Sapphire Radeon 9600 pro ultimate

They make noise, too.

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Boomerang Rapido
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Location: Denmark

Sapphire Radeon 9600 pro ultimate

Post by Boomerang Rapido » Tue Aug 26, 2003 3:32 am

Is anybody using this card? I'm seriously considering it over my ti4200 which has a whiny little fan. I know I could try the zalman way to cool the ti4200 instead, but I'd rather save myself the trouble... and I'd void the warranty.

Oppinions please!? :)

GenghiS_KhaN
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Post by GenghiS_KhaN » Tue Aug 26, 2003 4:12 am

I'm not using it but another advantage is that the 9600pro is Dx9 ready (newer games)
And if you can afford it and if you want to play games and very high details you should go for an 9700pro (I think they have it in ultimate version).

Boomerang Rapido
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Location: Denmark

Post by Boomerang Rapido » Tue Aug 26, 2003 4:25 am

GenghiS_KhaN wrote: And if you can afford it and if you want to play games and very high details you should go for an 9700pro (I think they have it in ultimate version).
Well I can afford it and I do want to play some games now and then, but not that bad :)

The price jump from a 9600 to a 9700 is ridiculous. I'll probably even wait a bit till the 9600 drops under 250$.

biscuit
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Post by biscuit » Tue Aug 26, 2003 6:09 am

I just got a 9600pro and I have a ti4200. Without AA or AF enabled, Frame rate-wise they're about the same, but once you turn on the eye candy the 9600pro will leave the ti4200 in the dirt. I find this card to be the perfect choice for the average gamer and it runs MUCH cooler than the ti4200 which replaced the gf3 ti200 which was in the wife's box which is now in the daughter's box, heh.

Boomerang Rapido
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Location: Denmark

Post by Boomerang Rapido » Tue Aug 26, 2003 8:55 am

Sounds like a recommendation to me :)

thanks..

Wedge
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Post by Wedge » Tue Aug 26, 2003 11:26 am

Boomerang Rapido wrote: The price jump from a 9600 to a 9700 is ridiculous. I'll probably even wait a bit till the 9600 drops under 250$.
Umm...either I am misunderstanding something or you have been shopping at very expensive places. The 9600 pro can be had under $200 at the right places. Example: Ocsystem.com is selling it for $150, and free ground shipping at the moment.

I beleive that the 9600 pro, generally speaking, is the best bang for your buck for the performance to price ratio in the video card world (at the moment).

Wedge
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Location: NorthEast Arkansas, USA

Post by Wedge » Tue Aug 26, 2003 11:38 am

Also, check this out: $163 at PriceGrabber.com and you can read about this particular brand (TYAN) here.


EDIT/ The pro version is $185 and that review is on the following page or go there from here.

Also worth noting is the VPU temp read feature as well as fan speed adjuster:
"A tweakers dream, the Graphics Monitor let's you monitor your VPU temperature as well as adjust the fan speed RPM's manually, or initiate automatic temperature control. A very nice feature for a mid-range video card and easily one of the features of the G9600Pro that set this card a notch above the rest."

Boomerang Rapido
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Location: Denmark

Post by Boomerang Rapido » Tue Aug 26, 2003 12:01 pm

Yeah I can get the regular 9600 pro for around 200$ (probably lower) here in Denmark too. What I want it the 'Ultimate' version from Sapphire with the small heatpipe cooler.

I could get a regular 9600 pro and stick a zalman on there but the price of a regular 9600 pro + a zalman comes out to about the same as the ultimate version. So no need to pay the same amount of money and then starting out by voiding the warranty :)

So in short.... I don't want one with a fan on it. I already have that problem ;)

biscuit
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Joined: Sat Aug 02, 2003 7:17 am

Post by biscuit » Tue Aug 26, 2003 1:04 pm

What I did with mine was remove the hsf that came with it and replaced it with a zalman nb hs (it has adjustable mounting brackets) so if for some reason the card fails and I have to rma it, I'll just put the original hsf back on and no one will be the wiser ;)

Boomerang Rapido
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Location: Denmark

Post by Boomerang Rapido » Tue Aug 26, 2003 11:04 pm

Can the zalman NB heatsink really cool that card? You don't have a low speed fan blowing over it?

Wedge
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Post by Wedge » Tue Aug 26, 2003 11:52 pm

Too bad you are in Denmark :(

I found this while perusing pricewatch.com

Ralf Hutter
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Post by Ralf Hutter » Wed Aug 27, 2003 4:40 am

Wedge wrote:Too bad you are in Denmark :(

I found this while perusing pricewatch.com
Allstarshop.com also has a Resellerrating of 9.01 with almost 400 reviews, plus they have will-call for us lucky SoCal residents.

biscuit
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Post by biscuit » Wed Aug 27, 2003 5:17 am

Boomerang Rapido wrote:Can the zalman NB heatsink really cool that card? You don't have a low speed fan blowing over it?
I've tried it both ways. One with a zalman bracket/80mm combo blowing across it low speed, and then just the heatsink itself. Even with just the heatsink this card doesn't get as warm after running q3arena for several hours as does my ti4200 sitting idle doing nothing. I do have decent case airflow, but since there is minimal difference soundwise with or without the 80mm blowing on it, I'll prolly leave the fan in place cuz I'm sure I'll be bumping clockspeeds sooner or later ;)

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