Worth the Change?

I have a Gainward Geforce 4 TI4200 128MB video card atm. I was thinking of swapping it for a Radeon 9500 128MB non-pro and trying the Soft-Mod to 9700 trick. What I want to know is if the mod fails, will the 9500 still be as good/better than my TI4200? I won't be out any cash for this mind you, I just want to know if it's worth my time. LMK your opinions guys. :)