Ti4200 or 9600?

[p[H]udge]

I need a new card, I have a TI4200 right now that is being RMA'd again.
So basically, is the 9600 a better gaming card than a Ti4200?

Any other suggestions for a sub $100 card are more than welcome.

 

[Cybercat]

The 9600 is inferior in DirectX8 games, which make up the majority of what's out right now. Even if you play DX9 games like Halo, the performance will be better with the Ti4200 when using Pixel Shader 1.1 than with a 9600 using Pixel Shader 2.0 (DX9), and image quality won't be very different at all. A 9600 Pro is a different story however. It performs just as well, or better in everything than the Ti4200. If you can perhaps get a refurbished 9600 Pro off New Egg for less than $100, you'd be in good shape.

They have this in stock right now.

 

[0ldman]

Its inferior until you factor in AF and AA, the 9600 doesn't take the same percentage hit that the 4200 does. Closes the gap quite a bit... I'm sure someone else will post links...

 

[Wixard]

I have no problems running halo at 1024 with everything turned on. I dont use aa though, just Af. And thats on my crap processor.

According to this review, chances are youll notice the differance between the pro and non pro 9600 only in graphs:


http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/108/7/

Although that benchmark is for the 256 version. A small overclock would reduce the gap between the pro and non pro version.

For myself, it was an extremely well made decision for my home system. It runs everything i play (even with my "slow" processor) Has no issues playing anything at any of the resolutions i use. (1024 mostly) Has no active cooling, it just uses a heatsink. In my case mine also overclocks very well. so its quiet. 0db cooling.


The downside is that it isnt a pro, if you dont overclock expect a 5-15% performance drop over a pro. (probably just staring at graphs)

The drivers disable overclocking. So if you want to overclock youll need patches for them.

So my expierience with this card is that it currently has the best price/performance of any midrange card. Its cheap, effective, and has o/c potential.

But to answer you question i would keep the ti 4200 and pass on the 9600.

 

[Stugots]

i think id keep the 4200 and just overclock it some, maybe to 4400 or 4600 speeds.

when i was bought my geforce fx i borrowed a geforce 4 4400 from work and compared them and the 4400 scored about 1000-1500 more points in 3dmarks01, but the fx scored about 2000 higher in 3dmarks03.

 

[chrisf6969]

Dont order a refurbished videocard from Newegg, I just order one recently for a friends PC. And it was messed up. It would boot and go in to windows... but displayed all kinds of garbage on the screen, even random letters, etc during the boot process. It was $79 for a ti4200 on the ti4600 PCB with 3.3 BGA ram, but it didnt work. And they are said in the RMA that they're charging a re-stocking fee. I'm going to call and dispute that though.

Anyway, back to the point. I'd say buy neither. Get a 5900XT, puts you in a totally different class of cards.

Gameve.com has $175 - FX 5900Xt's that would be a much BETTER card.

Price - $175
Shipping - FREE FEDEX 2-3 DAYS SAVER INSURED
http://www.gameve.com/gve/store/productdetails.aspx?sku=VC-AOPEN-023

I know its probably out of your budget... but save up a little longer... and the price will probably meet you half way since the next generation is pending release.

BTW, I do think the ti4200 is an awesome card thats why I was trying to buy one for my friend's PC. And well worth $80-95 (or less)

You can buy my 5900 (non ultra) (not an XT either) It comes stock at 400/850 for $180 (worth $230) in a few weeks when I upgrade to a 6800.