[clipsegst22]

Hi. I'm looking into getting a new video card in the next few days and I'm wondering which one of these i should get. i'm planning on spending between $150 and about $220. i'm looking at a radeon 9600xt or a radeon 9700pro or np. I know the 9600xt only has 4 pipelines and the 9700's have 8? is there a HUGE difference in performance between the 2? Can the 9700np be EASILY modded to be a 9700 pro? and is there a major difference between the 9600xt 128 and 256? thanks in advance for your opinions.

[Strida]

The 9700 Pro would be your best bet. I think the only difference between the regular 9700 and the 9700 Pro is clock rates, which are easy enough to change. I thought it was only the standard 9600 with 4 pipes, but that the 9600XT had all 8.

The difference between the 128 and 256 isn't much. The 256 has slower ram, and so the 128 runs faster. 256mb of ram isn't needed yet in games, most games don't even use the whole 128 on many cards.

If you can find a good 9700np, go for it, otherwise go for either the 9700 Pro or a 9600XT as my third choice.

[clipsegst22]

Thanks for your advice. I ordered the 9700 pro and should have it by fri or sat. CANT WAIT! also, i'm pretty sure the 9600xt has only 4 pipes. Here are the specs of the 9600xt from the sapphire website. one more question though. is there a big performance difference w/ the different manufacturers? (powercolor, sapphire, ati...) I found a powercolor 9700 pro for $209 US w/ free 2nd day delivery from newegg (i think) and an ati for $208 US w/ free shipping from gameve. I went w/ the ati just because i wasnt sure about powercolor.