9500Pro or 9800SE AIW ??

[Lexeus]

Which do you think I should get ?
I can get the 128MB AIW 9800SE from lowest on web for £137 (price went up )
Or a 9500Pro, i think its a hercules, can't remember. I don't NEED the AIW facilities, but I would like them as I have been wanting a half decent TV card for a while but am too cheap to spend more than about £15 on a card
How much do you think a 9500Pro is worth ?
The reason it's between these 2 is because my friend has a 9500Pro and he is probably going to sell it to me and get him self a 9800Pro in the next month or two. What is a 9500pro which I have no idea if it will soft mod (he hasn't tried it, or OC'd) worth ? Whats the going sort of price.
Considering the fact that i'm on quite a tight budget which should i get ?

Thanks

[Volcano]

9800SE and hope the softmod works
If it doesnt it should still be as fast as a 9500/9600pro with all the extra features of the AIW

[conan]

The 9500 Pro will not soft mod. Only the non-Pro's soft modded. It may clock OK but that will be all. Better going for the 9800SE AIW, same performance as a 9500/9600Pro but with all the goodies and a warranty. Always the chance it may soft mod as well

[Austin]

On the other hand the 9500PRO has a good o/c in it, should get from 275/540 to between 350/600 and 380/640 maybe higher and certainly well inside Rad9700 perf. The 8 pipes make a big difference esp when you enable AF or impliment DX9. But as said the 9800SE_AIW may not o/c much but has a slight chance of softmodding to a 9800_AIW and you do get the AIW functionality too. I don't think you lose either way

[Lexeus]

Of course the Pro doesn't softmod ! duh !
I have just confused my self, I can't remember what card he has now lol. I orginaly thought it was the non-pro but I cant remember. Will have to make sure when I see him tomorrow.
Anyway, so if it's a 9500Pro Herc, what is the sort of price you think it's worth ? I think he wants about £100 for it, but I think I can probably get it for £95 since he's a friend. I saw a while back people saying it was worth about £150. That still true ?
And if its a Pro I take it you think I should go with the 9500 right Austin ?

[Austin]

Either way with the 9500PRO or 9800SE_256bitDDR I'd say you're on to a very fine card even without modding or o/c'ing. The 9500nonPRO is dire if it doesn't mod and VERY few of them do ... you're much better off with the 9500PRO as you get great stock perf and 9700 perf when you o/c. 350mhz+ with 8 pipes is very capable hw. Since the 9500PRO is still superior to the 9600XT which from most places sell for around £140 I'd say a 9500PRO should certainly still warrant £120 ... if you can get one for £100 you're doing well.

[Lexeus]

Thanks Austin
Now I just got see if I can prise my wallet open to buy myself a new card
Luckily my friend seems to just hang on to his old hardware, so maybe if I wait 6 months and buy it off him then when its a bit cheaper lol
Will think it over, my 9000Pro just seems to be too 'OK' right now . Just one question though, when i occasionly get parts of bf1942 maps going white on some of the straight esges of the graphics, is that because my card can't handle the high setttings ?
thanks again

[Austin]

Ensure you have the latest drivers for gfx card (and pref mobo). Then perhaps leave everything like AA+AF set to 'application controlled' )or OFF) just to dismiss those as culprits. When a card can't hack it you usually find things get very juddery (like a slide show) or feel very sticky to control. Image corruption is usually down to a problem with the hw, drivers, o/c'ing or a corrupt file/texture.

[mightynimrod]

Get yourself a 9800SE.....Damn fine cards even if it doesn't soft mod.

Should play most games on it and overclock to a decent speed

[Austin]

Well you should hopefully get a 9800SE that uses 256bitDDR and has 380/360 clocks ... that's what it needs to give similar perf to a Rad9500PRO using 128bitDDR and 275/270 clocks or a Rad9600XT using 128bitDDR and 500/300 clocks. The 9800SE will be lucky to hit 410/380 when o/c'ed, an increase of less than 7%. The 9600XT should get around 590/330 an increase of 14% while the 9500PRO should get around 370/310 an increase of 25%. In reality it would be even better for the 9500PRO thanks to being the only one with 8 pipes (hence double) every 1mhz increase on the core in a way has double the effect on its power. So when it comes to o/c'ing the 9800SE isn't likely to be much good compared to the 9600XT and esp 9500PRO ... but only the 9800SE stands a chance of modding to give it 8 pipes AND 256bitDDR. So the 9800SE's strength isn't o/c'ing but decent stock perf coupled with the potential for a mod.

[ERU]

Originally posted by Austin
Ensure you have the latest drivers for gfx card (and pref mobo). Then perhaps leave everything like AA+AF set to 'application controlled' )or OFF) just to dismiss those as culprits. When a card can't hack it you usually find things get very juddery (like a slide show) or feel very sticky to control. Image corruption is usually down to a problem with the hw, drivers, o/c'ing or a corrupt file/texture.

I second that motion - certainly a good deal for £130

[Lexeus]

I checked, and its a Connect 3D 9500Pro
So Austin do you think I could clock this card without replacing or messing with the fan on it?
I have 7 80mm fans so there is plenty of air flowing through the case, 2x Front IN, 2xback OUT, 2xside IN, 1xtop OUT.
If the standard clock on a 9500PRo is 270/275, that means its lower than on my Radeon 9000Pro, Standard 275/275, so considering the fact that its a better card I could probably clock it up quite a bit without any heat problem couldn't I ? I assume ATI just clocked it lower not to compete with higher cards ?
What do you think ?

Also, about my Radeon 9000, I do have the latest drivers, well until about yesterday, I have cat 3.8's, and dx9, and latest nf2 drivers. WIll try 3.9cats when i get around to it. Its not a major problems but every now and then i see white sided blocks.

Thanks

[Planetside]

all of the 9800SE AIW are 256bit and all will softmod but some just cant take it and nead to go back to just being a 9800SE AIW
but i would go with the 9800 aiw anyway as you can have tv on your pc

[Lexeus]

I may have gone with the 9800SE AIW, but its now £145 for one, and the 9500PRo will only be about £100, or £90, but I wont be getting it for about 2 months, as he hasn't decided on his new card yet.

[Austin]

Originally posted by Lexeus
I checked, and its a Connect 3D 9500Pro
So Austin do you think I could clock this card without replacing or messing with the fan on it?

Connect3D are well known for great build quality and often o/c very well. Certainly no need to mod the card at all, it usually yields far less than a 5% increase which is what I'd say would be the minimum for it to be worth it. Yep the 9500PRO (275/270) @ 9700PRO clocks (325/310) gives you 9700 perf and most 9500PRO get a fair deal higher. As you suspect ATI did underclock the 9500PRO, in fact they under-estimated what the 9700PRO was capable of. The 9500PRO stock is a cool runner and upping the RAM speed won't give off any noticable added heat but will give a nice little boost. You should find 325 core runs little hotter too.

Not sure what it is with the Rad9000PRO, you could try older drivers (new ones have more to do with DX9 cards) or perhaps underclock it a little just to see. Do you get 'white sided blocks' in many games or just the one?

I'd wait for the 9500PRO esp for £100! The 9800SE_AIW tend to come in at £160+ but 'Lowest' currently do one for £145. Considering chances of a successful mod are small and that o/c'ing is virtually nill it would only be worth it if you really want/need AIW ability.

[Lexeus]

As far as I remember its just bf1942 really, but the maps do take up a hell of a lot of RAM so they can't be easy for a graphics card.
One other thing in Americas Army when i zoom in with the sniper into smoke, my game slows down and stutters, there is nothing wrong with the graphics or anything, it just slows down, do you tihnk that is the graphics card lacking power ? I assume so, part of the reason I want a new card. What you think ?