ATI 9600 pro versus NVIDIA ti4600

[DaFOBulous1]

What is a better buy at this point. It seems ti4600 is a better card but not good for DX9 games.

Any suggestions?

 

[Matthias99]

Tossup... Ti4600 is cheaper, and faster at DX8 -- but the 9600Pro can run DX9 shaders, and you can actually use AA/AF on older games without completely trashing your performance.

If the Ti4600 is noticeably cheaper, I'd go with that. But I'd really think about looking for a used 9700Pro/9800/9800Pro in the $130-150 range.

 

[Appledrop]

the 9600 pro will be slighltly better at most games, it actually beats the ti4600 in d3,
and most DX games.
sources: http://techreport.com/etc/2004q3/doom3-midlow/index.x?pg=3
http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphi...-charts-13.html#unreal_tournament_2003

OTOH... ti4600 beats 9600 pro here
http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20031229/vga-charts-05.html

its a toss up really.. go with whichever is cheaper within reason ( id pay max $25 to get the 9600pro over the ti4600

 

[DaFOBulous1]

Thx guys. The thing is my lil brother wants to play the newer games. Granted, his 2100 Athlon XP isn't going to help so going to the 9800 pro is a bit too much.

The price between the two is $10 in my situation.

Any further help would be appreciated.

 

[Appledrop]

what is his current graphics card?

 

[Matthias99]

Granted, his 2100 Athlon XP isn't going to help so going to the 9800 pro is a bit too much.

You'll still see a big performance jump between the 9600Pro/Ti4600 and a 9800Pro. Being 'CPU-limited' is EXTREMELY overemphasized; even if your absolute FPS doesn't go up, you can run at MUCH higher quality settings with a faster video card, even with a very slow CPU (and a Barton 2100+ is not THAT slow).

 

[DaFOBulous1]

His current one is a ti4200...I bought sweeper2's 9550 that he flashed to a 9600 pro. Both did 8000 on 3dmark01 and 3000 for the 9550 and 1500 on the ti4200 for 3dmark03.

I think the 9800 pro is a bit too much just basically because it's too expensive at this point. It's about $150 to get one here and I'm just trying to help my lil bro out. But yea, for an extra $10, I can get the 9600 pro so...

 

[Appledrop]

He has a ti4200 and youre considering upgrading to a ti4600??? Thats pointless sorry! :S. I suppose he'd probably notice a 9600 pro, but whether it is a worthwhile upgrade is debateable to me i think :/.

edit: sorry.. i hate to put a downer on peoples upgrade bug!

 

[nick1985]

just overclock his 4200. both of those options really dont warrant an upgrade from a 4200

 

[PrayForDeath]

Originally posted by: nick1985
just overclock his 4200. both of those options really dont warrant an upgrade from a 4200

That, or get a used 9500Pro/9700Pro off the FS/FT or eBay.

And a 2100+ isn't that slow as Matthias said, what I consider slow is a Celeron SDR or an Athlon T-bird, SDR memory can't handle today's games anymore.

edit: by the way, if you're worried about the CPU why don't you OC it? Bartons are highly overclockable.

 

[MisterChief]

Originally posted by: Matthias99

Granted, his 2100 Athlon XP isn't going to help so going to the 9800 pro is a bit too much.

You'll still see a big performance jump between the 9600Pro/Ti4600 and a 9800Pro. Being 'CPU-limited' is EXTREMELY overemphasized; even if your absolute FPS doesn't go up, you can run at MUCH higher quality settings with a faster video card, even with a very slow CPU (and a Barton 2100+ is not THAT slow).

True. If you have the money, a 9800Pro will last longer (game-wise). Then again, a 6600GT would also be a good upgrade.

For Doom 3, nVidia cards have the upper edge. But for Half-Life 2, ATI is the leader. A 9600XT pulled a smooth 60-80FPS in HL2 in DX9 mode with quality at max!

 

[PrayForDeath]

Originally posted by: MisterChief
For Doom 3, nVidia cards have the upper edge. But for Half-Life 2, ATI is the leader. A 9600XT pulled a smooth 60-80FPS in HL2 in DX9 mode with quality at max!

Only true with the Geforce 6 series; a 9600XT is better than a 4200TI in Doom3.
As for Half Life 2, what resolution were you playing at?

 

[MisterChief]

1024/786. It's possible to play smoothly at the next level up, but you get better performance at 1024. I'll have a link up for the Anandtech article from "Half-Life 2 week". Very interesting stuff.

EDIT: Here is the link.

 

[DaFOBulous1]

Interesting...interesting...

Good stuff guys.

Reason why I'm doing a slight upgrade was that the ti4600 was for a good price. Then I could just take his card and give it to my dad who is like using some TNT. I do find it odd that the 9550 flashed to 9600 pro video card I have does really bad on N-Bench compared to the ti4200 but twice as good in 3dmark03. I mean in 3dmark01, they were head to head. As for O/Cing, the bios for my lil bro's mobo, K7S5A Pro is really limited to what I can do. I'm sure there are BIOs updates but I don't think he wants the hassle.

 

[carlosd]

I would get a 9600PRO. At least it hast full DX9 support. Upgrading Ti4200 to 4600 is really pointless since they have almost the same performance.

 

[RussianSensation]

Originally posted by: DaFOBulous1
Interesting...interesting...

Good stuff guys.

Reason why I'm doing a slight upgrade was that the ti4600 was for a good price. Then I could just take his card and give it to my dad who is like using some TNT. I do find it odd that the 9550 flashed to 9600 pro video card I have does really bad on N-Bench compared to the ti4200 but twice as good in 3dmark03. I mean in 3dmark01, they were head to head. As for O/Cing, the bios for my lil bro's mobo, K7S5A Pro is really limited to what I can do. I'm sure there are BIOs updates but I don't think he wants the hassle.

4200 is a DX8.0 card so it wont score on the nature test in 03. That is why 9600 will always beat it. In your case, either upgrade to 9700Pro at least or overclock the 4200 to 4400 speeds. Upgrading to either is a waste of money with the choices you've provided. A 9800Pro would be a good card or even a 6600GT. Later you can upgrade the whole rig. If you are worried about being CPU limited, crank 1600x1200 if necessary. CPU is the most overrated component in a gaming system on Anandtech forums. That is why you see ppl with SLI rigs and A64 3500+ and 6600GTs. It's the smart ones who buy A64 2800 + and X800XT for the same $$$.