Radeon 9550 w/256 DDR

[Dunga Bee]

Hi all.

I'm looking for a decent vid card upgrade. Right now I have a Radeon 32 DDR. I do not need to be on the cutting edge, since I do not play alot of games, but I would like to get something that can keep me satisfied for a while. I found a Radeon 9550 @ Newegg for $85. It seems like it is nearly the same as a 9600 and with 256 MB of DDR, it looks to me like it might be a great performer for the cost.

Does anyone know much about this model and it's potential? I'd never heard of a 9550 until today and there is not alot of info out there about them.

Here is a product link: http://www.power-color.com/R96-LD3.htm

Thanks everyone.

[RoadWarrior]

From what I've seen of them they seem like a fairly good deal, benchmarks I have seen have had them as fast on some games as a 9800SE. However these are apparently 9600 and 9800 reject cores so will probably need an over the top cooling solution if you want to take it beyond stock. Some benchmarks to look at here...
http://www.digital-daily.com/video/vga-roundup/

"Same ballpark" Nvidia card would seem to be the 5700 if you want to compare prices.

If 128Mb is good enough for you, you might save a bit here
http://www.compgeeks.com/details.asp?invtid=ATI9550-DVI-128MTV-N&cat=VCD

However I have a suspicion that the 128Mbs might have narrower memory bus.

regards,

Road Warrior

[Spongebob3000]

I have read(on Newegg's Reviews) that this card is( Info-Tek ATI RADEON 9550 Video Card, 128MB DDR,128-bit,) really an underclocked 9550XT http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-240-021&depa=1

[Yuriman]

I would go with a 128mb card, just to save money. 256mb on a card that slow will help in virtualy no cases.