Which to buy: Radeon 9500 or 9600?

[BehindEnemyLines]

I can't afford other favors besides the two. Each of those has a pro version and a non-pro version. What are the difference between pro and non-pro?

I'm considering the 9500 non-pro, but newegg sells a 9600 non-pro complete with all cables at a much lesser price. How does the 9500 non-pro compare w/ the 9600 non-pro?

How about when they're both pro? Which one is best buy for the money (in terms of performance, accessories, etc...).

 

[Bateluer]

The 9500s are faster and more robust that the 9600s, being essentially a 9700 'soft modded' to a 9500. However, the 9500s are on their way out. I own a 9600 Pro myself, and its a outstanding card for the buck. Personally, I would call it the best value care on the market right now, expecially since you can pick up a 9600np for less than a 100 bucks in some places. A 9600 np will pretty much bitch slap the FX5200 all over the place too.

If you can afford/find a 9500 Pro, go for that card as it likely can be soft modded right back to a 9700. But the 9600 non/pro are excellent cards and you really can't go wrong with either of them.

 

[modedepe]

Originally posted by: Bateluer
If you can afford/find a 9500 Pro, go for that card as it likely can be soft modded right back to a 9700.

Actually it's the 9500 non pro that can be modded to a 9700, but even with that one I wouldn't consider it "likely" that you can do it--maybe a 50/50 chance. The 9500 pro can't be modded into anything.

Personally I would try to get the pro version of either a 9500 or 9600, as they perform quite a bit better. But out of the non pro versions of those cards, the 9600 should be faster, unless you get a 9500 np that softmods. I don't think that newegg has any more of the softmod cappable 9500's either.