9600 Questions
 

Greetings All,
I think I just made a huge mistake. I ordered (off newegg.com) a ATI 9600 AIW. I thought I was getting a 9600 Pro AIW. I am not. I ordered a normal non Pro card without thinking there differing styles of card. Is there a major difference in performance, quality, etc. Is this an "SE" type of card? Would it be better to send it back and get something else? Thanks for your input. Cheers

Yes, the 9600 is far inferior to the 9600 Pro. NewEgg allows cancellations if you hurry! I'd try to cancel it and get the Pro AIW.

I have to suggest the Radeon 9800 Pro if you were thinking about the 9600 Pro AIW. The 9800 Pro is much better than the 9600 Pro, and is only right over $200. I'm not sure if you're ordering the AIW for its different features; just wanted to let ya know about the 9800 Pro.

-Lasereth

Lasereth: Thank you. Helpful as always. Will a normal 9600 be able to handle the games coming out. Doom 3, Half-Life 2, UT 2004, etc. Granted it is not a 9800 but will it suffice? Just wondering. Thanks

the 9600 will do fine for games. The big difference on the AIW side between 9600 and 9800 is that the 9600 has an FM tuner as well as the TV tuner. The 9800 only has the TV tuner.

The 9600 Pro has an FM tuner not the 9600. I ordered teh 9600 not the Pro. The FM tuner is not a feature I am really concerned with. I didn't know there was a difference and I am seriously considering sending it back if I can't play the upcoming games. Thanks though for the info.

eh, i'll put it this way. My 9600 pro runs flight simulator 2004 with almost all eye candy turned up full, and I rarely get any jerky framerates. Good 'nuff for me.

true, the 9600 will suffice for now, but in the future (and I do mean short future) it will start to lag behind. Doom 3 and Half-Life 2 will be the first to push the boundaries. I'd say you'll need a better card than a 9600 to run Half-Life 2 and Doom 3 at their maximum settings....

If you are gonna buy a card now, a mid-range card is NOT the way to go. A high end card is the best bang for your buck right now, specifically the Sapphire 9800 Pro at newegg.

Like others have said, you probably will be able to play Doom3/HL2, but the all the settings will probably have to be turned down pretty far, especially with the non-pro version.

The 9800 pro off newegg for $212 is an insanely good deal...

A 9600 will do fine for now, but I'd give it less than 6 months before you'll need to upgrade. A 9600 varies from game to game on performance, but it's between a Radeon 8500/GeForce 3 TI to a Radeon 9500/GeForce 4 TI4600. In other words, it's not bad at all, but it will begin to slow down with upcoming games. I'd at least try to get a Pro, if not the 9800 Pro.

-Lasereth

gotta agree with lasereth here...


also, if you can, PLEASE get the 9800 pro. it is one seriously sweet card.