PowerColor ATI Radeon 9600 xt 256Mb

[.]

After returning my Geforce FX 5200 256 mb card, I currently have my eyes on this card right here.

- RADEON 9600 xt chipset
- Memory 256Mb DDR
- AA Samples Per Second 18.2G samples/sec
- Memory Bandwidth 21.8 GB/sec.
- 8 pixel pipelines
- Pixel Fill Rate 3.04G pixels /sec.
- Support DirectX 9.0
- Support OpenGL 1.5
- RAMDACs 500/400 MHz
- Output DVI-I / TV-Out / D-Sub
- Bus AGP 8X/4X.

Anyone know something about this card? How good is it compared to the one I just returned? Thanks in advance

[IluvitLIVE]

It is MUCH MUCH better and with much better dx9 support. But if you can just fork out $40 more for the 9800 pro and you will never look back. You can get double the fps with a 9800 pro than a 9600XT. The 9800 pro has a 256 bit bus while the 9600XT has a 128 bit bus. I have a 9800 pro and I use it to play next gen games like Far Cry, Doom 3, and HL2 when that comes out. I can get upwards of 60 fps on Doom 3 at high but with no AA or AF using Catalyst 4.10. I reckon I can get over 100 fps easily on Live 2005 (I haven't checked)...I actually have Live installed on another PC using 9200SE. Even a card that CRAP runs Live 2005 smoothly without any problems. Honestly Live 2005 IS NOT a graphic demanding game!!!!!!! Always do your homework before you buy a new GPU. Here it also shows benchmarks for various games:

http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphi ... index.html

If you can buy a 9800 pro with a R360 core because you can flash it to a 9800XT!!! Also, make sure that your system has enough W to power the GPU you buy and that it doesn't bottleneck it. I have seen the most powerful GPU in the universe (X800XT PE) get slowed down BIG TIME (to the point of embarrassment) because of an AMD Athlon XP 2.0 ghz.

The saying is: "Your system is only as fast as it's slowest component." Truth.

Also don't waste your money on a GPU with 256 mb on board memory. Their increase in fps is almost minimal (1-2 fps)...seriously. You will be wasting money. Performance is more dependent on the bus width and pipelines more than the on board mem. Games like Live 2005 don't even use 256mb anyways. Hardly ANY game other than Doom 3 needs that amount.

[truSt]

It's useless for him to buy a 9800 pro, well maybe it is the line but he hasn't got a state of the art system so the newer cards (above 9800pro/xt) are just a waste of money.. Second, that card is second hand (or how you say that in english ) so he hasn't really got the choice about 256mb.. it isn't really a waste of money though, you will have performance boost..

[IluvitLIVE]

It's useless for him to buy a 9800 pro, well maybe it is the line but he hasn't got a state of the art system so the newer cards (above 9800pro/xt) are just a waste of money..

I don't know the specs of his PC. But if his PC is not good enough to run 9800 pro then it is just minimal to run 9600XT. Might as well as just get a 9550 pro then. Anyways, Kobe list your full specs. [Your cpu including it's alias (eg. If you have a P4 is it a Northwood or Prescott?), mobo, RAM (type, brand, and dual channel or not), and your PSU wattage.]

Also to add, it is generally considered that a 256 on board mem IS a waste of the money for now compared to a 128 on board mem. I have never seen benchmarks where a 256 mb version is much better than it's 128 mb version. We are talking about the on board mem here not the bus width which people often mistake. A 256 mb card is not necessarily a 256 bit card. Those are two different things not that I don't think you know what you're talking about but to other people who don't know these things.

[truSt]

The card he is looking for is second hard though (or how do you say that in english when it's used) so he doesn't really has a choice about the memory, though it won't be much it will have some little performance boost, and everything helps. And there are hardly any 128mb cards sold so why not buy a 256 eh, doesn't really matter.

His system is 2400+ AMD Duron if I'm right, but don't know. Can be athlon too. 512mb of memory, but specific details I don't know.

[.]

2400+ AMD Athlon 512 Mb

[truSt]

Ah athlon yes. I knew it

[IluvitLIVE]

The card he is looking for is second hard though (or how do you say that in english when it's used) so he doesn't really has a choice about the memory, though it won't be much it will have some little performance boost, and everything helps. And there are hardly any 128mb cards sold so why not buy a 256 eh, doesn't really matter.

His system is 2400+ AMD Duron if I'm right, but don't know. Can be athlon too. 512mb of memory, but specific details I don't know.

But he can still get another GPU can't he or is he just restricted to that one? If he is then I agree he has no other choice. Also what do you mean there are no 128 mb GPUs sold. Those are the largest market!!! Hardly anyone forks out for a 256 mb card since it is rather useless right now and performance as I said is ABSOLUTE minimal. Infact, the 128mb 9800 pro often BEATS it's 256mb 9800 pro in some benchmarks! If it doesn't it only lags behing 1-2 fps which the naked eye CAN'T tell the difference.

Anyways I will just wait for Kobe to respond. Hey Kobe is that the ONLY card you can get?

[truSt]

I mean used cards, almost every one of them are 256mb Ofcourse I know 128mb's are sold, new yes. I'm not stupid

That a 9800 pro 128mb sometimes beats a 256mb is because of the choice of memory..

[IluvitLIVE]

2400+ AMD Athlon 512 Mb

No you can still get a 9800 pro. Your system won't bottleneck it especially like with those crap a** Semphrons and Durons or whatever. What is your RAM though? What is it's type, brand, and is it dual channel. If you don't know just google CPU-Z. It is a very handle tool ot if you want dl lavalys's Everest and that program tells you EVERYTHING about your PC.

[IluvitLIVE]

I mean used cards, almost every one of them are 256mb Ofcourse I know 128mb's are sold, new yes. I'm not stupid

That a 9800 pro 128mb sometimes beats a 256mb is because of the choice of memory..

Ah I understand then. Ebay is a great tool to find GPUs. I had a friend get a 9800XT for $200 USD!

[truSt]

2400+ really isnt really the fastest or something, it isn't like a 2,4 ghz pentium 4.. it really depends whether is ram is pc3200 or above..

[IluvitLIVE]

2400+ really isnt really the fastest or something, it isn't like a 2,4 ghz pentium 4.. it really depends whether is ram is pc3200 or above..

That is why I asked about his RAM. But in truth his cpu won't bottleneck a 9800. It WILL however bottleneck an X800.

[truSt]

Yeah x800 or from nvidia 6800 are a total waste of money , I agree with that But they are high above his budget though, I think above lot's of people's budget

[nbkid]

After returning my Geforce FX 5200 256 mb card, I currently have my eyes on this card right here.

- RADEON 9600 xt chipset
- Memory 256Mb DDR
- AA Samples Per Second 18.2G samples/sec
- Memory Bandwidth 21.8 GB/sec.
- 8 pixel pipelines
- Pixel Fill Rate 3.04G pixels /sec.
- Support DirectX 9.0
- Support OpenGL 1.5
- RAMDACs 500/400 MHz
- Output DVI-I / TV-Out / D-Sub
- Bus AGP 8X/4X.

Anyone know something about this card? How good is it compared to the one I just returned? Thanks in advance

Just to note that you have the 9600 rated as 8 pixel pipelines. not sure where you got that from, but ALL 9600 series cards are quad (4) pipelines. if you want to have 8 (WHICH I STRONGLY RECOMMEND) go with the 9800 series. just check the ati website and do a product comparison http://www.ati.com

9800 pro 128 is what i would suggest. it runs amazing with nba live 05.

[truSt]

That's a spelling mistake I guess

[.]

NBA Live is the only game I play on the pc, so I really dont want to spend 200+ on something like that.

[IluvitLIVE]

NBA Live is the only game I play on the pc, so I really dont want to spend 200+ on something like that.

Then even a 9200SE would do. I have Live 05 setup on a PC using that GPU and it runs smoothly everything on high and AF at 1024*768 and with lighting.

Honestly like I said Live is FARRR from a tech demanding game unless of course you are more than 4 years behind in PC tech.

You can get a 9200SE for less than $70 but for $15 more you can get it's 128 bit version 9200.

It must also be said that the comp running Live 05 is P4 3.0 Prescott and 1024 mb Kingston RAM PC3200 Dual channel. I plan on upgrading to a X800XT PE for that system in the christmas.

[truSt]

So you have enough money Can't you give me some

But buying a 9200 is really useless, cuz he could also run it good on a 5200 so the point of buying a new card is totally useless then, cuz the 9200 really isn't that much better than a 5200..

I would say just stick to the card he want's to buy..

[bishibashiboy]

Although a 9800pro would be nice, get the 9600XT. For sure.

I had the same processor as you a few months back before I upgraded to an Athlon 64 system.

My old system was an Athlon XP 2400+ (Thoroughbred-b), 512MB DDR266 with a 9500pro (roughly equivalent in performance to a 9600XT). That's about the fastest card you should get for this system. It makes sense too, since it's about a mid-range system and the 9600Xt is a midrange card. I stuck a 9800pro once to see the difference. Not enough difference in frame rates to warrant the difference in price. Believe me. Other ppl above said the cpu will not bottleneck the 9800pro. This CPU will bottleneck the 9800pro by a significant amount. You need something around close to a P4 2.8Ghz or AthlonXP 2800+ before you start to see the full potential of a 9800pro. If you want bang for your buck in your current system, 9600XT all the way. If you intend on upgrading your cpu in the next few months get the 9800pro.

Don't get a 9200SE. You will shoot yourself in the foot and that gpu will bottleneck the system. I know this one too since I used to have a Radeon 9000pro (which is in essence the same gpu core, but slightly faster than a 9200SE) and the difference between that and the 9500pro i got later was huge. Live 2003 ran like shit on that.

And nbkid above is right, there's no such thing as a 8 pixel pipeline 9600Xt as far as i know. The 9500pro/9700/9800 are the only 8 pipe cards from ati.

[oboeguy]

bbb has it right. You need to find the "sweet spot" on the price/performance curve, so to speak. A stripped-down POS like the 9200 type cards is a waste, because next year's Live will probably be more graphically intensive! What I'm saying is keep in mind that you are probably buying for two years' worth of Live, so a small amount more dough will pay off in the end. 9800 and such is way too much for the rest of your machine. I have a 9700PRO (given to me) so I got myself a P4 2.4GHz to go with it -- much more would have been overkill and a waste of cash.

BTW, I don't even play Live on the PC anymore (it's more for CS, Doom3 (another gift), etc).

[IluvitLIVE]

Although a 9800pro would be nice, get the 9600XT. For sure.

I had the same processor as you a few months back before I upgraded to an Athlon 64 system.

My old system was an Athlon XP 2400+ (Thoroughbred-b), 512MB DDR266 with a 9500pro (roughly equivalent in performance to a 9600XT). That's about the fastest card you should get for this system. It makes sense too, since it's about a mid-range system and the 9600Xt is a midrange card. I stuck a 9800pro once to see the difference. Not enough difference in frame rates to warrant the difference in price. Believe me. Other ppl above said the cpu will not bottleneck the 9800pro. This CPU will bottleneck the 9800pro by a significant amount. You need something around close to a P4 2.8Ghz or AthlonXP 2800+ before you start to see the full potential of a 9800pro. If you want bang for your buck in your current system, 9600XT all the way. If you intend on upgrading your cpu in the next few months get the 9800pro.

Don't get a 9200SE. You will shoot yourself in the foot and that gpu will bottleneck the system. I know this one too since I used to have a Radeon 9000pro (which is in essence the same gpu core, but slightly faster than a 9200SE) and the difference between that and the 9500pro i got later was huge. Live 2003 ran like shit on that.

And nbkid above is right, there's no such thing as a 8 pixel pipeline 9600Xt as far as i know. The 9500pro/9700/9800 are the only 8 pipe cards from ati.

His cpu won't bottleneck the 9800 pro by a HUGE amount, it definitely won't run to it's full potential but in a long term sense he should buy a 9800 pro especially when he decides to change PCs so he can just put the 9800 pro in his new unit. With an AMD Athlon 2400 you will still get better fps with a 9800 pro than a 9600XT and like I said when he buys a new comp he can just put the 9800 pro in it. It's like a longterm investment especially when you can find a 9800 pro for only $40 more. I don't know how rich Kobe is but $40 is essentially nothing and less than one day's worth of work. If he can get a 9800 pro with a R360 core he can also flash that to a 9800XT.

Also the 9500 pro is not nearly as good as the 9600XT and I don't know about your comp but one of my PCs with a 9200SE can play Live 05 with everything high and AF flawlessly. This game is not really GPU demanding at all IMO. But of course you SHOULD NOT buy a 9200 or any ATI cards which are SE. But if it is only for Live then why spend major bucks? Also the the 9000 pro is actually MUCH BETTER than the 9200 SE or 9200. The 9200SE is only really better than the 7500 and the 9200 is on par with the 8500. Don't let the numbers trick you...the 9200 was introduced as ATI's new low-end card. Just think of the 9*** series as it's own with 9200 as it's lowest. It's like the crap POS FX5200 which is WORSE than the lowest G4 TIs.

Honestly though if you can Kobe...I just save up and buy a new comp or build a new comp. Your cpu is rubbish but if you're just a casual gamer why go all-out? May as well as just buy a PS2 which is CHEAPER than a new GPU like 9800 pro anyways.

It all really depends what you want. If you are an avid PC gamer than don't get anything less than 9600XT which will be outdated next year anyways as ATI now considers the 9800 pro to be it's mainstream card now. If you're not an avid PC gamer just buy a PS2 or Xbox and you don't need to worry about your cpu, GPU, ram, and etc.

I say buy a 9800 pro with a R360 core if you plan on buying a new PC in the future because you can just switch it into your new PC. But in all fairness as mentioned you don't really have a choice right? So just stick with the 9600XT, at least it is MUCH MUCH MUCH better than a FX5200.

[.]

There is no way I will get a new comuter, because it costs way to much in the first place. Im a pizza deliver guy and my parents are kinda poor so I will have to save money for 1 or 2 years to buy a decent computer. We just got this one like 2 years ago in the first place.

Second, I used to have a PS2 (a modded one) but I sold it because I hardly used it, just for the GTA series. I prefer the Live series on pc because of the patches, something thats impossible to do with a PS2.

Thanks for all the help, I will meet with the seller tomorrow so I will post later on how it turned out.

[bishibashiboy]

His cpu won't bottleneck the 9800 pro by a HUGE amount, it definitely won't run to it's full potential but in a long term sense he should buy a 9800 pro especially when he decides to change PCs so he can just put the 9800 pro in his new unit. With an AMD Athlon 2400 you will still get better fps with a 9800 pro than a 9600XT and like I said when he buys a new comp he can just put the 9800 pro in it. It's like a longterm investment especially when you can find a 9800 pro for only $40 more. I don't know how rich Kobe is but $40 is essentially nothing and less than one day's worth of work. If he can get a 9800 pro with a R360 core he can also flash that to a 9800XT.

Agreed, but bang for buck 9800pro would not be good for him, especially if he doesn't have lots of money and won't upgrade again for a while. Also 9800pro is dead now. It's mainstream performance at higher end price and is not future proof. Geforce 6600GT owns it and will be a great buy when its AGP version is available later this month/year.

Also the 9500 pro is not nearly as good as the 9600XT

Sorry dude, you're wrong there. Check the benches. The 9500pro is on par and when AA/AF are turned up it normally beats it by 5% or so due to its 8x1 design. The 9600Xt does beat the 9500pro in some benches as well but not by a wide margin. Essentially equal in performance at the end of the day.

and I don't know about your comp but one of my PCs with a 9200SE can play Live 05 with everything high and AF flawlessly.

Hmm..not sure about that. I have yet to see a 9200SE play ANYTHING at high AF flawlessly. The card is hopelessly flawed for gaming. Should only be used for office work..

This game is not really GPU demanding at all IMO. But of course you SHOULD NOT buy a 9200 or any ATI cards which are SE. But if it is only for Live then why spend major bucks? Also the the 9000 pro is actually MUCH BETTER than the 9200 SE or 9200. The 9200SE is only really better than the 7500 and the 9200 is on par with the 8500. Don't let the numbers trick you...the 9200 was introduced as ATI's new low-end card. Just think of the 9*** series as it's own with 9200 as it's lowest. It's like the crap POS FX5200 which is WORSE than the lowest G4 TIs.

Agreed with u there. The Live series has always been heavily CPU dependent as far as I've seen. Nothing improves performance more than upgrading the cpu when it comes to this game.
However, the 9200 is not really on par with the 8500. The 8500 was a good card at one time and easily is faster than both the 9000pro and 9200 series. The 8500LE (scaled down version of the 8500) was faster than both the 9000 and 9200 as well, and was re-released as the 9100 at one time.

Overall I still think kobe should buy the 9600Xt especially if he's not upgrading his comp any time in the near future. But if $40 really is no big deal than try to find the 9800pro or wait a few months for the 6600GT AGP version.

[.]

I just bought and installed the Ati Radeon 9600 XT, and I must say its awesome