I'm buying a new video card and can't decide on the 9700 Pro or the 9600 XT. Something tells me that the 9600 XT would be a better card because it's newer but I saw an article at Tom's Hardware that was released today and it shows the 9700 Pro kicking the 9600 XT's ass. Will somebody help me make up my mind please??

Defently I would go with the 9700 pro..It is basicly the same as the 9800 pro just a slower clock speed and a few slight differences..

Well, for just performance, defnitely go with the 9700 Pro. Its gonna beat the 9600 XT in just about anything by a long shot.

It doesnt come with the goodies the 9600XT does though. The 9600XT is gonna come with Half-Life 2, so if you were planning on getting that, it pretty much saves you 50 bucks right there. The 9700 Pro is gonna also be more expensive than the 9600XT anywhere you go. On newegg.com, I believe the lowest 9700 Pro is at 219 right now, but you could get a 9600XT for about 170 to 180. Personally, I am going to get either the 9600XT or the 9600 Pro All In Wonder as soon as I get a little more cash.

Hope that helps some.

PS - I wouldnt rely on Tom's Hardware too much anymore. Not exactly as reputable as it use to be.

Hey i own a 9600 pro and i am very happy with it. If you got some kind of insane game or something that you need run i guess you should go with the 9700 but i play all my games at max detail and they all run smooth. plus the 9600 XT doies have the Half Life 2 deal which would be great. I have also heard from some reliable sources (Hardcore Mirc users) that the graphics on half life 2 are great so i don't think that ATI would short you by selling you a card that couldn't run the game it comes with.

Conisdering that at newegg.com the 9700 Pro is $220 and the 9600 XT is $180 I'd go with the 9700 Pro, it WILL perform better than the 9600 at stock speeds and whilst the 9600 OC's better the OC'ed 9700 will win... Both have the same features and in the end it comes down to the pro's and con's; for the 9700 Pro the pro is its better performance and for the 9600 XT the advantage is its price and the fact that it comes with HL2...

So I guess its what's more important too you, performance (9700 Pro) or overall bang for buck (9600 XT)

WOW man i am looking at you setup and it is almost exactly like my old one except i had a radeon 9000, different case and 256 kingston ram

one thing you guys forget, it's that if you buy the ASUS 9600XT... you get HL2 AND you have the Rage theater chip... so it has VIVO and it'll also save you the costs of a TV tuner.....and Radeon 9700's do cost more then 9600XT and since PCI-X are comming so soon, you should get 9600XT if you're looking for features and if you don't have enough $$ for PCI-X.... if you want gaming then go for the 9700 Pro

I would wait 1-2 more months then get a 9800 regular or 9800 pro they are about $260 right now but in a few months i'm sure it will drop to $240 or so.
But if you are set on 9700pro or 9600XT I'd go with the 9700Pro.
Good luck with the choice.

Well, IÂ’ve been running with an ATI radeon 9700 pro for about 6 months. It kicks with any game so far, especially 1942 that my kids play. It's fast and i have no problems with it. I see no reason to wait 1-2 months to save $20 unless you depend on mom & dad, or whatever

I was think of the 9600xt myself. I didn't realize that the 9700 pro was that much faster. Good to know!

Quote: Originally Posted by biohazardpc Defently I would go with the 9700 pro..It is basicly the same as the 9800 pro just a slower clock speed and a few slight differences..

ok there is number of differences between the 9800 and the 9700. First the core is different (remember 9700 r300, 9800 r350)second clock speeds are different. and for the 9700pro by 9600XT debate, 9700pro is the champ. 40 bucks for loads more speed and useful overclocking....i think it is worh it. if i had better cooling on my 9700 i think i could get over 22k in 3dmark 01 ( i am at 21030 now)

Quote: Originally Posted by Chrome_Rust ok there is number of differences between the 9800 and the 9700. First the core is different (remember 9700 r300, 9800 r350)second clock speeds are different. and for the 9700pro by 9600XT debate, 9700pro is the champ. 40 bucks for loads more speed and useful overclocking....i think it is worh it. if i had better cooling on my 9700 i think i could get over 22k in 3dmark 01 ( i am at 21030 now)

Zennzo has a 9600XT, and has hit over 14,000 on 3DMark 01, and that with everything tweeked to the max. That is near to what a stock 9700Pro would score.
With a similar AMD setup to Zenn's, and a borrowed overclocked 9700Pro, I was able to get about 17,500. I am sure there was more in it though (Only had it for 2 days)

40$ more..Yeah go for it!!!

Chrome, what were your scores with that card in your old AMD rig?
I am sure your P-4 gave that card a nice boost

EDIT: Thx Tex..Hmm nice gain on the P-4 almost 1000 more

His best was 20, 173. He's here now, so I asked him.

If you plan on overclocking and want performance your top choice should be a 9800 NP w/ Pro flash. If you do not want to overclock and still want performance, go for the 9700 pro. If you aren't a hardcore-push-every-extra-fps-out-that-you-can-gamer, but want something that will run the newer games pretty well for a decent price, go for the 9600 XT.

Quote: Originally Posted by benjaminrhs666 one thing you guys forget, it's that if you buy the ASUS 9600XT... you get HL2 AND you have the Rage theater chip... so it has VIVO and it'll also save you the costs of a TV tuner.....and Radeon 9700's do cost more then 9600XT and since PCI-X are comming so soon, you should get 9600XT if you're looking for features and if you don't have enough $$ for PCI-X.... if you want gaming then go for the 9700 Pro

What the hell was your post supposed to mean? I didnt understand any of it. The Asus wont save you the cost of a TV Tuner if you want to watch broadcast television. It doesnt actually have a tuner, just a composite video imput.

And what did you mean by your PCI-X speech? Because the 9700 Pro costs more, we shouldnt buy it because PCI-X is coming soon? The 9600 XT has more features? Like what?

At newegg, the 9700 Pro is 30 dollars more than the 9600 XT. It will last way longer in current and future games. PCI-X isnt coming out for about another 6 months, and even then, full adaptation of the medium will take a long time. Go with the 9700 Pro and get HL2 later. I bet HL2 wont even be out for atleast 2 months.