Ati 9500 pro

[Hoosier724]

I was just wanting to get some opinions on ATI 9500 Pro video cards. I'm looking to upgrade and for some reason this card has caught my eye and seems to be a good upper level card without having to drop a ton of change for one. Thanks again

 

[sodcha0s]

Great card, if you can find one. I just upgraded from one to a 9800pro and can't see any noticeable difference so far.

 

[Flyermax2k3]

To be honest with you, unless it's already modded to 9700Pro specs (or at least can be modded in such a manner), don't bother with it.
My 9600Pro @ 466/760 scores significantly higher than a 9500Pro that isn't modded to 9700Pro levels.
Don't get me wrong, the 9500Pro is a great card and if I hadn't chosen the AIW variant of the 9600 Pro, I would've probably gotten a 9500Pro and a tuner card instead, but the retail 9600 AIW called and I couldn't resist.

 

[Hoosier724]

well I'm upgrading from my stock Radeon 7200 32meg and want a decent card to play some FPS games but don't really want to drop 200 biggies...just can't justify it

 

[modedepe]

What are you upgrading from? The 9500 pro is still a pretty damn good card. At stock speeds, a 9500 pro will be faster than a 9600 pro.

 

[Corporate Thug]

9500 pro is an excellent card

 

[Pete]

Hooiser, it's a good card, trading leads with a 9600XT depending on the game. THG and Xbit compare them both, IIRC, if you want to see benchmarks. I'd go for it if it's less than $150, the price of a new 9600XT.

Flyermax, what are you talking about? The 9500P can't be "upgraded" to a 9700 like the 9500--it's already 8x1, and it only comes in 128-bit memory bus varieties.

 

[Flyermax2k3]

Originally posted by: Pete
Hooiser, it's a good card, trading leads with a 9600XT depending on the game. THG and Xbit compare them both, IIRC, if you want to see benchmarks. I'd go for it if it's less than $150, the price of a new 9600XT.

Flyermax, what are you talking about? The 9500P can't be "upgraded" to a 9700 like the 9500--it's already 8x1, and it only comes in 128-bit memory bus varieties.

My mistake, was referring solely to the performance of the card and not the architecture.

 

[Pete]

You meant a 9500, not a 9500 Pro, right? I'm not sure I understand your last post (performance of card = performance of architecture, as the architecture of the 9500/9600 is basically the same).

 

[MichaelZ]

between the 9500 Pro and 9600 Pro, I would pimp 9500 Pro all the way baby.

 

[SpaceWalker]

Originally posted by: Pete
as the architecture of the 9500/9600 is basically the same).

Not Quite, the 9500PRO and the 9700pro use the same GPU. The 9600/9600PRO is a new GPU with half the pipeline of the 9700/9500 (8 Vs. 4) and is built using a smaller proccess (15micron Vs. 13micron) which is why it's clocked alot higher than the 9500, but with the missing 4 pipelines it doesn't perform as well as the 9500/9500PRO

I'm running my 9500PRO with the Warp11 BIOS (makes it shows up as a 9700PRO).
I got it overclocked to 355/315.

The 9600XT at stock speeds runs about as fast as a stock 9500PRO. When both cards are overclocked, then the 9600XT edges out the 9500PRO

 

[mamisano]

9500Pro is a great card... I would pick it over a 9600-anything in a heartbeat. They can be purchased used for around $125.

 

[Brian48]

9500Pro is a great card... I would pick it over a 9600-anything in a heartbeat. They can be purchased used for around $125.

Can they? All the 9500 Pros I've seen on the market that haven't been snapped up yet are still going for a hefty premium. In some areas, they're just as expensive as 9700non-pros. The 9500non-pros are generally cheaper, but they're not as good as the Pro variants.

Anyway, I had a 9500 Pro for about a month before I sold it. The PC that it was in is used solely for work so I didn't need it. It was, and still is, an awesome video card. If you can find one for a reasonable price, by all means grab it if you can.

 

[SneakyStuff]

The 9500 Pro is a FANTASTIC card, my cousin owns one, and it can play any game he throws at it, with no performance hic-ups what so ever. The 8 rendering pipelines make that card unique for a mid-range card.

 

[Revolutionary]

Originally posted by: Brian48

9500Pro is a great card... I would pick it over a 9600-anything in a heartbeat. They can be purchased used for around $125.

Can they? All the 9500 Pros I've seen on the market that haven't been snapped up yet are still going for a hefty premium. In some areas, they're just as expensive as 9700non-pros. The 9500non-pros are generally cheaper, but they're not as good as the Pro variants.

Two words: um, ebay? You can get a 9500 Pro for $120-$150, Like New to Retail. I've got a VisionTek version running stock with a P4 2.4C @ 2.6, scoring 13300 in 3dMark2001, 37FPS in Halo -- better than the 9600 Pro and the 9600XT. 9600XT's do nearly as well in most games, but don't run AA/AF as well as the 9500Pro, thanks to those extra pipelines. Plus, the 9500 Pro offers more headroom for an overclock if you get one with the good Samsung 2ns chips.

Given the choice of a 9600XT/TVD from Asus (with basic PVR capability) and a 9500 Pro, I'd probably go with the 9600XT right now. Then again, if you can get a 9500 Pro in good shape for under $130, well, that's about the best deal going in video cards right now! Will I upgrade from my 9500 Pro to a 9800 Pro? Nope. I'll wait until I need to upgrade my whole machine to Grantsdale and get a PCI Express VGA.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

the 9500pro is an outstanding piece of GPU!!!.....shame u'll have a hard time finding any
it can soundly beat or at least keep up with the 9600XT in most games/tests. the card was a absolute gift of a mid range card....it may of only had a 128bit bus...but ATI left a fully functional R300 core inside! that means the raw power of 8 pipelines......and since it comes with the same HSF as most 9700 pros then the core will nicely do 9700pro speeds....mines been doin 325mhz on the core and 300mhz on the memory (only 10mhz behind the 9700pro) for months without a hitch and so performance in fill rate etc is roughly the same.

but it can never be a 9700pro because of its I shaped ram layout which means 128bits

 

[VirginiaDonkey]

it is a great card!

I have a 9500np that I would be willing to put up against any 9600pro...and my card wont softmod either.I have had a 9600pro.I sold it and kept the 9500, maybe that should tell you something

 

[futuristicmonkey]

wtf r u talking about? A 9600Pro is better than the 9500 non-pro but, the 9500Pro will (usually) kill the 9600Pro due to thge fact of it having twice as many pixel (rendering) pipelines and vertex (geometry) engines.

 

[Gagabiji]

Originally posted by: modedepe
What are you upgrading from? The 9500 pro is still a pretty damn good card. At stock speeds, a 9500 pro will be faster than a 9600 pro.

Read his second post.

 

[VirginiaDonkey]

9600pro benchmark
9500non-pro benchmark

same system, both overclocked to the max, tell me the 9600pro kills a 9500np

 

[JBT]

I love my 9500 Pro its a great card. Runs all games great its pretty similar to the 9700 series performance if you run it at either one resolution lower or one level of AA lower.

 

[suklee]

It's a great card and after reading thru half this thread I had decided to search for a used 9500Pro or buy 9800Pro new...

"Too bad" the guy with the 9500Pro replied a day too late as I bought the 9800 last night . Doh! Would have saved me over $100!!

 

[lordtyranus2]

The 9800 Pro at $207 is the best buy on the market today.

 

[lordtyranus2]

The 9800 Pro at $207 is the best buy on the market today. And there is a substantial difference between the 2 cards, unless the 9500 pro is under $130 or so, I would go the 9800 pro route.

 

[suklee]

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending how you look at it) the Radeon 9500 pro would have cost me $80US used , vs. the 9800Pro that I bought new for $210US.

My LCD is 17" ... I tend to run my games at its native rez of 1280x1024 so I'm hoping this is where the 9800 will shine.