Radeon 9600se

[MadEye2]

My mobo has a 4x AGP slot, but according to CPU-Z it supports 8x but with a transfer rate of 4x. Will the 9600se work ok at 4x speed? If so, is it worth getting or is there an older 4x AGP card that gives similar peformance to the 9600se in 4x mode? I ain't got a clue about this here APG malarky.

 

[Sonic587]

Yes, 8X AGP graphics cards are backwards compatible with 4X AGP slots.

However, the 9600se is a really awful graphics card for anything other than 2D mode. Do you plan to be gaming a lot?

 

[MadEye2]

Yeah, but nothing recent really. It's SimCity 4 I'm specifically buying it for and that seems to be very processor/graphics intensive, but my other games are older stuff like Call To Power 2, Unreal Tournament, Black and White and PSX emulation.
The review of one make of 9600se said it was a great budget card - about doulbe the power of the nvidia 5200 but only a few quid dearer

 

[MadEye2]

Do I need to worry about the 1.5/0.8 voltage?

 

[Sonic587]

Originally posted by: MadEye2
Yeah, but nothing recent really. It's SimCity 4 I'm specifically buying it for and that seems to be very processor/graphics intensive, but my other games are older stuff like Call To Power 2, Unreal Tournament, Black and White and PSX emulation.
The review of one make of 9600se said it was a great budget card - about doulbe the power of the nvidia 5200 but only a few quid dearer

The 9600se should be decent for what you plan to use it for. I should clarify that I meant "really awful" in terms of playing recent games.

Still, the 9600se doesn't pack much of a punch. And 2X the power of the 5200 isn't saying much. I would suggest you look at a GF4 TI4200/128-bit 9600 if you can afford it (If they are available in your area). It really is worth the extra money in terms of performance.

Do I need to worry about the 1.5/0.8 voltage?

Nope.

 

[MadEye2]

Thanks Sonic. I'll look in to it.

 

[MadEye2]

Found it: GeForce 4 Ti4200 128MB AGP for £42.99 - cheaper than the the 9600se I was looking at. Have to wait 2 weeks for them to get it back in stock though, argh!

 

[MDE]

Try looking for a Radeon 9600 128MB also. It'll be faster than the 9600SE and around the same speed (maybe a little slower) than the Ti4200. Either the 9600, 9600 Pro (if you find one in your budget, but do NOT get an SE, LE, or EZ version), or a Ti4200 will be enough for what you'll use it for.

 

[MadEye2]

I've found an Ti4200 for £55 on ebay. Seems a little steep comapared to the ones on amazon and dabs but cheaper than the 9600s and 9600pros.

Thanks guys.

 

[Sonic587]

FYI, try and steer clear of PNY TI4XXX cards off Ebay. I've seen a lot of complaints about that brand when it comes to GF4s. (Their newer 5XXX/6XXX cards are fine, though).

 

[MadEye2]

It's a Siluro model I've bought.