Tough Call..

[BlueGuy]

Hey, I was just wondering what yall thought would be the best choice between an Asus 9600xt or a Sapphire 9700 Pro (ultimate)? The 9700 Pro would be about $30 more. I really like the HL2 offer that comes with the XT, but how much better is the 9700 performance? Is is worth it?

Thanks!

[Sentential]

Get the 9700. The memory bandwith is better (far better) than the 9600. For $30 you will get a significant preformance increase if you get the 9700. Plus the "ultimates" come with silent heatpipe coolers. A 9700pro will get very close to 9800np speeds and preformance.

So, the differences between 9700 / 9600XT

9600: 4x1 pixel pipes / 128 bit memory

9700: 8x1 pixel pipes / 256 bit memory

I think you get the point;)

[BlueGuy]

Thanks Sentential, I really appreciate it.

Is the difference that the 9600xt has 2.1 smoothshader/vision while the 9700pro has 2.0 versions significant?

[Strida]

The 9700 pro will blow the 9600 out of the water.

[f00t]

^^^ you sunk my battleship

[Sentential]

No prob, Yea the 9700 has the older rendering codecs. Go for a 9800np, but if the 9700pro is a good deal get it. You wont see a significant difference in picture quality. (its unnoticable) All it does is give the extra 5% boost in preformance (if that) that get it to 9800 speeds.

9700 Is a fantastic card. Reguardless if it has the older codecs is null and void cuz the hardware is far superior to the 9600 series. The quality that ATi has is really awe inspiring. Its like the defference between a regular TV and an IMAX. Its really somethin when you crank the quality up.

also....

WELCOME TO THE FORUMS

[gbaz]

How much was the 9700pro? Just ordered a 9800pro for $273. Only a little more than most of the 9700pros i have seen. Link below got from another guy in the forum.


http://www.excaliberpc.com/product_info.php?cPath=184_195&products_id=2242