would strap a badass heatsink on and overclock 50-100mhz or more)!
Its kind of the same thing with the Pro version, but somewhere you have to draw the line

Personally, I would suggest the 9600 Pro if its cheaper. If they are roughly the same price, go for the XT (keep in mind the free HL2 on the price). BUT if you can find a cheap 9800 or 9700 Pro (9800 preferably, it can overclock better) thats just slightly more expensive, go for that instead!!!

 

[Meteor_of_War]

The XT cards are worth it if you plan to use the included HL2 voucher.

If not, the small framerate gain they're capable of isnt worth the increased price.

 

[iamironsam]

Originally posted by Meteor_of_War
The XT cards are worth it if you plan to use the included HL2 voucher.

If not, the small framerate gain they're capable of isnt worth the increased price.

You can get a free copy of HL2 with either board now. Check ATI's website for the details.

 

[The Dark Elf]

Originally posted by Meteor_of_War
The XT cards are worth it if you plan to use the included HL2 voucher.

If not, the small framerate gain they're capable of isnt worth the increased price.

the XT is £108 the Pro £101 so the price difference is tiny, which I found confusing why they were pretty much the same cost.

I suppose I could use the HL2 voucher. I guess one bonus of it would be not having to worry about the stores not having it in stock when I try buy it. So I guess for that it would be useful, download it in the beginning then buy it once I've done playing the game and start wanting to mod with it.

I like the heat sensor and the increase when using DX9 shaders which I'll probably be using a lot in Softimage|XSI and not just HL2.

Oh I'll be going from a Geforce4MX to the 9600XT on a much faster machine than I have now, I'll hazard a guess that my eyes will probably pop out when I see it running?


* if it runs, best laid plans n all that right?

 

[iamironsam]

If the price difference is that low then go for the XT, no doubt about it.