9600xt 128mb or 256mb

[revol68]

i just got a 9600xt and it plays call of duty with 16x aa and 8x af at 1280 x 1024 with no probelms. Basicallly the 9600xt will handle any dx8 game, tho maybe a few fps behind the fx5900 however it would be barely noticeable, whilst the advantge the 9600xt has over the 59000 at dx9 is very noticable.

oh yeah and i got my ati built 9600xt for 126 including p&p and hl2 so yippee for me

[da_ging]

to help u make your mind up here's a couple of reviews

here's a roundup at bit-tec complete with hawt chick
http://bit-tech.net/review/288/

there's also a review of a supped up 9600xt which includes results from a 5900
http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/117/1/

here's one of the 5900XT (which is slightly slower than the 5900 at dabs and is also Aopen)
http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/112/1/

5900 all the way remember the 9600xt is a mid range card the 5900 and even 5900xt are higher end

[edit] and oh dont include the free hl2 thing as a factor as it aint out till september if ur lucky

a 5900xt is a slightly lower clocked version of the 5900

[Knoxville]

you could have a 9800pro for an extra £60

bargain tbh, and more future proof

[da_ging]

a 5900 would do fine for a while yet
,+ i think if he could afford a 9800pro he'd get 1 no questions asked

no current cards are future proof as pci express is just around the corner oh how that will be fun and expensive switching to btx

[Rabs]

Let us know what you get in the end

[davefran]

I was in a similar situation, could'nt decide on 9600xt or similar, so I took a gamble on one of these:-
Hercules 3D Prophet 9800SE All-in-Wonder 128MB DDR £160.
AND MAN did it pay off softmods perfectly with Omega drivers (a doddle)
3D Mark 2001se - 19000k

[Mike.c]

Well i went with the Aopen FX 5900 and i think i made the right choice!

Although i have no idea how it compares with the Asus 9600 XT.

Just ran aquamark 3 and got 36,000+(any good?). Pitty i cant remember my old username and password so i could see how it compares to my old card!!

But thanks for the help, id still be choosing which to go for if it wasnt for the advice!!

Oh and its running at 45-50*c when idle and 50-60*c when playing, should i be worried or is this fine?

[NeilI]

Dammit, only 8 left and I don't get paid until the 13th!
Why did I spend my student loan so swiftly...

[2800CC]

Just to make thix GPU thing go on longer and longer, if your after a decent mid range card have you considered a 5700 Ultra. There are some really nice cards out there from Gainward and an Ultra platinum from Sparkle that I believe use DDR2. Yes it's only 4 pipes and not 8 like a 9800 or 5900 (I tink) BUT it beats the 9600xt over and over. Cheap too

Good luck.

I was in the same pickle .... I decided to get a 9800 Pro 128MB Sapphire for £175.

[revol68]

Just to make thix GPU thing go on longer and longer, if your after a decent mid range card have you considered a 5700 Ultra. There are some really nice cards out there from Gainward and an Ultra platinum from Sparkle that I believe use DDR2. Yes it's only 4 pipes and not 8 like a 9800 or 5900 (I tink) BUT it beats the 9600xt over and over. Cheap too

Good luck.

I was in the same pickle .... I decided to get a 9800 Pro 128MB Sapphire for £175.

read some reviews the 5700 ultra does not beat the 9600xt and in dx9 it gets its kracka ass kicked.

[Stewart]

Who said that Sapphire have dodgy build quality and make up 'the lower end of the market'?

My Sapphire 9800pro is hardly the lower end of the market, and the build quality is tops.

I've seen a lot of people reccomending Sapphire cards over other brands, now they are the bottom end?

So fickle.

[cm_uk]

i ahve the asus 9600xt, its really fast and runs very smoothly on all the latest games.Like one of the above posts says, the 128 is faster than the 256. It also supports a resolution of up to 2048 1536. Go for the 128.It also comes with lots of software and games.

[Stoo]

I'm not keen on the build quality of Sapphire/Powercolor cards which make up the cheaper end of the market.

Powercolour have been a bit dodgy in the past, but Sapphire actually make most of the cards, including ATI's branded ones. so I don't really think their build quality can be called into question..

ps, 9600xt

[Rabs]

I had major problems with a couple of Powercolor Radeon 9800 Pro's a few months back, I'm sticking to 'branded' stuff now and paying that bit extra, piece of mind I call it

[bigZ]

I second the vote for the 128MB card.

Reasons:

I had to make the same decision a few days ago, I'm not keen on the build quality of Sapphire/Powercolor cards which make up the cheaper end of the market. Spend the money on the Asus, I did and I'm loving it! (cue cheesy McDonalds advert).

The Asus is also a vivo card and the software pack you get with it is impressive. So any extra money spent is worth it for that alone (oh and the HL2 voucher).

I got a HL2 voucher with my sapphire... and to say the build quality is bad... I don't think 622 core is bad without any volt mods... I have had it up to 643 thru some 3dMark2001se tests, sadly when it came to benchmarking day it was about 3'C warmer in my room, so I could only hit 622 core stable. I run 600 core 24/7