9500pro for $169, or 9600Pro?

[IKeelU]

What do you think?

I can get the 9500Pro for 245 CDN (which amounts to 169 USD). Should I get this now or wait for the 9600Pro? Oh, and I need it within the next 2-3 weeks (I've put off this upgrade long enough!).

So, with all things considered (like pricing, OCing potential of BOTH cards, and estimated performance in DX9 games), which constiutes the better buy?

 

[CurtCold]

This is just my take....

9500Pro, great performance, decent overclocker, nice mid-ranged video card.

9600PRO, awesome overclock performance. Even Bests the 9500pro when overclocked. Also runs very cool due to the .13 micron process.

If your into overclocking then I would def get the 9600. It only has 4Pipelines vs the Eight of the 9500, but comes stock at 400mhz core. HardOCP was able to get a killer overclock on the 9600. Might wanna check out the reivew over there.

Either card is nice.

 

[Wag]

I'm leaning towards the 9600 because it should put out less heat. I'll wait to see.

The 9700 non-pro looks good too, but I suspect the thing puts out lots of heat.

 

[Cybordolphin]

Where can I find a 9600 pro card? When are they expected to be available?

 

[ASIMOS]

Buy 9500PRO.
It has better performance in standard specifications.
Also it has better performance in overclocking.
9500PRO core overclocks 20-30% (330-357Mhz) and memory overclocks 10-15% (297-310Mhz)
9600PRO core overclocks 30-40% (520-560Mhz) and memory overclocks 15-20% (345-360Mhz)
Although 9500PRO overclocking is not so extreme in relation to 9600PRO,
the difference in not capable to change the fact that 9500PRO is faster, especially in 1600X1200.
Also it hasn?t got peculiar low frames in games that favor hierarchical Z buffer.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Where are you getting it at that price? I'd like to know too.

 

[TheRealShaman]

Originally posted by: ASIMOS
Buy 9500PRO.
Also it has better performance in overclocking.
9500PRO core overclocks 20-30% (330-357Mhz) and memory overclocks 10-15% (297-310Mhz)
9600PRO core overclocks 30-40% (520-560Mhz) and memory overclocks 15-20% (345-360Mhz)
Although 9500PRO overclocking is not so extreme in relation to 9600PRO,
the difference in not capable to change the fact that 9500PRO is faster, especially in 1600X1200.

I don't think you're absolutely correct..Firingsquad has recently put up an article comparing the two cards (both OC'ed). You can clearly see that in newer game like Splinter Cell and in very high quality settings the OC'ed 9600 beats the 9500 by quite a margin and even manages to catch up with the 9700..
I was interested in buying a 9500pro too "IKeelU" but after this review i decided to wait a bit and go for the 9600 (don't forget it's probably going to cost less than the 9500)..
These are just opinions..What's important is that things are VERY difficult for Nvidia in the mainstream market...

 

[bluemax]

I know I'm holding out for the 9600 because I want a silent, fanless solution for my Shuttle box. That's just me though...

 

[Malladine]

9500Pro

 

[IKeelU]

Where are you getting it at that price? I'd like to know too.

I pricematched at www.shoprbc.com. You can also get it for 249$ CND at www.pccanada.com

I just ordered the 9500 Pro. Here's my rationale:
The 9600 Pro is going to cheaper, this is true, but when is it going to be cheaper? I've heard initial street prices are going to range from 169-200, and it might take months it to drop below that. (keep in mind that given both choices, I would only purchase the 9600 if it was ~20$ CND cheaper than the 9500 - but that's just me)

You can clearly see that in newer game like Splinter Cell and in very high quality settings the OC'ed 9600 beats the 9500 by quite a margin and even manages to catch up with the 9700.

I thought about Splinter Cell, but you can also see from the benchmarks that the GF4 Ti 4600 takes a significant lead. Using this benchmark, I could assume that the GF4 will be a better performer in more demanding games in the future (and I think the general consensus is that this is untrue - I could be wrong tho). Splinter Cell was written for the NV line of cards, hence, the main conclusion I drew from this benchamark was that the 9600P has more in common with the GF4 than the 9500P does.
Also, even when [insanely] overclocked, the 9600P can only tie with the 9500P in UT2003 HardOCP link
And many games in the future will be using this engine.

Annnnyway, I'm just trying to validate my purchase here. I think the 9600P will be a fantastic buy when the prices drop, but for now, I think I made the right decision.

 

[ASIMOS]

Quote
_______________________________________________________________________
Originally posted by: TheRealShaman

I don't think you're absolutely correct..Firingsquad has recently put up an article comparing the two cards (both OC'ed). You can clearly see that in newer game like Splinter Cell and in very high quality settings the OC'ed 9600 beats the 9500 by quite a margin and even manages to catch up with the 9700..
I was interested in buying a 9500pro too "IKeelU" but after this review i decided to wait a bit and go for the 9600 (don't forget it's probably going to cost less than the 9500)..
These are just opinions..What's important is that things are VERY difficult for Nvidia in the mainstream market...
_______________________________________________________________________

Well I read this review and if you exclude Splinter Cell (favors 9600) or Unreal Tournament 2003 (favors 9500) the cards are pretty equall.
9500PRO has the upper hand in high resolutions(1600x1200) and 9600PRO has the upper hand in low resolutions(800X600).
But I don?t think this review is fair:
40% of its benchmarks are in 1024X768 resolution
15% of its benchmarks are in 800X600 resolution (why?)
15% of its benchmarks are in 1280X1024 resolution
15% of its benchmarks are in 1600X1200 resolution
15% of its benchmarks are involving Anisotropic Filtering and Antialiasing
Like I wrote before 9600PRO is slower in 1600X1200 in most cases and if you add anisotropic filtering and antialiasing in this resolution the difference is even bigger.
Also there are games out there that speedwise they have an impact in performance due to the luck of a hierarchical Z buffer.
This review is carefully done if you get my point.

 

[bluemax]

There's no doubt about it - the 9500 Pro is an excellent card. I daresay just a little bit better than the 9600 Pro.

Why bother with 9600? It should be cheaper and cooler. If you have a 9500P or find a good deal on one and you're content with a fan, do it and don't look back.

Of course, keep your eyes peeled for 9700 Non-Pro deals!

 

[CraigRT]

9500 Pro IMHO.. I went 9700 pro so I can't speak too much