780g vs 9600 pro

[Marcis]

Hi

I have a computer I basically use as an HTPC on my hdtv.

I don't really play games on it but I do play epsxe emulation on it on a regular basis.

Since about 2 years ago, my 9600 pro has been overheating so I stuck a case fan on it to cool it down as I only got issues when playing graphics intensive games which I never do anymore.

However, lately, I've been starting to get crashes playing epsxe which is starting to be an issue and so I'll be looking to renew my computer in the coming months.

I've read a lot of good things on the new 780g and would be looking to pair it with a lower end (possibly tri-core depending on price) phenom and if I do intend to start playing more heavy games in a year or two, I always have the hybrid crossfire option.

I however want the card to at least have slightly better performance than my 9600 pro in epsxe as I like to play it at my hdtv native resolution.

Epsxe doesn't really make heavy use of shaders though so older game performance is important to me as well.

Would anybody have hard numbers or at least personal experience between the two cards (or a hd 2400 instead of the 780g as they are supposedly very similar) ?

Thanks.

edit : I thought putting the specs here would be a good idea :

Radeon 9600 Pro ________ Radeon HD 2400 Pro (as I didn't have the 780g ones on hand)

400 MHz __ Core Clock ____ 525 MHz (the 780g is 500mhz)

600 MHz _ Memory Clock ___800 MHz

128-bit _ Memory Interface _ 64-bit

9.6 GB/s Mem. Transfer Rate 6.4 GB/s

4 _____ Pixels per clock ____40

9.0 ____ Direct X Version ___10

 

[heyheybooboo]

The chip on a 780g is an HD 2400.

I would guess they are roughly equivilent with an edge to the 780g. If you OC the IGP I don't think it would be a contest

 

[Marcis]

Thanks.

Just looking at the specs, I'd think the 780g would kill the 9600 pro in newer shader intensive games.

In older games however, the memory interface limitation is the part I'm unsure of.

I also do enable AA in epsxe which stresses out the memory subsystem if I'm not mistaken.

I'm also not a big fan of overclocking as that usually kill the parts early and I like to hang on to my stuff for a few years (my current system is probably about 5 yeard old and the only thing I added is RAM).

 

[Piuc2020]

Overclocking doesn't affect hardware life beyond the point of it's actual usable lifetime, I've had my G4s running overclocked for years (5+) now and they are largely obsolete by now but they still work like a charm, same with all my videocards and pretty much all of my hardware, it's retired much earlier than it even gets close to dying.

 

[heyheybooboo]

Originally posted by: Marcis
Thanks.

Just looking at the specs, I'd think the 780g would kill the 9600 pro in newer shader intensive games.

In older games however, the memory interface limitation is the part I'm unsure of.

I also do enable AA in epsxe which stresses out the memory subsystem if I'm not mistaken.

I'm also not a big fan of overclocking as that usually kill the parts early and I like to hang on to my stuff for a few years (my current system is probably about 5 yeard old and the only thing I added is RAM).

I don't disagree - I tend to undervolt and underclock.

Some of the 780gs have a memory buffer chip installed on the mobo itself though in your case I think it really doesn't matter.

In effect you would be taking the HD 2400 IGP and turning it from a stock HD 2400 (pro) at 500MHz to a stock HD 2400 (xt) at 700MHz (or more!)

And guess what? The HD 2400 IGP in the 780g is a die shunk (65nm -->55nm) 'xt' chip

 

[Ika]

You should be able to use Hybrid Crossfire with that 780g in the near future, right?

 

[Marcis]

Thanks for the replies so far.

I actually do plan to try and use the hybrid SLI if needed down the line but that's definitely not a priority for now with my usage patern. One of the things I find nice about this platform is that its pretty flexible.

As far as overclocking the video part goes, I'm not too big on it, especially for a part that sits in the motherboard since if it fries, I have to change the whole thing and could be stuck having to change RAM, CPU, etc given that DDR3 and a change of socket is just around the corner. Plus since this system is beside my TV, the less heat it produces, the less the fan needs to spin and the less noise it makes which is a big drawback with my current system and overclocking would somewhat negate this.

Most of you guys obviously have much better experience in these matters than I do but my question should be : would the decreased memory subsystem affect my resolution and AA ability in an older game such an epsxe or would the increased clock and various optimizations on the 780g make up for it at stock speed ? As an hypothesis for this question, I'd consider there's no embedded VRAM on the board itself but only system memory since most mobo makers likely won't include that option.

Since the memory subsystem is the only area of the card that is inferior to what I have now that would be the only part that could adversely affect performance according to my quick evaluation.

Thanks for the feedback so far guys.