Radeon 9600

[Varg|Hund]

Well, I'm planning on replacing my old crappy GeForce4 MX440 with a Powercolor Radeon 9600 Pro, but I wanted some opinions first.

Is the Radeon 9600 Pro worth it? How long do you think it'll last? Do you have one and if so, how does it perform?

 

[Axyon]

The 9600 Pro is a solid card, but if you can, get the XT version. It's only a bit more to pay, but you're getting your money's worth for the amount it's overclocked.

 

[Frank]

Hahaha, I've been talking with Badger about videocards lately, and right now I'm looking at a Radeon9600XT.
What's the big differende between the PRO and the XT version?

 

[Frank]

But there are two version of the XT version...

ATI Radeon 9600XT Ultimate, 128MB DDR, TV-OUT/DVI, Full retail (most expensive)
ATI Radeon 9600XT Deluxe Fireblade, 128MB DDR, TV-OUT/DVI, retail

What do I get by buying the Full Retail version? Just tons of Software ooor...?

 

[ComradeBadger]

9600 Pro.. hmmmm... I wouldn't advise getting an XT, since thats just a slight overclock of the 9600 Pro :/

 

[Frank]

I'm confused...
So ein Ding? http://www.shg.dk/images/produkt2/340506/AK0BBJ9D3Q_500_414.jpg
Well as far as I remember Half-Life 2 was tested on a Radeon 9600 during the E3...that's alright, I guess...

 

[Axyon]

9600 Pro.. hmmmm... I wouldn't advise getting an XT, since thats just a slight overclock of the 9600 Pro :/

You're not paying much more at all - $10-20 for a ~100Mhz core overclock and a ~50Mhz memory overclock. Pretty good bargain, I'd say.

 

[NYHoustonman]

Those extras at the end are just added on by the manufacturer to make it sound better (as far as I know, some do make a difference, like the Ultimate I believe is fanless). I would just go with the cheapest XT (MAKE SURE it's an XT, not some other cheaper type).

Also keep in mind that the FX 5900 is a great value, as is the 9800 Pro, if you're willing to spend a little bit more.

 

[Willber123]

also the fillrate of the XT is higher than the pro's so thats another reason for the XT

 

[simmo]

I have a 9600pro and I can say ive been playin all the leatest gamez on max.

But as people have already said, its better to get the XT

 

[Frank]

I have a 9600pro and I can say ive been playin all the leatest gamez on max.

But as people have already said, its better to get the XT

Hmmm...your specs please?

 

[Murray_H]

I've found the 9600XT 256MB for only £7 (i think :S) more than the 128MB version - is it worth the difference?

 

[Frank]

I've found the 9600XT 256MB for only £7 (i think :S) more than the 128MB version - is it worth the difference?

I would gladly pay you 7£ so you can get the 256MB

 

[Murray_H]

Well i'm not getting a new pc till april, hope they are still doing them then!

oh its www.cclcomputers.co.uk if anyone wanted to know where it's from

 

[Paintballer]

for 25 bucks more than the 9600XT, like someone else said, you could get an fx5900. Thats what I ended up doing right before Xmas. I had a 9600XT ordered, but it got backordered. Same day I went with the fx5900 for just a little bit more, and am very happy with the decision I made.

 

[simmo]

Hmmm...your specs please?

Not that fancy, but I can play all games at max with AT LEAST! 40fps

AMD 2400+
512 DDR

 

[63]

I Have the 9600 Pro All-In-Wonder, which speeds ring in the same as the XT. I payed $299 Canadian on a Box day sale.

 

[Frank]

Not that fancy, but I can play all games at max with AT LEAST! 40fps

AMD 2400+
512 DDR

Well at least it's better than mine:
AMD 1700+
512 DDR

 

[Frank]

There's a new card out, GeXCube Radeon 9600XT, and it's suppose to be really good!

Here's a conclusion of the card that I found in a danish review:
All in all it has been a pleasure working with this card. There have been some minor issues with the 3D settings, Anti Aliasing and Anisotropic filtering, which wouldn’t work exactly as it should, but tweaking it a bit helped.
I must admit I was surprised about the performance when comparing to a GeForce FX5700Ultra, which I expected to be beaten in every test, but as the test results show it wasn’t the case in high resolutions. And now I know that my purchase of a Radeon 9800SE is useless when considering price/performance, as long as I don’t softmod it…
In stead of Delta Force: Black Hawk Down I would like to see Half-Life 2 bundled, but this is unfortunately not the case.
As for the graphics cooler, this is a feature most people ignores or think of as useless, but a casemodder might like it. I’m a casemodder too, but I must admit that after ½ hour I was looking for the off button for this damned light, but it was in vain. Imagine yourself watching a movie on your TV using TV-out and your computer is placed just besides the TV… The computer with a window in it.

 

[Brian Damage]

I've got a new XP2400+ with a 9600 Pro and 512 MB DDR400 Ram, and It runs everything pretty well... and I just found out that the card is actually underclocked. W00t.

 

[Bad^Hat]

Since this seems like the new 9600 thread I'll join the fray

I have my heart set on the 9600XT, but I'm not interested in a Gigabyte since I've heard they're not tops with ATi... and they don't include the HL2 coupon

Anyone recommend some primo manufacturers to look out for?

As for specs - AMD 2200+ XP ; 512 DDR400 ; GeForce 4MX (This card makes baby jesus cry...)

 

[ComradeBadger]

Sapphire or Hercules

 

[Bad^Hat]

Sapphire or Hercules

You already said that in the other thread, silly me ^_^ Thanks again.

 

[ComradeBadger]

No worries. I recommend Hercules for budget: I bought a 9800SE - softmodded it to a 9800 Pro, and then overclocked both the Core and the Memory (using RadClocker) to 400.5mhz and 364.5mhz respectivly

saving about 200 quids

 

[Bleeder]

ok, here's the deal, i have a 9800, i don't know who the manufacturer is, and i don't know if it's a pro or not.....the p\n is:117-40154-60 my question is , does anyone know how i can find out what make it is, and if it's a pro?

 

[ComradeBadger]

Right, what OS are you running?

If it's XP, simply go to the Display options, and then settings, and it will say there.

Also, try DxDiag

 

[X-FacToR]

I have the ATI 9600 Pro and I can assure you its a great card for the money but if money isnt a factor get the 9800XT

 

[ComradeBadger]

Whatever anyone says, don't buy the 9800XT, it actually only scores about 500 more points than my modded and OCed 9800SE

Thats pathetic.

 

[Axyon]

Whatever anyone says, don't buy the 9800XT, it actually only scores about 500 more points than my modded and OCed 9800SE

Thats pathetic.

It's not all about 3dMark scores, you know... it may score 500 more points, but how do you know it's not giving an extra 10+ FPS in a game?

 

[ComradeBadger]

Going by the FPS rates in the games tests Average something like 180 FPS in the first one, and about 60 in the others... plus most rates over 60fps you don't see... doesn't matter.

tbh, I messed with my card so much just too see how far it can be pushed tbh..

 

[63]

The 9600 kicks ass

 

[Varg|Hund]

No worries. I recommend Hercules for budget: I bought a 9800SE - softmodded it to a 9800 Pro, and then overclocked both the Core and the Memory (using RadClocker) to 400.5mhz and 364.5mhz respectivly

saving about 200 quids

Ahh...This softmodding, is it hard to do? How do you do it?
I'm kinda on a tight budget, so converting a SE to a Pro would be really great:E

 

[ComradeBadger]

Softmodding is really easy, but doesn't always work... thats the problem. You need a card with 256bit memory, not 128bit.

The card I have, and is practically guarenteed to softmod is the Hercules ATi Radeon 9800SE AIW 128mb DDR AGP8X. In order to get near-full performance, I recommend RadClocker to up the clock of your card to 9800 Pro speeds. However, the 9800SE has a .15 micron processor, so it is very prone to heat. You will need to keep it cool if you are serious about squeezing all the power

 

[Varg|Hund]

Softmodding is really easy, but doesn't always work... thats the problem. You need a card with 256bit memory, not 128bit.

The card I have, and is practically guarenteed to softmod is the Hercules ATi Radeon 9800SE AIW 128mb DDR AGP8X. In order to get near-full performance, I recommend RadClocker to up the clock of your card to 9800 Pro speeds. However, the 9800SE has a .15 micron processor, so it is very prone to heat. You will need to keep it cool if you are serious about squeezing all the power

Aha..ok...How cool? Water-cooling cool, or will normal fans suffice?


EDIT: Oh damn, never mind. Saw that you were talking about the 9800 and not the 9600

 

[ComradeBadger]

I'm talking about the 9800SE, it's like the cheapest mid-range card

Normal fans are fine, I've got two case fans angled at it

 

[63]

I'm talking about the 9800SE, it's like the cheapest mid-range card

Normal fans are fine, I've got two case fans angled at it

You're lucky to have real fans at all! here in Canada I have to replace the packed ice cubes around my card every 10 minutes!

 

[Bleeder]

Hey Badger.....my problem is, it's not installed.

 

[ComradeBadger]

What, the card itself? If not, goto www.ati.com , and download the lastest Catalyst drivers, they aren't the best so far, but they are quite decent. Once you've done that, and have DirectX 9.0b installed, goto the 'Run' thingy in the start menu, and type 'dxdiag' and look through there, goto the Display tab, and viola, your 3d card will be revealed