difference?

[human1987]

ok wat is the difference between say... 9600XT and 9800PRO.. which is the better one?

[kram 2.0]

There are a few things you should look at when choosing a video card, but prominantly among them, they just label them with a a model name. Thing you should look at are buswidth, Chipset/Core, AGP compatibility (of PCI-E for that matter), and least so, onboard memory.

As for which one is better, although the Radeon 9600XT has a much higher memory speed and slightly higher core, the Radeon 9800 pro no doubt is the better performing of the two. What comes into factor there is that 9800s, at least most of them, use a 256-bit buswidth which means more communication between your graphics card and your system...more communication, more graphic instruction, better graphics - sound good :cool:? Generally speaking, the more you pay for a card, the better it gets.

kram

[human1987]

hmm... wat is the Core speed etc for?
mind explaining it to me to widen my knowledge!

btw anyone know if there is any online seller shipping products to Singapore?

[kram 2.0]

Speed at which the core (the "brain" of the card) works at. Memory speed is the efficiency of the memory. Any other words I neglected to elaborate on, just post :D.

kram

[human1987]

hmm.. got an IT fair coming up soon.. i'll check the price up and might be getting 9600XT or 9800PRO..
ThAnkS!

[Britkev1]

I have owned/do own both the 9600XT and 9800PRO. I can safely say that the 9800PRO at stock speeds outperforms an overclocked 9600XT. You can pick up a 9800PRO now for about $200.

[WhatsThisBoxFor?]

The AGP nVidia 6600 should be arriving soon, which I think out performs the 9800, in the same price range. It also supports Shader Model 3, and othe new technology, but I don't know if any are being sold right now (although they are meant to be coming in AGP flavour about now).

[kram 2.0]

Do recall that the AGP 8X version of this card is weeks, if not months away...I wouldn't rely on the GeForce 6600 being a solution should you need a graphics card in the near future.

kram

[human1987]

hey hey! ok.. got a question here..
which shld i go for?
9600xt 256mb or 9800pro 128mb?

[kram 2.0]

Definately the Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB AS LONG AS it has a 256-bit buswidth, it will always outperform the 9600XT or any variation.

kram

[human1987]

oh ok.. if i got the money, i will go for 9800.
Just need your little help again.. I am just a gamer that oftens play Counter-Strike, but this 5200 of my is lagging hell in smoke! and the FPS can't make it man! it's around 60 only!
Feel like trying out Doom3 and Far Cry after my upgrade.

[Britkev1]

I can play Doom 3, Far Cry CS:Source using the rig in my signature with no problems and get good playable frame rates. The 9800PRO will be able to play all those games at fairly decent settings.

[human1987]

So what manufacturer makes good cards?
Is POWER COLOR reliable?
I seen the price for 9800PRO by POWER COLOR, it is selling around SGD200-300! Weird ya see, cos normally they cost around SGD400..
Perhaps it's the shop going cheap?

[mrmister1]

Definitely go with the 9800 Pro if you have the money.

ATi is very good at watching their manufacturers to make sure the qaulity is good. This means you can by an ATi car from any manufacturer and expect good quality. I'd recommend Asus, Powercolor, and Sapphire.

[human1987]

guess i gonna go for powercolor then..
hmm.. any other stuffs to take note of?

it's really weird because the price is like half time lesser!!

[kram 2.0]

I can play Doom 3, Far Cry CS:Source using the rig in my signature with no problems and get good playable frame rates. The 9800PRO will be able to play all those games at fairly decent settings.
I own one myself and not just fairly decent...Doom 3 can run High settings 800x600 with non-lagging frame rates and FarCry - all U High/High with minimal/no lag. It's an amazing card.

One extra thing you should take note of is that if you are going to incorporate it into a existing computer, be sure that that comptuer will support this card. In other words, make sure it has an AGP 8X slot, and has a sufficient (ATI recommends 350W) PSU.

kram

[human1987]

hmm... talking about this compatibility....
Why does some AGP Slot have a little notch on it? *Guess is the old mobo*
And some graphics card do have 1 or 2 or 3 notch... Do you get what i mean?