Radeon 9700 TX...?

[GimpyFuzznut]

I am ordering a computer from Dell.ca and they have the Radeon 9700 TX and Pro listed. The difference is somthing around $250 CDN. From what I understand, the cards are identical except for clock speed. The 9700 TX merely runs at 275/250 rather than 350/325. What is the performance difference between the two? Am I just looking at a few more FPS for $250 extra?

As well, the 9700 series can run on AGP 8x. What kind of performance difference does this make? Or is it too early to tell. I think Dell motherboards only support AGP 4x - the card will still run at its best on 4X, right?

 

[kylebisme]

ya it will still run at x4. i am not sure as to what all the diffrences between the tx and the pro are but clockspeed is nocked back for sure though i cannot confirm your numbers. it is 250$ more than what though?

 

[Lizardman]

the r9700 tx is clocked at 260/260. That should be the only difference from the pro. You can always overclock it back to pro speeds. I am sure it will run just fine at normal pro speeds.

The performance difference will only be about 5 -10% before overclocking.

 

[Patryn]

I just got my new Dell hooked up and I got the 9700tx also. It works great so far. I also gt the 1900FP monitor and I LOVE it!!! Unless you absolutely need the best and do nothing but games, get the tx and save the money. I play quite a few games, and it's working great so far on what I've tried it on.

 

[GimpyFuzznut]

Thanks. Yeah I'm getting the same moniter as well. I'll get throw in some more fans and OC it to the Pro speeds hehe =)

I can't believe a few MHZ difference is like 250 dollar difference?

O yeah, one other thing. All the same software including etc? I'm just wondering, cause ATI doesn't have the 9700 TX listed on their site.

 

[kylebisme]

no clue on the software, i would ask dell on that. the reason you dont see the tx on ati's site is because it is just a dell thing. as for "a few MHZ difference is like 250 dollar difference"; mhz means very little, if you tell us what card you get without spending the extra 250$ and tell us what games you plan to play with it we can tell you if it is worth the extra cash though.

 

[GimpyFuzznut]

All the latest games... BF 1942, UT 2003 etc...

http://www6.tomshardware.com/graphic/20021024/index.html

Is the 9700 TX the same as the 9700 listed there. If so, the difference isn't huge. Dunno though.

Radeon 9700 PRO: The fastest and most expensive card among the ATI models. 8 pixel pipelines, 4 vertex shaders, 128 MB with 256-bit memory bus, DirectX 9 support. Clock speed (chip/memory): 325/310. Official price: $399.
Radeon 9700: The smaller of the 9700 series differs in its lower clock speeds: 275/270. Official price: $299.

Not sure if it the same - I mean, they got a 100 US price difference there but Dell.ca has a 250 CDN difference.

 

[natopotato]

the 9700 TX uses an R300 core+256bit DDR like all the other Radeon 9700 series cards. performance wise it falls somewhere in between the 9500 pro and 9700. the TX version has been realeased in the european market (maybe asia too) but not here in north america.

at least that's my understanding

 

[Rand]

Originally posted by: natopotato
the 9700 TX uses an R300 core+256bit DDR like all the other Radeon 9700 series cards. performance wise it falls somewhere in between the 9500 pro and 9700. the TX version has been realeased in the european market (maybe asia too) but not here in north america.

at least that's my understanding

The R9700 TX should perfrorm just a notch under the regular R9700, as it's clocked at 260/260 whereas the regular R9700 is clocked at 275/270... and the Pro of course comes it at 325/310.
The 9700TX does have one small addition, in that it supports "Theatre Mode", which allows the user to view the playback of DVDs and video on the Monitor and Television simultaneously.

 

[GimpyFuzznut]

So it isn't the regular 9700? Its a lesser card? Hrm, what kind of speeds am I looking at then? Er maybe I should just ask Dell...

 

[GimpyFuzznut]

Ah posted right before me. Ok so the difference is just the 260 instead of 275. Aight, thanks for the help everyone.

What kind of difficulties am I facing if I wanna overclock the card?

 

[Schnieds]

Hey GimpyFuzznut,

I have the 9700TX in my new Dell 8250 here in the US and I think I can answer some questions for you.

The card is clocked at 263/263 and other than that is exactly the same as the 9700/9700 Pro. At stock speeds this baby rocks. It is about 5-10% slower (as mentioned above) than the stock 9700 Pro and very close to the 9700.

About the Dell 8250... I did have to wipe the disk and perform a clean install of WinXP Pro after I got the machine to make my games work properly. You may not, but if you know how I think that this is the best bet. Also, get the latest Catalyst drivers from ATI, don't use the Dell drivers. Make sure to follow ATI's uninstall instructions to get rid of all traces of the Dell drivers.

Overclocking... I am currently running mine at 295/280 and it is running very well. I did not add any more cooling to the machine ( I love how silent it is. ) Powerstrip and possible RadClocker have been updated to support the 9700TX, however I have not had any luck with either of the overclockers. I had to flash the BIOS from the 9700TX to the latest 9700 Pro BIOS. Once I did that it worked like a charm. You can find instructions at r@ge3D Here

I have a 1900FP and you won't believe how beautiful NOLF2 looks at the hightest texture/res/settings with 4x AA on!!!

Good luck

 

[gregor7777]

Originally posted by: Rand

Originally posted by: natopotato
the 9700 TX uses an R300 core+256bit DDR like all the other Radeon 9700 series cards. performance wise it falls somewhere in between the 9500 pro and 9700. the TX version has been realeased in the european market (maybe asia too) but not here in north america.

at least that's my understanding

The R9700 TX should perfrorm just a notch under the regular R9700, as it's clocked at 260/260 whereas the regular R9700 is clocked at 275/270... and the Pro of course comes it at 325/310.
The 9700TX does have one small addition, in that it supports "Theatre Mode", which allows the user to view the playback of DVDs and video on the Monitor and Television simultaneously.

Rand, are you sure that is correct? My 8500 does Theatre Mode and it was my understanding that every card from the 7500 up had this feature. It's great BTW.

 

[GimpyFuzznut]

Schnieds and others, thanks for the really helpful info. My numerous questions were answered !

 

[Rand]

Originally posted by: gregor7777

Originally posted by: Rand

Originally posted by: natopotato
the 9700 TX uses an R300 core+256bit DDR like all the other Radeon 9700 series cards. performance wise it falls somewhere in between the 9500 pro and 9700. the TX version has been realeased in the european market (maybe asia too) but not here in north america.

at least that's my understanding

The R9700 TX should perfrorm just a notch under the regular R9700, as it's clocked at 260/260 whereas the regular R9700 is clocked at 275/270... and the Pro of course comes it at 325/310.
The 9700TX does have one small addition, in that it supports "Theatre Mode", which allows the user to view the playback of DVDs and video on the Monitor and Television simultaneously.

Rand, are you sure that is correct? My 8500 does Theatre Mode and it was my understanding that every card from the 7500 up had this feature. It's great BTW.

Not at all sure... I'm only going by what Dell's Tech Support Representatives said. They claim no other Radeon offers Theatre Mode, they may well be incorrect on that. It's not a feature I've ever needed so I've never attempted it.
If your R8500 has it, then it's a pretty safe bet the regular 9700's do also.
Thanks for the info...

 

[Remedy]

Is there a way to get the card by itself as a one item purchase?

 

[Spicedaddy]

Not at all sure... I'm only going by what Dell's Tech Support Representatives said. They claim no other Radeon offers Theatre Mode, they may well be incorrect on that. It's not a feature I've ever needed so I've never attempted it.
If your R8500 has it, then it's a pretty safe bet the regular 9700's do also.
Thanks for the info...

My 9700 Pro and the 7500 in my laptop both have Theater mode, so Dell support is wrong...