9600 Pro vs. 9600 XT vs. TI4600

[WhipperSnapper]

How much better is the 9600XT over the 9600 Pro? Prices seem to differ by about $25. If your choice were a $103 9600 Pro, a $111 9600 Pro with 256 MB, or a $135 9600XT, which would you choose?

(At the $135 price point you might as well spend the extra $55 for a 9800 Pro or the extra $65 for a 6600 GT., but when the other option is $103 or $111 (with 256 MB), spending the extra money isn't as compelling.)

Let's suppose the nVidia TI4600 were available, new, for $65. It won't do DX9 but it's still pretty powerful and it can run today's newer games, but who knows how long it will be able to run new releases given its lack of DX9 support.

Which of these six cards would you get?

New OEM TI4600 for $65
Radeon 9550 for $66
Radeon 9600 (vanilla) for $80
Radeon 9600 Pro for $103
Radeon 9600 Pro with 256 MB for $111
Radeon 9600 XT for $135

Which is the best value?

 

[asm0deus]

where's the poll? my vote goes for Radeon 9600 Pro with 256 MB for $111 , i have a 9600 pro in my laptop and its awesome with far cry and call of duty.

 

[lavaheadache]

I would definately choose the 9600XT, Im pretty sure 256 megs on the pro is useless. When I was using a 9600Xt, I could play Doom 3 and Halflife 2 at 800x600 high qaulity, and 1024x768 medium, respectivly. Plus the 9600XT also has overdrive which can give you temp readings of the core and do a mild overclock.

*BTW, A ti4600 is diddly sqaut against any of the Big 3(D3, hl2,FC) I know from first hand experience

 

[Fenuxx]

I would say to get the most powerful card that your budget will handle. Another option you didn't mention was getting a GF6200 and modding it to a 6600 (unlock the 4 extra pipes and then overclock the hell out of it). This would be what I would do, but if you don't want to do any "dark-artsy" stuff, then get the 9600XT. It will last you longer than any of the other cards you mentioned that you would buy. Or, even still, save up even more and get yourself a 6600GT. Now THAT would be an upgrade.

 

[rogue1979]

The best value by far is the Ti4600. I have one side by side with a 9600XT.

Ti4600 @ 315/710 and the 9600XT at 585/692.

In gaming they are almost dead equal without AA or AF. DX9 games also have similar
framerates, cuz the Ti4600 simply defaults to DX8. The 9600XT does all the DX9 stuff and looks prettier, but in my opinion it isn't a big difference, the Ti4600 still looks good.

 

[christopherzombie]

I would go with either the 9600pro 256MB or 9600XT. I think you can find 9800NPs(256bit) and 9800EZs (128bit) for under $150.

 

[DJQuanta]

If you somehow are limited to those three options I'd pick the 9600 XT

But if you want a better card in that price range $120 - $130, I'd would get a 9700 PRO off eBay, that would give you a performance close to a 9800 PRO, a lot better than your three options.

There's a RETEK guy on eBay that sells 9700 PROs (he has lots of'em) and as far as I know they are "like new".

LINKY

 

[modedepe]

Out of those choices the ti4600 is definitely the best bang for the buck. If you have to have dx9 effects then I'd probably go for the 9600 pro 128mb.

But really, I agree with DJQuanta--get a used 9700 Pro. It will be a lot faster than any of the other choices.

 

[VIAN]

So, what, DX9 doesn't perform well on many cards anyway. And developers seem to skip over SM2 - DX9 to SM3 DX9c which neither of those cards support. Take splinterCell for example. SM1.1 which the Ti4600 would do, or SM3.0, which none of the cards you listed are capable of.

I'm just saying that Ti4600 might be better because it'll get you great performance for a cheap price. But if you plan on using AA/AF, the 9600 Pro is a better choice and it also supports SM1.1. But then again, you won't be able to use AA/AF in newer games, probably just from 2003 and under. If you do decide to get a 9600 Pro, I would get the $103 one. The others just aren't worth it. The 9600XT is also a great card, but 30 dollars just not justifiy within 10% performance difference.

 

[kmmatney]

The best value (by far!) is the Ti4600 at $65.

You can see the performances here:

VGA charts

On average its the same speed as the 9600Pro (faster in many cases) and much lower cost.

If you can get a used 9700Pro, that would be best. However I had a hard time trying to find one - they sell fast.

 

[Fern]

Well last year I had both the 9600p and a Ti4200. Didn't notice much diff in the performance between them. Graphics slightly better with the 9600p. Seemed like shaders. At the time I chalked it up to DX 8.0 vs 8.1 or 9.0. The differences were not often noticable. Can't comment on gfx differences in current games. I upgraded b4 Far Cry, D3 and Painkiller.

AFAIK, the Ti's only do DX8.0

I don't know if even at those price differences the extra ram on the 9600p is worth it. Not only can they prolly not use it, last time I checked the quality of the ram with the 256MB was lower than the 128MB, thus making them slower.

I agree with above that the premium of the XT is prolly not worth it over the 9600p. I'd prolly get the 9600p over it and OC it to XT levels. Did that with 9800p (clocked at 9800XT speeds)

If it was a temp card, not for long term use, I'd prolly get the Ti. If you wanna hang onto it longer b4 the next upgrade, then the 9600p

Fern

 

[BFG10K]

The 9600XT should be the fastest card in the bunch, especially for shaders.

 

[nick1985]

the 4600 is the best bang for the buck

 

[rogue1979]

The 9600XT should be the fastest card in the bunch, especially for shaders.


Only with AA and AF. Otherwise they are very close, even in DX9 titles.

 

[kmmatney]

The best bang-for-buck may be the 6200 AGP. They all overclock nicely (this is pretty much garaunteed) and if you can unlock the pipes, you almost have a 6600GT.

LeadTek 6200

 

[Tweakin]

9600xt...simple.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

I didn't know the 6200 was available in AGP yet. Cool, one more to add to the mix. Maybe it will drive down the 9600 prices (unlikely). ATI needs to get on the ball.

Zip Zoom Fly has a Chieftec 6200 with 256 MB RAM for $125 (shipped):

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=323286

It says that the speeds are 300 Mhz (GPU/core) by 500 Mhz (RAM), whereas a 9600 Pro has speeds of 400/600. (A 9600 Pro with 256 MB RAM can be had for $111 shipped, just $9 more than the cheapest name-brand 9600 Pro with 128 MB.)

So that makes it interesting. Even though the 6200 might be a little slower, would the potential to unlock the other 4 pipes and the fact that it is a more recent card make it worth the extra $14 (over 9600 Pro with 256) or $25 (over 9600 Pro with 128)? For $128 a Rosewill (NewEgg rebadged brand X) 500/600 9600 XT could be had.

Perhaps the 6200 AGP prices will decrease once more are released.

 

[Paratus]

9600XT best card in your budget new with warranty
9700 PRO best used card in your budget
6200 pipes unlocked an OC'd best overall but no guarantee and no warranty (only if it comes in AGP)

Now its up to you.

 

[nRollo]

None of those cards are powerful enough to run Dx9 at anything but maybe 10X7 0X0X. They're all woefully underpowered for modern games. Sorry- try to find a used 9700/9800.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

I've also discovered the Leadtech 6600 in AGP for $154 shipped. I think the 6600 is supposed to have all 8 pipes open. That's interesting--so does the GeForce 6600 (vanilla) now beat up on the Radeon 9800 Pro? Wow. Here's a link to the Leadtech at NewEgg:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-122-217&depa=1

I take it that the 6600 vanilla would trounce the 9600 Pro and 9600 XT, and possibly hold its own against the 9800 Pro.

There might not be a reason to purchase a low end ATI card now unless it has to be under $100. If the 9600 XT goes for around $135 shipped (with $128 shipped being the lowest price I've seen, it's being a Rosewill) then it seems that it would be worth the extra $19 to get the 6600 vanilla--double the pipelines for $19.

Does that Leadtech come with any games? I'm under the impression that cards generally come plain, especially these 9600's, but if the Leadtech came with a game or two, that might make it an even better deal.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

Bumparhino = combination of "Bumperreeno" and ""Go Hump a Rhino".

 

[TStep]

Very short term solution - get the cheapest card on the list. None are really going to satisfy high rez or IQ enhancements at acceptable speeds. IMHO, all the cards you listed are fine for older titles, lower rez, or minimal IQ gaming, but the newer titles are really requiring greater performance cards to realize the IQ enhancements. Seems to me like a $100-$125 no mans land.

Longer term solution - any of 8 pipe cards, be it a modded 6200 and overclocked, 9700, 9800, 6600. All can be had for $150 or less and generally still have some headroom for additional tweaking if slightly more performance is desired or needed. I'm hangin in with a 9800np at 1280x1024, but it's getting long in the tooth. For example Doom above 10x7 hurts, HL2 fairly decent. Fortunately, I have not had a whole lot of time for gaming as of late, or I'd have a new card.

Once in a great while you'll find the used 8 pipe 9500pro for $80ish which is more or less equivalent to a 9600XT stock. When overclocked they can do wonders though, but become memory starved (128bit). Or the imfamous 9500>9700 modded cards in the $80 range. Neither has quite the performance of the longer term solution cards, but close, and will still not due true justice to the newer titles.

 

[Torghn]

I bought a BBA 9800np on the fs/ft forums for $125. It was the samsung 2.8ns so I flashed it to a pro.