9600xt vs 9800np

[m0s3s]

i was just wunderin whats better? The 9600 has higher clock speeds but the 9800 has 8 pipelines vs 4....does this make a big difference? the price difference is about 11usd (9800 is cheaper).

[Pari]

though i've only got a humble gf3 ti 200, if you look at some of the other threads you will see that it is possible to flash the bios of some 9800 non pros so that they become pro cards, if it is possible to do this then i should think the 9800 np is a better value card. though i'm not 100% sure.

[Mista K6]

The 9800 NP is still a bit faster than the 9600XT. If you go to www.ati.com , there is a "product comparison" tool. I used it, and the 9800 NP can push out 2.6Gpixels/sec, where as the 9600XT can only do 2.0. Also, the 9800NP can do 325 Mtriangles/sec, while the 9600XT can only do 250. As the specs show, the 9800 NP is faster, and you can overclock it even higher (even if you cant flash it to a 9800 Pro). Be wary of the whole flashing thing though, you must have the right type of RAM (samsung 2.8ns, yes?) on your card and some luck, otherwise you can screw over your card. Anyways, 9800 NP is top dog, go with that :thumb: . : peace2: Mista K6

[AsianBatman]

Whoa, hold it! If the 9800np is cheaper than...a budget 9600, there has to be a catch. The 9800...might be a SE(AHH!), if you are buying this from a site give us a link. But if your sure its a 9800 non-pro, then of course go with the 9800. The 9600xt is a good card but not good enough to past up a 9800 :cheers:

[SearanoX]

Eh? I'm pretty sure that the 9800 can overclock to a 9800 Pro with the proper cooling...anyway, definetly go with the NP. It's cheaper and offers better performance.

[AsianBatman]

:rolleyes2 Right...by flashing the 9800 to the pro, the card core gets more voltage=more oc'ing ability. Some cards need the flash in order to overclock higher than possible and some cards don't. So 9800np, do not go with an official ATi card. (crappy memory chips). :cheers:

[m0s3s]

thx for the help. is the se any different?? because thats the one i priced, and i heard they suck

[SearanoX]

No, don't get the SE, it's horrible. It's almost sacreligious to use it.

Now let us never speak of it again.

[AsianBatman]

thx for the help. is the se any different?? because thats the one i priced, and i heard they suck

Compared to the 9800np and 9800 pro...the se sucks ass, because the 9800se is a card that has 4 pipelines disabled and also uses slow memory.

[m0s3s]

so are u saying that the se is better or worse than the 9600xt?? the xt is way cheaper than the np

[AsianBatman]

Go with the 9600xt! :cheers:

[Mista K6]

Even though they both use 4 pipelines, the 9600XT is better than a 9800SE because the 9600XT has higher clock speeds and higher quality components. : peace2: Mista K6

[AsianBatman]

Actaully "The 128-bit memory interface and slow memory ultimately cripples this board's performance" -Maximum PC for the 9600xt.
I think its the same for the 9800se. But i rather go with the 9600xt.