Need advice before buying a video card

manimillion · 07-05-2005, 10:58 PM

I am looking to get a new video card, was looking at the ATI Radeon 9550. Its for sale for 149.99 at futureshop. Then I came across Sapphire Radeon 9550, which is 119.99. Both have 256 DDR Ram, and both have ATI chipsets. Are they basically the same thing but different brands? Or are there differences in performance between them?

I got 150 Canadian to spend before taxes. I don't want to go over that. I play GTA San Andreas, thats about the only game I play.

The specs of the computer which I will be buying the Video Card are :

Intel P4 2.0gHZ
Asus P4P800-Deluxe Motherboard
1GB DDR 400 Ram (2X 512Mb Kingston)
160GB Western Digital HD - Primary
40GB Seagate HD - Secondary
Sony 16x DVD+-R (DRU800A)
ATI Radeon 7500 64MB Video Card
Asus TV-Tuner
SB Live Value Sound Card
Flatron 795FT Plus Monitor
8 in 1 Card Reader Floppy drive

Thanks

**UncleMacro** · 07-06-2005, 12:42 AM

ATI is probably the highest quality maker of 9550s but Sapphire is fine too. If they're both retail models they'll both perform exactly the same. Some of the OEM ATI video cards are a little slower than the retail versions.

You're not going to gain anything by getting 256MB in that speed video card. You need a much faster card to take advantage of 256MB so you might as well get a 128MB card. This 128MB Radeon 9550 is the same speed as those other 9550s and much cheaper at $88 Canadian.

Another option is to go with this Radeon 9800 Pro at $160. I know it's $10 over your budget and that particular model is actually a little slower than a 9700 Pro but it's two or three times as fast as the 9550s and it's a very good deal for the money. If you plan on playing other games in the future then it's a much better choice. This store has some other choices between the 9550 and 9800 Pro but you have to be a little careful because their clock rates vary a bit from the standard models. This 9600 Pro, for example, is about 50% faster than the 9550s.

**mgoldb2** · 07-06-2005, 12:47 AM

Dont get a radeon 9550

Here a radeon 9600XT for $135 candian
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...282028&CatId=0

This is a decent card but if you willing to up your budget a little bit a better card would be

Radeon 9800pro $189
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...188487&CatId=0

I am asuming you have a agp slot and that what you want.

**UncleMacro** · 07-06-2005, 02:40 AM

A bit of a warning here: This "9600XT" looks very similar to a card someone got from ebay recently and it had very slow RAM (183MHz as I recall). That "9600XT" has the same heatsink and they both have the 3.3 volt slot in the card which shouldn't be there. I'd advise staying away from no-name powered-by-ATI cards because there seems to be lots of them floating around with very slow clock rates and I'm pretty sure that's one of them.

07-05-2005, 10:58 PM	#1 (permalink)
manimillion Registered User Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 20 OS: Win2K	Need advice before buying a video card I am looking to get a new video card, was looking at the ATI Radeon 9550. Its for sale for 149.99 at futureshop. Then I came across Sapphire Radeon 9550, which is 119.99. Both have 256 DDR Ram, and both have ATI chipsets. Are they basically the same thing but different brands? Or are there differences in performance between them? I got 150 Canadian to spend before taxes. I don't want to go over that. I play GTA San Andreas, thats about the only game I play. The specs of the computer which I will be buying the Video Card are : Intel P4 2.0gHZ Asus P4P800-Deluxe Motherboard 1GB DDR 400 Ram (2X 512Mb Kingston) 160GB Western Digital HD - Primary 40GB Seagate HD - Secondary Sony 16x DVD+-R (DRU800A) ATI Radeon 7500 64MB Video Card Asus TV-Tuner SB Live Value Sound Card Flatron 795FT Plus Monitor 8 in 1 Card Reader Floppy drive Thanks

07-06-2005, 12:42 AM	#2 (permalink)
UncleMacro TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: San Diego Posts: 2,133 OS: Vista SP1 My System	ATI is probably the highest quality maker of 9550s but Sapphire is fine too. If they're both retail models they'll both perform exactly the same. Some of the OEM ATI video cards are a little slower than the retail versions. You're not going to gain anything by getting 256MB in that speed video card. You need a much faster card to take advantage of 256MB so you might as well get a 128MB card. This 128MB Radeon 9550 is the same speed as those other 9550s and much cheaper at $88 Canadian. Another option is to go with this Radeon 9800 Pro at $160. I know it's $10 over your budget and that particular model is actually a little slower than a 9700 Pro but it's two or three times as fast as the 9550s and it's a very good deal for the money. If you plan on playing other games in the future then it's a much better choice. This store has some other choices between the 9550 and 9800 Pro but you have to be a little careful because their clock rates vary a bit from the standard models. This 9600 Pro, for example, is about 50% faster than the 9550s. Last edited by UncleMacro; 07-06-2005 at 12:46 AM.

07-06-2005, 12:47 AM	#3 (permalink)
mgoldb2 TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 604 OS: windows xp	Dont get a radeon 9550 Here a radeon 9600XT for $135 candian http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...282028&CatId=0 This is a decent card but if you willing to up your budget a little bit a better card would be Radeon 9800pro $189 http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...188487&CatId=0 I am asuming you have a agp slot and that what you want. __________________

07-06-2005, 02:40 AM	#4 (permalink)
UncleMacro TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: San Diego Posts: 2,133 OS: Vista SP1 My System	A bit of a warning here: This "9600XT" looks very similar to a card someone got from ebay recently and it had very slow RAM (183MHz as I recall). That "9600XT" has the same heatsink and they both have the 3.3 volt slot in the card which shouldn't be there. I'd advise staying away from no-name powered-by-ATI cards because there seems to be lots of them floating around with very slow clock rates and I'm pretty sure that's one of them.