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Okay, I'm ready for a new vid card, and there's no argument that Radeon is the way to go.

Everything runs okay now with my GF4 4800SE but I wouldn't mind some better performance in Halo, and I'm looking towards having enjoyable gameplay in HL2 whenever it's out.

I prefer a retail ATI card over an OEM or from some other manufacturer, unless you Radeon experts know of a card that's better than a retail ATI.

Basically I assume my choices are between the 9600 Pro and the 9800 Pro.

I'm willing to spend the $360 on the 9800 (it irks me to spend that much on a vid card, but I can afford it). I'd rather spend the extra $150 on a card that will last me a year versus a card that will only last me 6 months.

I just want some idea of what the real difference is between these two cards.

Since I'm not Radeon expert, someone fill me in here. What's the difference between these two cards? Is it just faster ram and a faster clock, or is there more involved?

Thanks...

The 9600pro is a great card, but It only has 4 pipelines VS 8 pipes that are found on the 9800, 9700 and 9500pro's

Problem, 9500pros are hard to find now, I just ordered a 9700pro from newegg refurbs to replace my aging ti4200@4600

Im just crossing my fingers it works, last 2 refurbs I bought have been fine.

Stay away from the 9800se it only have 4 pipes and is <9600pro

i've been considering selling my 9800 (non-pro). i haven't been gaming much and would actually downgrade.

not sure what a fair price is for it, however. if interested, lmk.


here is an anandtech article comparing the different radeons...you can see how the 9800np stands up to the others, etc.

radeon performance

Originally posted by BillyGoat
Problem, 9500pros are hard to find now, I just ordered a 9700pro from newegg refurbs to replace my aging ti4200@4600

No they aren't. I got two of these (http://www.allstarshop.com/shop/product ... 54UDUV17UD), and was successful in soft-modding both them. That was about 4 months ago though, don't know what the current batches are like now.

Originally posted by Flying Penguin
Everything runs okay now with my GF4 4800SE but I wouldn't mind some better performance in Halo, and I'm looking towards having enjoyable gameplay in HL2 whenever it's out.

HALO doesn't run for crap on my Ti4400, but with the soft modded 9500 PRO above, I am able to run it at max settings (1280x960@32) without any problems.

Friend of mine just ordered me one of these to repay me for some work I have done for him. Wish I had seen the link to the 9500 before he ordered it. Anyway the 9800 is awesome but I cant bring myself to that kind of money for a vid card. I have a TI4800SE also and am hoping the 9600 Pro will be a good upgrade. Since it only cost me about an hour to serve some papers it will be worth it.

here are the aquamark numbers on my main rig with a 9500 pro

30,295 barton @2122 9500 pro 8rda+ 1 gig @ 172 fsb

i have a 9600 pro in my work box but it id much slower cause its a compaq, etc

Thanks for the info and the chart. For some reason I never even knew there was a 9700. Seem to be scarce though, and I'm not interested in a refurb. Nor do I want an All-in-Wonder version.

Sounds like the 9800 Pro is the way I want to go. Like I said, I can afford it, just easts me up to spend that much on a vid card.

It's sounding from most previews that HL2 only really runs decently on a 9800 (I don't consider the 30 - 40 fps I'm seeing stated for the 9600 as playable for multiplayer.

Hey just as long as its not an ATI Radeon 9800XT since their fans are dying after 2 days.
http://www.rage3d.com/board/showthread. ... d=33716408

The fan seems cheap from what people say. I'd be pissed after paying all that money to get an XT.

Now whether its just an initial bad batch remains to be seen. Wonder if it'll affect Asus XT's?

As to the different makers of the cards, I used to buy only ATI cards but got a sapphire 8500le for my daughter and it looks identical to the ATI card I have and since ATI doesn't actually build video cards, ergo, sapphire builds the ATI card is what I've been told.

I've also had a 9500 sapphire and 9800 sapphire, both identical to the BBA cards including the fans. I successfully flashed the bios on the 9800 to pro. I also baulked at spending 300 usd on a vid card as I haven't spent that much on a cpu for over 3 years and it gives me only 45% higher 3dmark2001 score than my 8500 retail but it does have all the dx9 features and is quiet and cool.

It'll be nice to leave my video card alone for a year now.

Okay, now what the heck is the difference between a 9800 Pro and a 9800 Pro "Ultimate"?

I assume clock speed, because the dang thing has a heatsink the size of Tokyo:



It's $380 at NewEgg.

the sapphire 9800 pro is under 300 at newwegg - the last couple of cards i've bought have been sapphires and seem fine - do not buy powercolor or one of the mystery brands

the one you pictured is the 256meg verson, and is cooled by a passive heatsink.

Greg

FP-

yhm.

I just ordered one of these to play around with.........( $122 refurb fr newegg ) . It gets editor's choice props from a few respected websites. I'll post back with some numbers when it gets here.

Tyan Tachyon G9600 Pro ( Radeon )

the one you pictured is the 256meg verson, and is cooled by a passive heatsink.

Nope, that's listed as a 128Mb Radeon 9800 Pro Ultimate.

For $380 versus $350, I like the idea of the passive cooling. No fan to wear out and no fan noise.

Greg, you hear anything about these things? Do they require any extra cooling? I like the idea, but not if I have to add an intake fan to the front of the case.

I have one of those nice Antec cases with the 120mm (quiet) exhaust fans on the back.
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EDIT

Found a review here at Firing Squad: http://firingsquad.gamers.com/hardware/ ... te_review/

Still wondering if anyone here has heard anything good or bad about the passive cooling. Firing Squad says the thing is too hot to touch