HardOCP takes the Radeon 9600 Pro to 567/716 core/mem keeps up with 9700 Pro!!

Dean

Platinum Member
Oct 10, 1999
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Since the card is on a 128 bit memory bus, the actual memory clock should be posted as 358 mhz and not 716. Overall though, I now view the card as a very interesting part instead ofthe ho-hum feelings I had about it yesterday.
 

Zoomer

Senior member
Dec 1, 1999
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Originally posted by: Dean
Since the card is on a 128 bit memory bus, the actual memory clock should be posted as 358 mhz and not 716. Overall though, I now view the card as a very interesting part instead ofthe ho-hum feelings I had about it yesterday.

Never mind 128 or 256 bit bus, it's still DDR.
 

KDOG

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
5,525
14
81
I guess it could be said now that if you have a 9500PRO, keep it. But if your looking for a new card in this price arena with good OCing capabilities, go for the 9600PRO...
 

Krk3561

Diamond Member
Jun 12, 2002
3,242
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Why dont the OC them both? Its not fair to take cards that a have a lil difference in performance then OC the lower performing one and says it kicks its arse. They should OC both cards then show how they match up.
 

UlricT

Golden Member
Jul 21, 2002
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hmmm... this card IS a review sample. So overclocking retail cards might not give such good results. Remember some tests Anand did with the 9700Pro when it first came out? Just staying a little cautious...
 

apoppin

Lifer
Mar 9, 2000
34,890
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alienbabeltech.com
Originally posted by: UlricT
hmmm... this card IS a review sample. So overclocking retail cards might not give such good results. Remember some tests Anand did with the 9700Pro when it first came out? Just staying a little cautious...
From the article:

It is our opinion that the Radeon 9600 Pro will be the best value in its price range when it soon becomes available. However, it is not until we raise the frequencies that we see the card's true potential. With the simple adjusting of a slider within the modified driver panel, the ATI 9600 Pro is transformed into a new card which has more than enough headroom for enhanced image quality settings and higher resolutions. Granted, we do not know yet if the retail card will overclock as well as the sample card we were provided with by ATI. Be advised that not all cards will overclock to the same levels. However, should the retail cards overclock anywhere near as well as our sample, users will still witness a healthy jump in performance across the board. We truly do not think that we were given a "cherry picked" 9600 Pro that will not represent the retail product. For ATI to do that at this point in the game would simply be counter productive.

;)
 

SexyK

Golden Member
Jul 30, 2001
1,343
4
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567MHz core!:Q:Q

That's unreal, guess the .13u process is working out pretty well for ATI... and with that tiny HSF! Wow. I'll stick with my 9500 Pro, but that's pretty impressive.
 

Pariah

Elite Member
Apr 16, 2000
7,357
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81
Originally posted by: BentValve
Doesn't an OCed 9500 Pro still beat the 9600 OCed?

Bentvalve, I am highly disappointed in you. Do you have the slightest idea what you are talking about? How can you compare an OC'd card to an OC'd card and think that is a fair comparison? What you are supposed to do is take a cheap card OC the crap out of it and then compare it to a more expensive card at default speeds and completely ignore the fact that the faster card can OC too. Then when the slower card inches past the standard card you jump around like a looney and use lots of 3L33+ haxor speak about how fantastic the cheaper card. You should know better Bent, don't let rational thinking cloud your vision again.
 

BentValve

Diamond Member
Dec 26, 2001
4,190
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0
Originally posted by: Pariah
Originally posted by: BentValve
Doesn't an OCed 9500 Pro still beat the 9600 OCed?

Bentvalve, I am highly disappointed in you. Do you have the slightest idea what you are talking about? How can you compare an OC'd card to an OC'd card and think that is a fair comparison? What you are supposed to do is take a cheap card OC the crap out of it and then compare it to a more expensive card at default speeds and completely ignore the fact that the faster card can OC too. Then when the slower card inches past the standard card you jump around like a looney and use lots of 3L33+ haxor speak about how fantastic the cheaper card. You should know better Bent, don't let rational thinking cloud your vision again.


lol :beer:
 

Rectalfier

Golden Member
Nov 21, 1999
1,589
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I bet the R400 will be the 9600 core but with a 256bit memory path and 2 texture units per each of the 8 pipelines. I think that will be able to take on the NV35 no problem.
 

Krk3561

Diamond Member
Jun 12, 2002
3,242
0
0
Originally posted by: Pariah
Originally posted by: BentValve
Doesn't an OCed 9500 Pro still beat the 9600 OCed?

Bentvalve, I am highly disappointed in you. Do you have the slightest idea what you are talking about? How can you compare an OC'd card to an OC'd card and think that is a fair comparison? What you are supposed to do is take a cheap card OC the crap out of it and then compare it to a more expensive card at default speeds and completely ignore the fact that the faster card can OC too. Then when the slower card inches past the standard card you jump around like a looney and use lots of 3L33+ haxor speak about how fantastic the cheaper card. You should know better Bent, don't let rational thinking cloud your vision again.

The 9600 Pro is more expensive than the 9500 Pro :p
 

PrinceXizor

Platinum Member
Oct 4, 2002
2,188
99
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A few things to keep in mind:

1. Remember the 9600 Pro is STARTING at $199.99 - the 9500 Pro has just recently dropped below $200.
2. This isn't a matter of 9500 Pro vs. 9600 Pro, its a matter of is the 9600 Pro a worthy sucessor to the 9500 Pro.

The 9500 Pro had a short production run and quantities will soon be scarce. Soon, the only card you will be able to get (reliably) will be the 9600 Pro. Were we going to be stuck with an underwhelming replacement to the 9500 Pro? The answer is no. The performance at stock speeds is ALMOST as fast as the 9500 Pro, which is impressive when you consider how awesome the 9500 Pro is. Then you factor in a large, relatively easy OC head-room and this card is worth getting excited about.

Also, in the newest game benchmark, SplinterCell, both the Nvidia and ATI newer generation cards fared much better than the older generation cards. While it remains to be seen if this is or is not a valid trend, its something to keep in mind.

As far as an OC'd 9500 Pro vs. an OC'd 9600 Pro....remember that the 9500 Pro's were only OC'able with the "tweaker" consoles AFTER a vidcard BIOS flash which is not for everyone. And even then, it did not OC a ton.

A 40% increase in clockspeed is nothing to sneeze at. For reference, a 40% increase in a P4 3.06Ghz would be an OC to 4.28Ghz. Not bad for a simple click of the mouse.

P-X
 

NFS4

No Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
72,636
46
91
Originally posted by: PrinceXizor
A few things to keep in mind:

1. Remember the 9600 Pro is STARTING at $199.99 - the 9500 Pro has just recently dropped below $200.
2. This isn't a matter of 9500 Pro vs. 9600 Pro, its a matter of is the 9600 Pro a worthy sucessor to the 9500 Pro.

The 9500 Pro had a short production run and quantities will soon be scarce. Soon, the only card you will be able to get (reliably) will be the 9600 Pro. Were we going to be stuck with an underwhelming replacement to the 9500 Pro? The answer is no. The performance at stock speeds is ALMOST as fast as the 9500 Pro, which is impressive when you consider how awesome the 9500 Pro is. Then you factor in a large, relatively easy OC head-room and this card is worth getting excited about.

Also, in the newest game benchmark, SplinterCell, both the Nvidia and ATI newer generation cards fared much better than the older generation cards. While it remains to be seen if this is or is not a valid trend, its something to keep in mind.

As far as an OC'd 9500 Pro vs. an OC'd 9600 Pro....remember that the 9500 Pro's were only OC'able with the "tweaker" consoles AFTER a vidcard BIOS flash which is not for everyone. And even then, it did not OC a ton.

A 40% increase in clockspeed is nothing to sneeze at. For reference, a 40% increase in a P4 3.06Ghz would be an OC to 4.28Ghz. Not bad for a simple click of the mouse.

P-X

Nicely put!
 

wfbberzerker

Lifer
Apr 12, 2001
10,423
0
0
I'm assuming the OC was done with stock cooling?

if so, and if once the card hits retail they all OC fairly well, i just might have to get myself one instead of the 9500 pro.... :)

methinks the potential is due to the .13u core?
 

NFS4

No Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
72,636
46
91
Originally posted by: wfbberzerker
I'm assuming the OC was done with stock cooling?

if so, and if once the card hits retail they all OC fairly well, i just might have to get myself one instead of the 9500 pro.... :)

methinks the potential is due to the .13u core?

Yep, all with stock cooling. Heck, I bet that at 567MHz it's still cooler than a stock 9500 Pro :)
 

human2k

Diamond Member
Jun 21, 2001
3,563
0
0
$200 for a 9600 PRO, I'd spend the xtra $40 and get a 9700NP. Excellent card anyhow.
 

ElFenix

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Mar 20, 2000
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wonder if regular retail ram will be 700MHz rated?
 

OneOfTheseDays

Diamond Member
Jan 15, 2000
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i would wait until this board hits shelves and we get some real user feeback. Review samples are often "golden samples" that are highly overclockable and may not be indicative of real-world performance.
 

GTaudiophile

Lifer
Oct 24, 2000
29,767
33
81
Originally posted by: Sudheer Anne
i would wait until this board hits shelves and we get some real user feeback. Review samples are often "golden samples" that are highly overclockable and may not be indicative of real-world performance.

Agreed.

But I have to complain along with many over at Rage3D: ATi is simply too conservative with their stock core/mem frequencies. Both the 9800 and 9600 PRO could have debuted with higher clocks, IMO.