Can someone please explain ATI card names to me?

[StrangeRanger]

Can someone tell me, or is there a site that explains which ATI card is better according to it's name? I mean like the Radeon 9600 has a 128, a 256, a Pro, a Pro Ultimate etc. Do the card series get better in that order? Or is a 256 better than a Pro or Ultimate?? Excuse my ignorance, I'm new to ATI cards and just trying to learn and make a good choice. Thanks,
j

 

[nimo]

Number 9xxx represents what type of card you buy
128 or 256 is the amount of memory you have on that card
For the most part there usually not that much difference in performance
128mb vs. 256mb

Pro versions have faster core/memory than the non pro

Ultimate? etc are subjective terms

 

[tenoc]

Careful with 9600's with 256 meg. They usually have much slower rated ram than the 128 cards.

Plus the extra memory is not usually usefull.

 

[VIAN]

ATI is the chip manufacturer

Radeon is the chip Line

If there is another name preceeding Radeon such as Sapphire, that is the manufacturer of the card.

9x00 is the model number of the chip

9800 is the fastest model number
9700 is the previous generation fastest model number - only slightly slower
9600 is the midrange model number
9500 is the previous generation midrange model number - about the same speed
9200 is the budget model number

Pro, Ultra, and Ultimate are model number extensions. They can be combined.

Pro means it is overclocked
Ultra means it is overclocked
Ultimate means it uses a big heatsink for passive cooling - for people who desire quiet

64MB, 128MB and 256MB are more extensions that tell you how much video memory there is on the graphics card

64MB is sub-standard
128MB is standard
256MB exceeds standards - This memory configuration should only be bought for the fastest model number cards

Example:

ATI Radeon 9600 Pro 128MB

 

[lifeguard1999]

Here is a listing of each product category for ATI. Roughly speaking, the fastest performer is at the top, while the slowest is at the bottom, within each category. If you look hard enough, I am sure you will find benchmarks that prove otherwise. This is not to be taken as gospel truth. Outside of each category it gets harder to determine performance. The 9500 can beat the 9600 in several tests, as can the 8500 with the 9000~9200 series.

RADEON 9800 XT
RADEON 9800 PRO
ALL-IN-WONDER 9800 PRO
RADEON 9800
RADEON 9800 SE

RADEON 9700 PRO
ALL-IN-WONDER 9700 PRO
RADEON 9700
ALL-IN-WONDER 9700

RADEON 9600 XT
ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 PRO
RADEON 9600 PRO
RADEON 9600
RADEON 9600 SE

RADEON 9500 PRO
RADEON 9500

RADEON 9200 PRO
RADEON 9200
RADEON 9200 SE

ALL-IN-WONDER 9000 PRO
RADEON 9000 PRO
RADEON 9000

ALL-IN-WONDER RADEON 8500DV
ALL IN WONDER RADEON 8500
RADEON 8500 128MB
RADEON 8500 64MB
RADEON 8500LE 128MB
RADEON 8500LE 64MB

 

[Blackroot]

The 9600xt is so little of the pro that it's not even noticable in most games, if you want a new video card, i would wait till 5700 comes out, supposing you want a midrange that is.

 

[jiffylube1024]

Very nice work guys. Here is another comprehensive list of ATI's lineup .