Sapphire ATI Radeon 9600XT 256MB DDR/Sapphire ATI Radeon 9800XT 256MB DDR

[Doom]

I am looking at bying a new card. The card I have right now is a geforce 4 ti 4600 but I'm looking at the Redeon ones this time round. Do people find them better than the geforce counter parts? I was looking at the 9600xt and the 9800xt. I can get the 9600xt at just over £100 and the 9800xt the £350ish. What is the main difference between the two?

 

[Obislu]

Well it's VERY difference. It's almost as TWICE as good.
In GeForce, terms, the 9600XT is like the 5700ULTRA and then 9800XT is the 5950ULTRA. If you go here you can see for yourself:
http://www.nvidia.com/page/fx_5900.html
http://www.nvidia.com/page/fx_5700.html

 

[Sazar]

basically its pipelines and additional features that allow for faster rendering @ high LOD with max IQ...

the 9800XT is a more complex board with twice the number of pipelines allwing it to work on more pixels @ the same time.. it has an 8x1 architecture v/s a 4x1 for the 9600XT...

IF you are not going to be playing @ max IQ I would say go for the 9600XT... its excellent performance/price performer...

also the 9800XT is NOT like the nv38 aka 5950 from nvidia architecturally... nvidia does not have an 8x1 cards out there... their top cards are 4x2 just like the gf4 ti series cards... in most cases they can work theoretically as an 8x1 card but the performance especially with max LOD @ max IQ is better on the r380 than on the nv38

if you have the bucks... get the 9800XT... if not get the 9600XT and save some money for the next big one to drop 🙂 in a couple of months time...

 

[Yharn]

and if you are wondering how the cards perform check this out:

http://www6.tomshardware.com/graphic/20031229/index.html

 

[Sazar]

and if you are wondering how the cards perform check this out:

http://www6.tomshardware.com/graphic/20031229/index.html

not quite sure how you can trust a sites results if they themselves are listing on their frontpage that the nv3x lineup is 8x1 😕 or that the gf4 ti series was dx8.1 ? I am sure there was emmulation or what not but we haven;t had dx 8.1 compliance from nvidia till their dx9 cards which were reverse compatible... all bout the pixel shaders...

🙂

www.beyond3d.com has the best info when it comes to performance indications and features...

9600XT

9800XT

and a direct compare

http://www.beyond3d.com/reviews/asus/xts/

 

[Black-Syth]

I am sure there was emmulation or what not but we haven;t had dx 8.1 compliance from nvidia till their dx9 cards which were reverse compatible... all bout the pixel shaders...

...and now, history repeats itself again with nVidia's DX9 cards. I wonder if their DX10 cards will finally be DX9 compatible. 😛

 

[breezie]

its a waste to upgrade a TI4600 to a 9600xt (256mb barely means anything in terms of performance)--- now the 9800 on the other hand---good stuff *thumbs up* - i have the pro version myself ^_^

 

[Sazar]

...and now, history repeats itself again with nVidia's DX9 cards. I wonder if their DX10 cards will finally be DX9 compatible. 😛

the dx9 cards do dx9... how well they do it is a different matter and thats been said multiple times... the support is there, inherent in its design... its not like the ps 1.1/1.3/1.4 situation for dx8/8.1... nv3x cards (most of them) do actually do ps 2.0...

 

[Black-Syth]

the dx9 cards do dx9... how well they do it is a different matter and thats been said multiple times... the support is there, inherent in its design... its not like the ps 1.1/1.3/1.4 situation for dx8/8.1... nv3x cards (most of them) do actually do ps 2.0...

Oy, you know I'm just kidding Sazzie!

 

[Sazar]

Oy, you know I'm just kidding Sazzie!

I know but there's probably someone who is gonna come and start flaming coz of what you posted... even though its not far off the truth lol...

don't mind me... I'm just stressed out right now 🙂

-edit-

I'll give you an example of ignorance and bias and the crap that emmantes from said lack of understanding of fundamentals...

http://www.beyond3d.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9752&highlight=

the idiocy of the article linked to and the points made in the first post in the thread outline WHY sites like ours exist... to educate the people who are new and to sound off about terrible marketing and b.s. from IHV's and sites (such as guru3d) that promote idiocy through their ill-informed editorials and posters...

threads like that have existed and become common-place since the end of 2002 and it is tiring to see the same info again and again but some people just don't know 🙂

 

[Black-Syth]

Oh well. There is always that ignorant bunch. Just like there were in school, just like there were at work, just like there are on forums, and clubs, and bars, and everywhere else. We're people, we have to put up with it. Here, on the other hand, we're an understanding bunch, and the mods do a good job if they need to. That's why you're here, and they're there, because they put up with that crap, and you understand that you don't need to.

 

[dubstar]

so pretty much, if you want the 9800xt at a cheaper price.. hang tight (hard to do, i know.. we all know), and wait for the next bomb like sazar says.. the price will drop, and you will have your 9800xt.. or just drop the big bucks.. i have a 9600pro (not xt), and i like it a bunch!!, but then again, i upgraded from a geforce2, which was a month long (free from a friend) upgrade from Savage S7 (yuck).

 

[Taurus]

not quite sure how you can trust a sites results if they themselves are listing on their frontpage that the nv3x lineup is 8x1 😕 or that the gf4 ti series was dx8.1 ? I am sure there was emmulation or what not but we haven;t had dx 8.1 compliance from nvidia till their dx9 cards which were reverse compatible... all bout the pixel shaders...

i always knew the gf4ti series to be dx8.1..?? 😕 the gf3 series was straight dx8.

 

[dabomb]

im runnin a sapphire ati radeon 9800xt mate and i can honestly say that it is superb, no jolting at all and im well impressed with the purchase

 

[LocKStocK]

Wehey, get my Hercules 9800xt classic 2moz!! 😛

 

[Sazar]

i always knew the gf4ti series to be dx8.1..?? 😕 the gf3 series was straight dx8.

dx 8.1 == ps 1.4 support... the highest nvidia cards had till the nv3x lineup was ps 1.3 support == dx8

they can be branded as 8.1 I spose if they can emulate the effects but seeing as few games utilise dx8 extensively even today they can get away with it...

gf3/4 is not a big difference in marchitecture... pretty much same with a few tweaks for more speed and rendering efficiency with aa/af..

 

[dabomb]

Wehey, get my Hercules 9800xt classic 2moz!! 😛

you wont be disappointed with the card mate, if you dont mind me askin how much did it set you back?