9500 Pro vs. 9600 XT? Which is better?

[LeetestUnleet]

The 9600XT has 4 pipelines and higher clockspeeds, and the 9500 Pro has 8 pipelines and lower clock speeds. Which one would give the better performance? I've got a thread in the FS/FT forum and I've got offers on both, similar prices ($125 for 9500 Pro, $140 for 9600XT). Both are BBAti.

 

[nvfx]

Here a liitle MAths

If 9600 Pro > 9500 Pro
and 9600XT > 9600 Pro

than also 9600XT > 9500 Pro

DOnt know about pipeline stuff, but its going to be a 9600 XT all the way because of its slight improvement over the 95/96 Pro's.

Consider the 9600 XT from HIS, runs ultra Cool, or the ASUS 9600XT, beautiful + Tons of Features + VIVO i guess + Half life 2 Coupon, its going to cost you about 175 $ though.

 

[JK949]

It's pretty much a draw. the 9600 lacks 4 pipelines but makes up for it with higher core and
memory speeds. I have both and the 9600 scores are higher but not by that much.
Also the 9600 seems to overclock alittle better and runs cooler.
But side by side with no overclocking they are very close.
Either one will get the job done with most all games.

 

[SneakyStuff]

The 9500 pro has a full 8 pipelines, so your entire post is rubbish, only the 9600 XT beats the 9500 pro. In real games, the 9500 Pro beats the 9600/9600 pro, I don't care what any "3dmarks" say. Look at actual tests.

 

[Super56K]

I thought the 9500pro's were better than the 9600pro/xt cards? Because of the 8 pipelines in the 9500 right?

 

[Megatomic]

nvfx, you are incorrect in your first comparison: the 9500 Pro is superior to the 9600 Pro. The extra clock speed of the 9600XT puts it around the 9500 Pro in overall speed.

At this point, I'd get the XT over the 9500 Pro. There are other subtle differences in the two, too.

 

[JK949]

Oop's. forgot about the HL2 coupon.
With that said, take the 9600xt.

 

[JK949]

Oop's. forgot about the HL2 coupon.
With that said, take the 9600xt.

 

[SneakyStuff]

Try finding a 9600xt for $120-130

 

[CaiNaM]

don't you have to "softmod" the 9500p to get 8 pipes? isn't there also a chance that enabling them may cause errors (since they don't check to see if the 4 "hidden" pipes are functional)?

oh.. and he's talking FS/FT, so you can't necessarily figure in the HL2 coupon..

 

[SneakyStuff]

They have 8 by default, its a modified 9700 core.

 

[CaiNaM]

Originally posted by: SneakyStuff
They have 8 by default, its a modified 9700 core.

ahh..okay, i'm lazy.. and never considered a 9500p so i'm not all that familair.. what's the diff then, mem interface? somehow i was thinking you could mod it to be a 9700p.

 

[jjyiz28]

since they are very comparable, and the 9500 pro is cheaper, get the 9500p.

 

[LeetestUnleet]

Referring to softmods, is it possible to enable 8 pipelines in a 9600XT?

And AFAIK, there is no HL-2 coupon

 

[jjyiz28]

Originally posted by: LeetestUnleet
Referring to softmods, is it possible to enable 8 pipelines in a 9600XT?

And AFAIK, there is no HL-2 coupon

im pretty sure not, cuz 9600xt is created from its own pcb not just a hacked 9800xt. there ARE no hidden extra 4 more pipelines to enable.

but the 9500 is a 9700 with disabled 4 pipes and cut the bandwidth to 128. so its physically there, therefore it is possible.

 

[SneakyStuff]

yes, but keeping this conversation in context, we are talking about the 9500 PRO, which has a full 8 pipeliens enabled, by default

 

[Lonyo]

9500Pro has 8 pipelines by default.
9500 has 4 pipes, can be modded to 8.
9600 of any kind has 4 pipes, cannot be changed,

9500Pro and 9600(Pro and XT) come with 128-bit memory bus by default.

 

[JK949]

The 9600xt dosent have the 4 extra pipe lines to enable.
ati manufactured it without them. nothing to soft mod.

 

[Pete]

Why all the suspense? Just read the benchmarks in TomsHardware's VGA Charts III. IIRC, 9600XT is slightly faster than 9500P in general, except in some shader-heavy games like Halo.

I'd probably save some money and pick up the 9500P. Still, you should be able to find used 9700s and 9700Ps for $130-140. $125-140 for a used 9500P/9600XT is a bit of a rip-off, IMO.

 

[SneakyStuff]

I remember how mad I got after I played HALO on my cousin's 5 month old 9500 pro and realized that it absolutely killed my 5700u Well, his 2.4 GHz P4 might have helped, but the active camo effect on the 9500 pro is something I don't have with my geforce.

 

[Prototype]

I was in the same predicament, and found that both cards are almost the same. So the deciding factor was price.

So I shopped around and found a 9500 Pro for $100 on eBay.
Can't go wrong with that!

 

[Megatomic]

Ok, I mentioned a few of the benefits of the 9600XT over the 9500 Pro. Here are a few:

1. No additional power required (i.e. no power cords)
2. Smaller, cooler core
3. HL2 coupon if you are lucky

There are others but more technical and I'm too tired/lazy to search for them.

 

[modedepe]

I'd go with the 9500 pro. It should be pretty much equal to the 9600xt, and it's cheaper.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

well from what ive been reading....and hopefully its the same stuff you lot have been reading the 9600pro cant hold a candle the 9500pro 99% of the time.......and the 9600XT well its a slight improvement........ok ok so it does beat out a 9500pro is some tests because its more optimized (the R300 core wasnt optmized to use a 128bit bus) and has the refinements in AA and AF.....but when it comes to stuff like fill rate....theres no beating the 8x1 design

if you check out THG's VGA charts part 3.....you can see for your self

VGA CHARTS

as an example their UT2k3 demo the 9600xt and 9500pro are neck n neck......then in the battle field test.....9500pro comes out on top........non of ATI's current mid range can soundly beat that 9500pro.its such a good card

 

[otispunkmeyer]

its a shame your gonna have a hard time finding a 9500pro tho......so really the 9600 is your best bet