i was looking around for different graphics cards that my local circuit city has... and i came across the ati radeon 9550.

the only game that i really play on this box is half-life2 and cs source

would this be a good upgrade compaired to my geforce fx 5200?


and is it overclockable....

i have an epox km400 mobo
amd athlon xp 1800+
768 mb ddr ram


-thanks in advance

Well first we need to know the price of that card that you saw but I believe you would be MUCH better off saving your money for a 9800PRO or a 6600GT instead of that 9550.

It's better than the 5200, but there are many cards you can find online for the same money you will pay at Circuit city that will blow both of em away.


A 9600 Pro is just over 100$

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...125-169&depa=0


The 9600XT is under 140$

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...102-467&depa=0

Check around Pricewatch too, just make sure u get a AGP version, not the new PCI Express!

http://www.pricewatch.com/

And Dan is right..the min card to be looking at is a 6600GT and up (Hard to find cheap AGP version though at a decent price!) or a 9800Pro or better from ATI

Well, if you can't afford the only slightly questionable upgrade to a slightly better $200 6600GT or $30 more for the 6600, which would run certain games even slower than a 9800Pro, Doom III being the obvious exception, i'd reccomend this: http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduc...C-pr1c3grabb3r
Look at my benchmarks below for an idea of how it fares. Can't beat the price either, NewEgg is the only available distributor of this card left on Pricegrabber, the 9800Pro's are being knocked off at $244 right now to make them un-popular. If you're going to buy a videocard for newer games at this age, you'll need atleast 9800Pro perfromance to enjoy the upcoming titles at all. People used to say you have to be lucky to get a "good one" ( no artifacts after all 8 pipes unlocked) but most of them are just uner-volted that can be fixed with a new BIOS. That card will take you to 9800Pro and beyond with a bit of cheap fans and self-improvised memory cooling. Unless you feel like buying a used 9800Pro, this is bottom-of-the-crop when you buy it, but can crank more game than a 9600XT @ stock.

Mine said 128-Bit on the website I ordered it from too, but registers 256-bit anyway. Don't worry tho, PowerColor doesn't list any 128-Bit version of the 9800SE @ thier site: http://www.tul.com.tw/global/product...derid=1&cat2=1

EDIT: N/m that risk, this is the best version available ( exact same one I have/ 256-Bit) for even $2.00 cheaper than NewEgg's 128-Bit and a 2-year warranty! : http://www.futurepowerpc.com/scripts...ID=VCPO-R98SC3

newegg is actually where every part of this box came from.... the reaosn i was askin about the circuit city is im haven ppl over for a lan tonight and i wanted it now....



but thanks for the info and now i wont be waisting my money!

Circuit City definately won't have such an extensive selection as the internet, or as decent of a final price. If you have to, go get a 6600. Otherwise, order the 256-Bit 9800SE. This is right between a 6600 and a 6600GT in performance.>>> http://www.hkepc.com/hwdb/6600agp-4.htm ( just in case you're wondering, thats around twice as fast as a radeon 9600.)

Yeah, the 256-bit 9800SE's plus a good cooler are an AWESOME value (since they can be easily softmodded to a 9800pro). I would have gotten one if i had known about them sooner...:$ Look for the Sapphire and PowerColor ones in particular, but the one that konai first posted is the 128bit version methinks (non-L shaped RAM).

Yeah, don't waste your money on that card. I got one because it was very cheap, and I managed to OC it from 250mhz, to 450mhz on the core. The memory is what bottlenecks the 9550. I managed to OC it by 60mhz, for 260(520mhz DDR).

It does beat the 5200, but it's not enough to go out and waste money on it.

Like the others said, get at least a 6600GT, or a 9800pro.

Quote: Originally Posted by turbopsi Yeah, don't waste your money on that card. I got one because it was very cheap, and I managed to OC it from 250mhz, to 450mhz on the core. The memory is what bottlenecks the 9550. I managed to OC it by 60mhz, for 260(520mhz DDR). It does beat the 5200, but it's not enough to go out and waste money on it. Like the others said, get at least a 6600GT, or a 9800pro.

what about the softmod from 9550-9700 any of you get that to work on models with 128bit memory?

Quote: Originally Posted by xgeko2 what about the softmod from 9550-9700 any of you get that to work on models with 128bit memory?

The softmod works for 9500's, not 9550's... completely different architecture.

Quote: Originally Posted by turbopsi The softmod works for 9500's, not 9550's... completely different architecture.

Ok i was just wondering iver read somereviews of people saying its possable to mod a 9550 to a 9700 and i saw it in some other forums but i never herd of any prof of it yet.

o ya and with a blue TT orb on that bad boy how far you think i can take the 9550 gpu even if i take the ram down some? think i can go past 450 or 500?

I would say somewhere around 450mhz...

And there is no reason to downclock the ram... it won't help the core OC any.

Quote: Originally Posted by turbopsi I would say somewhere around 450mhz... And there is no reason to downclock the ram... it won't help the core OC any.

It did on my 9600 pro seemd like the farther i took the core the more artifacts i had and when i down clocked the ram a lil bit the artifacts went away.