How does the 9600 SE compare?

[MechWarrior_CHI]

I have a question on the low end.

How does the 9600 SE 8AGP 128 MB card compare to the 9100 128 and the 9200 128MB cards or for that matter the 5100 or 5200 Nividia cards. My assumption is that while not as powerful as the regular 9600 it would still zoom past the other entry level cards?

For some reason no one seems to mention this card when talking about the entry level sub $100. dollar cards.

Thanks,

[AutomaticErik]

Check out Tom's VGA Charts III here: http://www.tomshardware.com/graphic/20031229/index.html

A quick look through the benches shows that these cards fall pretty low, sometimes below the FX5200 and R9200. In the sub $100 category, you can still find some regular 9600s which are a far better choice than any of these.

[mrsinster]

sub $100
SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON 9600 Video Card, 128MB DDR, 128-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP, Model "ATLANTIS RADEON 9600" -.RETAIL $95 shipped.

Specifications:
Chipset/Core Speed: ATI RADEON 9600/325MHz
Memory/Effective Speed: 128MB DDR/400MHz
BUS: AGP 4X/8X
Ports: VGA Out(15 Pin D-Sub)+TV-Out(S-Video Out/Composite Out)+DVI
Support 3D API: DirectX®9, OpenGL®2.0
Cable/Accessories: 1 Cable, Driver CD
Max Resolution@32bit Color: 2048X1536@85Hz
Retail Box (See pics for details)

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...-289&depa=1

[nanokooshball]

the 9600SE is a faster card than the 9200...you shuold be able to play most game s@ 1024 resolution....but if you can get the 9600 non pro....its a better choice....

[GB_Cobber]

Originally posted by nanokooshball
the 9600SE is a faster card than the 9200...you shuold be able to play most game s@ 1024 resolution....but if you can get the 9600 non pro....its a better choice....

Faster than a 64bit 9200 perhaps. A 128bit 9200 is definitly faster than a 9600SE. Sometimes very much faster. In older games the 128bit 9200 is almost twice as fast while the 9600SE barely passes a GF2 GTS. And there are at least two types of 9600SE 325/400Mhz and 325/333MHz(both w 64bit memory).

The 9600np which has twice the memory bandwidth of the 9600SE only just beats a 128bit 9200.

It doesnt matter how advanced the core is. If it doesnt have the memory bandwidth to feed it, its worthless. A 128bit 9200 has twice the memory bandwidth. simple as that.

[MechWarrior_CHI]

Does anyone know how the 9600 SE compares to the 5700 LE?

[mrsinster]

Originally posted by GB_Cobber
Faster than a 64bit 9200 perhaps. A 128bit 9200 is definitly faster than a 9600SE. Sometimes very much faster. In older games the 128bit 9200 is almost twice as fast while the 9600SE barely passes a GF2 GTS. And there are at least two types of 9600SE 325/400Mhz and 325/333MHz(both w 64bit memory).

The 9600np which has twice the memory bandwidth of the 9600SE only just beats a 128bit 9200.

It doesnt matter how advanced the core is. If it doesnt have the memory bandwidth to feed it, its worthless. A 128bit 9200 has twice the memory bandwidth. simple as that.

words of wisdom

[AutomaticErik]

I'd venture to say that the 5700LE would be better but I don't have any info to back that up. I know the 5700 > 9600 so one would beleive the 5700LE > 9600SE.

[GB_Cobber]

A 5700LE is basically clocked at the speed of a 128bit 5200 at 250/400Mhz. If the 5700LE is also 128bit(which it should be), Its performance is simular to or a little faster than the 128bit 9200(depending on actual clocks). Here are a couple of guides.

http://www.neeyik.info/3dspecs/ (far from comprehensive but a good general guide)
http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/over2003/index.html

[MechWarrior_CHI]

that sucks about the 64 bit memory - I just bought this card, the only thing it says on the box is 128 floating point percision, but I assume that is different?

Info on box off site:
The Xtasy 9600SE, featuring ATI's RADEONª 9600SE VPU with 128MB DDR memory prosecutes your more demanding applications with awe-inspiring performance. With 4 rendering pipelines, the 9600SE processes 1.3 BILLION pixels per second. 2 parallel geometry engines, power through 175 million [T&L] polygons per second. The 9600SE, processes more than 15 BILLION anti-aliased samples per second for head-splitting performance up to 16 trilinear filtered texture samples per pixel.

The Xtasy 9600 SE

* 2D/3D Graphics Accelerator
* Full DirectX9¨ Support
* VGA, DVI-I, TV Out
* 128MB DDR Memory
* 400MHz DDR
* 325MHz VPU

At a Glance

* Advanced anisotropic filtering,128-bit floating point color precision, 2nd generation N-patch higher order surface, integrated MPEG-2 decode, FULLSTREAM VIDEOSHADER