Ti4200 or ATI 9500

DerekWildstarDerekWildstar Seattle Washington
edited December 2003 in Hardware
Which is better between the two...? no cost for either card. Going in older system of a friends that currently only had a MX440 VC and a AMD 1.2 Ath OC to 1.7ish :vimp:

Comments

  • madmatmadmat
    edited November 2003
    Go with the 9500, it's a hardier card and you can softmod it to a 9700 if it's the right card config...one of the ATI guys can point you in that direction I'm sure.
  • SimGuySimGuy Ottawa, Canada
    edited November 2003
    Without AA or AF, the Ti4200 offers better DX8.1 performance.

    However, once AA & AF are enabled, even at the lowest levels, the 9500 takes the lead.
  • BlackHawkBlackHawk Bible music connoisseur There's no place like 127.0.0.1 Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Not worth playing w/o AA and AF :D ATi all the way :vimp:
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited November 2003
    Radeon 9500. Better image quality, DX9 compatibility, and it's faster.
  • Mr_BojinglesMr_Bojingles Northern Michigan New
    edited November 2003
    The ti4200 is good card but I agree about the 9500 being faster.

    But you can now find the ti4200 for under $100 making it a good deal if price was an issue.
  • DerekWildstarDerekWildstar Seattle Washington
    edited December 2003
    What is AA or AF ? Oh BTW the card is a Gainward Ti4200 Ultra 650 golden sample versus a ATI 9500 standard.

    Got the 9500 for free, but friend offered to trade above described Ti4200 for the ATI card straight across.

    Wondering if it was a good deal ?
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited December 2003
    The Gainward TI4200s were recalled en masse for the largest shipment of bad capacitors in the history of video card manufacturing.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited December 2003
    AA = AntiAliasing; Enabling it smooths the "jaggy" edges that you get on objects that have edges that are not perfectly vertical or horizontal; it is most apparent at lower resolutions

    AF = Anisotropic Filtering; Enabling it blends textures so that there isn't such an abrupt transition between each "block" of textures. Ever noticed that the floor in a game has a color or texture that changes almost immediately once you cross a line, even when nothing else (like lighting) has changed? Anisotropic filtering reduces the immediacy of the transitions.

    Basically, they're image quality options. And no, a trade from a 9500 to a 4200 is a bad, bad deal. Your "friend" is trying to rip you off.
  • DerekWildstarDerekWildstar Seattle Washington
    edited December 2003
    Hmmm, maybe I did get :screwed: ! I'm going to have to get my socks all static charged and touch his MoBo. :rant:

    Is this really a fair opinion? or is this just ATI loyalty I'm hearing.....any more lurkers out there have opinions? :-/
  • Al_CapownAl_Capown Indiana
    edited December 2003
    We just like to lie to newcomers :-/
  • Al_CapownAl_Capown Indiana
    edited December 2003
    Just kidding,

    The 9500 would be the wiser choice, especially if it softmods.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited December 2003
    Trust me, this isn't just ATi loyalty. The Radeon 9500/9700 cards caught nVidia TOTALLY off-guard; I bought a Radeon 9700 Pro in JULY of THIS YEAR, which is almost two years (I think, it may be only one year) after it came out, and it's STILL faster than anything nVidia has except maybe the 5900 Ultra/XT.

    I am not really loyal to any brand; when I buy stuff, I generally go for the best product, regardless of who makes it. I do prefer ATi cards, but I almost bought a Ti4600 several times (I decided not to, since my 8500 was fast enough at the time).

    Please just take my word for it... you're getting screwed.

    Here's an idea, see if you can borrow the Ti 4200 for a day. Back up your files, format your hard drive, reinstall windows, use the latest drivers and updates, and benchmark the Radeon 9500 with 3DMark '01 and '03; then format it again, re-reinstall windows, and repeat the process, but with the Ti in the system instead of the 9500, and see for yourself.
  • JimboraeJimborae Newbury, Berks, UK New
    edited December 2003
    totally agree with all the above comments, I have both cards, although my GF4200 was an MSI product not Gainward (cos of the capacitor problems) and the ATI is a better performing & better looking (graphics wise) card. Plus I was one of the lucky ones that was able to softmod it in to a 9700pro without any pixelation.
  • DerekWildstarDerekWildstar Seattle Washington
    edited December 2003
    Got it - I personally do like ATI cards, but I never had a Nividia card, so I had to ask for more opinions.
  • GnomeWizarddGnomeWizardd Member 4 Life Akron, PA Icrontian
    edited December 2003
    9500 but why not get a 9600 XT
  • Al_CapownAl_Capown Indiana
    edited December 2003
    He's not looking to spend any money.
  • Chain86Chain86
    edited December 2003
    The Ti4200 64Mb DDR is a great card! It has 4ns ram! and is very overclockable. Now the 128Mb version is a little sluggish and will only beat the 64MB card by a few points in 3Dmark01SE until you overclock them. Then the 64MB card will get scores comparable to a stock Ti4600. Which really burnt ME when I paid $250 for a Ti4600 a while back.

    On the other hand I also have a ATI 9500 non-pro that I have hard modded that ROCKS. Benchmarks in 3Dmark01SE are something like ATI 9500 (4 pipes enabled hard mod)=14680 Vs the Ti4200 (same machine same settings)= 11800 so the answer to your question?? If the 9500 is modable keep it! If not its deuces and I'm kinda found of the Ti4200 its crisp and snappy :)

    Good luck
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited December 2003
    Chain, I hope you were being sarcastic about the Ti4200...
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