urgent: which radeon to get?

[Wigwam]

for the same price i can get a sapphire radeon 9600XT256MB or the 9800SE 128MB
i am afraid i dont know if the XT of the 9600 offsets the "SE" of the 9800 [ie i know that in principle 9800 is much better than 9600, but how crippled is the 9800 compared to the non-se and so is it better/worse/same as the 9600xt]

also, how much of an advantage is having 256mb over 128 mb for these gfx cards as they are £20 more expensive than the 128mb ones

a friend is impatient to buy and i am researching spec for him so your input is valued!

 

[modedepe]

With 9600 pro's, 256mb models are clocked lower than the 128mb models. I'm not sure if this is the case with the 9600 xt though. At any rate though, 256mb is not really needed. I'd pick up a 128mb 9600xt.

 

[Wigwam]

for my own education why is this [ie 9600xt] better than the 9800se?

thanks

 

[Viper96720]

Here has the 9800SE and 9600XT benchmarked.
The 9600XT 256MB has the same clock speeds as the 128MB version 500/600.

Review

 

[Viper96720]

Originally posted by: Wigwam
for my own education why is this [ie 9600xt] better than the 9800se?

thanks

Clock speeds
9600XT 500/600
9800SE 380/675

Although the difference isn't that great in most benches. One card doesn't blow the other away.

 

[Cerb]

If those are your choices...add another: 9600 XT 128MB. The Sapphire SEs have worse luck than most softmodding, for one thing, so it will be a downgrade compared to the 9600 Pro or XT. 256MB won't matter too much...the 9600 won't be able to take as much advantage of it as some of the higher end cards, not to mention the memory runs at 2/3 the speed, so it is a downgrade, and likely a 128MB will be faster even with texture swapping.

 

[Cerb]

Originally posted by: Viper96720

Originally posted by: Wigwam
for my own education why is this [ie 9600xt] better than the 9800se?

thanks

Clock speeds
9600XT 500/600
9800SE 380/675

Although the difference isn't that great in most benches. One card doesn't blow the other away.

Yes it does. Look at the vendor and manufacturer specs, not Tom's.
380/675 is not Sapphire's. You;d be hard-pressed to find Saphire with anything but 325/500, giving it scores just above a 9600. AFAIK, PowerColor is the only one in the U.S. offering 380/600 and above 9800 SE cards.

 

[Wigwam]

thanks
i am gonna go with the 9600xt