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Sapphire or PowerColor for Radeon 9600 128MB ?

P

psxjunky

Senior member
[EDIT 10/05]

Anyone voting for either Sapphire or PowerColor - could you please post a short explanation of why you think it is better. Thanks a lot !


[EDIT 10/03]


Okay, I have finally decided to go for the 9600 😀

Just one last question for you guys (hopefully 😉 ) -- whether to go for the Sapphire version or the PowerColor version. I have never used any product from either of these manufacturers before, but I *think* I have heard the PowerColor name a little more than Sapphire.

Here are the two products side by side (from Newegg)

SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON 9600 128MB 8X AGP DVI/TV RETAIL $122 shipped
POWERCOLOR ATI RADEON 9600 128MB DDR DVI+CRT+TV 8X AGP RETAIL $125 shipped


Any suggestions which one to go for ?


P.S. If you answer this one last question, I promise to leave you guys alone ... at least for a while 😉 Seriously though, thanks very much for all the feedbacks !



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[EDIT - 10/02]

Title: Added 9600 to the pool (GeForceFX 5200 or ATI 9200 ? For Media Center PC ... NOT for gaming)


Okay, so it is a no brainer that the GF4 is better than either the FX5200 or 9200 ... BUT ... between the FX5200 and ATI 9200, which one is better for use in a Media Center PC (not for gaming)?

I can get either of these two card for about $70 at Newegg. Let's say I had to buy one of the following two ... which one would you reccommend keeping in mind my requirements below ?

Gigabyte ATI RADEON 9200 128MB Model GV-R92128DH RETAIL $72 shipped

VGA CHAINTECH Geforce FX 5200 128MB DDR . RETAIL BOX $69 shipped



1. I will NOT be using this card for gaming. It will be used in a Shuttle SN41G2 SFF PC that will run Windows XP Media Center
2. The card needs to run as cool as possible, since it will be used in a small form factor PC without much support for cooling
3. I would like to keep the cost under $100 if possible (around $70-80 will be ideal)
4. The latest version of WinXP MCE (2004) is DX9 based ... so having native DX9 support in the card is a plus point
5. Having a DVI output on the card is important, since I'll be using a 50" LCD TV with DVI input as the display


Thanks !



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[ORIGINAL POST]

I am thinking about getting a 128MB AGP card and am trying to decide if I should go for the nVidia GeForceFX 5200 series or ATI 9200 series. Any advice from any of you on which series to go for, and (possibly) which specific brand of card to get, will be much appreciated.

A couple of things to consider --


1. I will NOT be using this card for gaming. It will be used in a Shuttle SN41G2 SFF PC that will run Windows XP Media Center

2. The card needs to run as cool as possible, since it will be used in a small form factor PC without much support for cooling

3. I would like to keep the cost under $100 if possible (around $70-80 will be ideal)

4. The latest version of WinXP MCE (2004) is DX9 based ... so having native DX9 support in the card is a plus point

5. Having a DVI output on the card is important, since I'll be using a 50" LCD TV with DVI input as the display



Finally, I already have an Xtasy GeForce4 Ti4200 128MB card with DVI output that I can use. Do you guys think upgrading to a FX 5200 or 9200 is worth it ?


Thanks for any suggestion.
 
Those are downgrades. More memory does not a better card make, and both the 9200 and 5200 are much slower than a 4200. Just crank the texture detail down a notch and enjoy what's still a reasonably fast card.
 
If it was me building a Media Center box, I would go with the OEM Sapphire Radeon 9000 128MB for $70 at NewEgg.

It fully supports DVI-out, TV-out, and S-Video, which is nice just in case you decide to move the Shuttle around to other televisions. The card itself isn't too hot either, using only a heatsink. The ONLY downside on the 9000 is no DX9 support.

But like I said, that's just me. IMHO the GF4 is too much power for a pure Media Center PC.
 
Thanks guys for all the suggestions !

I had no idea that the GF4 is so much more powerful than the FX5200 or 9200 ... I feel kind of dumb now 😱 😛

Samurai: Your suggestion is great ... and I definitely would have done that unless I already had the GF4 laying around; but since I already have this, might as well save the bux and just use this. Unless, of course you think it would generate more heat than the 9000.
 
In terms of performance, Ti4200 will put the smackdown on either the FX5200 or 9200. Now, there is a possible benefit to you getting a FX5200. There are versions of that card that is passively cooled, so in terms of noise, it could benefit you if you're just trying to build a silent PC. Otherwise don't bother, you would be downgrading.
 
The ti4200 would be fastest for games, but you said that you won't be gaming. In that case, you might want to go for a cheap, passively cooled card with good image quality. A radeon 7000 would probably be plenty power.
 
Okay, thanks again for all the suggestion guys !

So it is a no brainer that the GF4 is better than either the FX5200 or 9200 ... BUT ... between the FX5200 and ATI 9200, which one is better ?

I can get either of these two card for about $70 at Newegg. Let's say I had to buy one of the following two ... which one would you reccommend keeping in mind my requirements above ?

Gigabyte ATI RADEON 9200 128MB Model GV-R92128DH RETAIL $72 shipped

VGA CHAINTECH Geforce FX 5200 128MB DDR . RETAIL BOX $69 shipped
 
You know what? Both of those cards will do the same job just fine, and you're not gaining much either way. Both have excellent 2d. Personally, I'd go with the ATI since they used to have a leg up (ever so slightly) on the nVidia cards for hardware DVD decoding. I'm not sure about now, but I think they still have a tiny advantage.

As I said, you can't really go wrong with either. But I'd go for the ATI.
 
Well, I think it's good, but it's more of a mainstream gaming card (between mainstream and budget for the non-Pro, I suppose).
 
Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
Originally posted by: psxjunky
Any final comments from anyone else ?

How about the ATI Radeon 9600 ? The following is $125 shipped from Newegg ... which is somewhat over my budget, but if it is really good, I may consider it 😛

POWERCOLOR ATI RADEON 9600 128MB DDR DVI+CRT+TV 8X AGP RETAIL
Click to expand...

So the gF4 Ti is "too much power" but yet you follow up by suggesting an R9600? 😛

- M4H
Click to expand...

Well, its just that if I get a new card anyway, might as well get one with a little headroom 😛

How do you think the R9600 will perform in a Media Center PC ? The above one from Newegg is passively cooled ... so I don't think it generates too much heat; is that a correct assumption ?

How are PowerColor cards in general ?

Sorry if some of these questions sound really dumb ... I have built several PCs, but when it comes to video cards, I am really a noob 😱

 
Okay, I have finally decided to go for the 9600 😀

Just one last question for you guys (hopefully 😉 ) -- whether to go for the Sapphire version or the PowerColor version. I have never used any product from either of these manufacturers before, but I *think* I have heard the PowerColor name a little more than Sapphire.

Here are the two products side by side (from Newegg)

SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON 9600 128MB 8X AGP DVI/TV RETAIL $122 shipped
POWERCOLOR ATI RADEON 9600 128MB DDR DVI+CRT+TV 8X AGP RETAIL $125 shipped


Any suggestions which one to go for ?




 
The 9600 would be the card that generates the least heat. Sapphire tends to offer better bundled software and I think that they make the cards that are labeled built by ATI and are retailed as such.
 
tallman45: Sorry if this is a dumb question, but what is the advantage of the "Built By ATI" label ?

Does this mean the Sapphire cards are the only OEM cards officially licensed by ATI ?
 
Anyone voting for either Sapphire or PowerColor - could you please post a short explanation of why you think it is better. Thanks a lot !
 
I voted for Sapphire.
I seem to recall seeing more negative comments about Powercolor than Sapphire.
ATI trusting Sapphire to build cards that they will sell under the ATI name, and will slap a 3 year warranty on, says a lot to me.
 
"Built-by-ATI", regardless of the actual manufacturer, means you get a 3 year warranty with ATI. "Powered-by-ATI" is whatever the manufacturer of the card decides the warranty shall be through them, rather than ATI.
 
Get neither a factory ati card has the samsung ram about 60% of the time the aftermarket cards [Saphire,Powercooler ext] often use much slower memory speeds and core clock.
 
sapphire make fine cards, and the standard is just as good compared to those built by ATi themselves

I heard some problems with Powercolor,

though, the upside of this card is the competitive price.
 
Thanks everyone ! Your feedback has been immensely helpful. The verdict seems to be pretty clear ... Sapphire it is 🙂
 
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