is it worth it? sm9500np or 9700p

[azntiger0586]

i have been wondering this from time to time. If u are able to successfully softmod a 9500np to make it act almost at the peak at 9700p, is it better to go for 9700p or the softmodded 9500np?

what about if i have a 1 year warranty on 9500np?

base on http://www.ocfaq.com/softmod/ a softmod is "not possible to detect if a card has been softmodded before." so if anything has gone wrong, you can use the warranty.

so which would be best? because the price of 9500 pro by ati and a sapphire 9700np is kina of a big price difference.

 

[WannabeSQ]

I was thinking the same thing, and went ahead and bought a 9500 from newegg. Its only $150, and even without modding anything its still a great card, i figured if it doesn't softmod, ill still have better than my onboard geforce 4mx. And if I decide I want more, ill just send it back for a better card, at least, I think newegg has a good return policy....

 

[BaboonGuy]

Personally, I'd go for the 9500 NP softmod route -- I say this because I just modded my own 9500 NP to a 9800 (using OMEGA drivers) and I must say it is pretty damn sweet.

 

[WannabeSQ]

BTW, how do you do the softmod anyway? A quick google search finds mostly forum threads about it working or not, not of the actual procedure. Also, I am a newbie when it comes to PCs (been a Mac user, only PC has been a Laptop, which is a closed system save for ram and HD) Do I have to disable the onboard video on my shuttle sn41g2?

 

[BaboonGuy]

not sure if you have to disable your onboard video, but here's how i did it:

installed card
installed latest 3.6 cats
used card for a while
decided to softmod
uninstalled cats + control panel
deleted C:/ATi folder
restarted
downloaded and installed Omega Drivers
selected hacked drivers in install
restarted
had a no artifacting successful 9500 -> 9800 softmod 🙂

oh and i got my 9500 NP from newegg.com (make sure to get the red-pcb one, not the black) if it makes a difference

 

[WannabeSQ]

ok, thanks for the link. And yes, I did get the one thats supposed to be the red pcb one. the other on newegg specifically said black pcb, and all the newegg reviews for the softmoddable card are from the one I got.

 

[BFG10K]

If you have enough money then go straight for the 9700 Pro. Many soft-modded 9500s don't work and exhibit artifacts. Also you can kiss your support goodbye too.

 

[DojoWarlord]

I just ordered the OEM Sapphire Radeon 9500 128MB, the red PBC, from Newegg. Will that work with the Omega driver soft-mod? I assume it will.

 

[Corporate Thug]

i too would just get the 9700 pro as the odds of a succesful mod is like 1 in 3

anyway, i dont understand how the 9500 NP can be softmodded into a 9800. isnt it just a 9700 since the 9800 uses a completely different VPU?

 

[BaboonGuy]

not sure, but thats what the omega drivers called the card after i modded it, a 9800.