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SAPPHIRE RADEON 9600 REVIEW

"In this article we test the Sapphire Atlantis Radeon 9600 against the Inno3D GeForce FX 5200 Ultra, Inno3D GeForce FX 5200 SE and MSI GeForce4 Ti4200. Software used for benchmarking was:- 3dmark 2001 SE, 3dmark 2003, GL Excess, Nvidia Dawn, Comanche4, Max Payne 2, Quake III Arena, Serious Sam SE, Unreal Tournament 2003 and X2 The Threat."
SAPPHIRE RADEON 9600

Embodying the unbridled dreams of the avid gamer the Radeon™ 9600 Atlantis Smartshader™ 2.1 and Smoothvision™ 2.1 technologies construct detail rich worlds peppered with ill-intentioned villains brought to life by DirectX® 9.0 and OpenGL 2.0.

SAPPHIRE ATLANTIS RADEON 9600 FEATURES

128MB DDR memory accelerates the latest 3D games. Double Data Rate memory removes hardware performance bottleneck and provides end users with faster 3D graphics. Industry's only 4-pipeline graphics solution in its 2nd generation, providing twice the rendering power of any currently competing product.

Supports the new AGP 8X standard, providing a high-speed link between the graphics board and the rest of the PC (2.0 GB/sec). First to fully support DirectX® 9.0 and the latest OpenGL® functionality. New Smartshader™ 2.1 technology allows users to experience complex, movie-quality effects in next-generation 3D games and applications.

Smoothvision™ 2.1 technology enhances image quality by removing jagged edges and bringing out fine texture detail, without compromising performance. 128-bit floating-point color precision allows for a greater range of colors and brightness.

Unique Videoshader™ engine uses programmable pixel shaders to accelerate video processing and provide better-looking visuals. ATI's new Fullstream™ technology removes blocky artifacts from Streaming and Internet video and provides sharper image quality.


GENERAL SYSTEM INFORMATION

PROCESSOR AMD ATHLON XP 2500
VIDEO CARD SAPPHIRE RADEON 9600
INNO3D GEFORCE FX 5200 ULTRA
INNO3D GEFORCE FX 5200 SE
MSI GEFORCE4 TI4200 VTD8X
ATI DRIVER CATALYST v4.2
NVIDIA DRIVER FORCEWARE v53.03
MOTHERBOARD ASROCK K7S8X
MEMORY 512MB CRUCIAL PC2700 DDR
OPERATING SYSTEM WINDOWS XP SERVICE PACK 1
DIRECTX VERSION v9.0b

SERIOUS SAM SE

GRAND CATHEDRAL

SAPPHIRE RADEON 960059
INNO3D GEFORCE FX 5200 ULTRA69
INNO3D GEFORCE FX 5200 SE33
MSI GEFORCE4 TI420057

CITADEL

SAPPHIRE RADEON 960078
INNO3D GEFORCE FX 5200 ULTRA69
INNO3D GEFORCE FX 5200 SE36
MSI GEFORCE4 TI420049

ELEPHANT ATRIUM

SAPPHIRE RADEON 960062
INNO3D GEFORCE FX 5200 ULTRA61
INNO3D GEFORCE FX 5200 SE41
MSI GEFORCE4 TI420075

SAPPHIRE RADEON 9600 INNO3D GEFORCE FX 5200 ULTRA
INNO3D GEFORCE FX 5200 SE MSI GEFORCE4 TI4200

BENCHMARK SETTINGS

1024x768 Resolution
Fullscreen Enabled
Extreme Quality Settings
Large Texture Size
Optimal Texture Quality
Detail Textures Enabled

COMMENT - "The Sapphire Radeon 9600 can only manage third in the Grand Cathedral demo. However it quickly recovers to score a victory with the Citadel demo before finishing ahead of the Inno3D GeForce FX 5200 Ultra to finish second in the Elephant Atrium."


UNREAL TOURNAMENT 2003

800x600

SAPPHIRE RADEON 960059
INNO3D GEFORCE FX 5200 ULTRA57
INNO3D GEFORCE FX 5200 SE45
MSI GEFORCE4 TI420060

1024x768

SAPPHIRE RADEON 960055
INNO3D GEFORCE FX 5200 ULTRA53
INNO3D GEFORCE FX 5200 SE30
MSI GEFORCE4 TI420058

1280x1024

SAPPHIRE RADEON 960040
INNO3D GEFORCE FX 5200 ULTRA38
INNO3D GEFORCE FX 5200 SE20
MSI GEFORCE4 TI420043

4x FSAA & 8x ANISOTROPIC

SAPPHIRE RADEON 960031
INNO3D GEFORCE FX 5200 ULTRA21
INNO3D GEFORCE FX 5200 SE10
MSI GEFORCE4 TI420015

SAPPHIRE RADEON 9600 INNO3D GEFORCE FX 5200 ULTRA
INNO3D GEFORCE FX 5200 SE MSI GEFORCE4 TI4200

BENCHMARK SETTINGS

Antalus Benchmark
Character Shadows Enabled
Decals Enabled
Dynamic Lighting Enabled
Detail Textures Enabled
Projectors Enabled
Foliage Enabled

COMMENT - "The Sapphire Radeon 9600 is now back into second place right behind the MSI GeForce4 Ti4200 but with FSAA and Anisotropic filtering enabled the Sapphire Radeon 9600 manages to beat the first placed Inno3D GeForce FX 5200 Ultra by 10fps."


X2 THE THREAT

DEFAULT QUALITY

SAPPHIRE RADEON 960051
INNO3D GEFORCE FX 5200 SE35
MSI GEFORCE4 TI420063
SAPPHIRE RADEON 9600 INNO3D GEFORCE FX 5200 ULTRA
INNO3D GEFORCE FX 5200 SE MSI GEFORCE4 TI4200

BENCHMARK SETTINGS

1024x768 Resolution
Fullscreen Enabled
Auto Quality Enabled
Anti-aliasing Disabled
Bumpmaps Enabled
Shadows Disabled

COMMENT - "The Inno3D GeForce FX 5200 Ultra was unavailable for testing with this game. X2 The Threat is a very visually and processor demanding game, the results for the Sapphire Radeon 9600 and MSI GeForce4 Ti4200 are only 12fps apart."


CONCLUSION - "The Sapphire Radeon 9600's performance with synthetic benchmarks like 3dmark2001 and GL Excess wasn't as good as the MSI GeForce4 Ti4200 or Inno3D GeForce FX 5200 Ultra. However you can't play synthetic benchmarks and the Sapphire Radeon 9600 showed that it's much better with games and it's performance with most of the games was very good. If your looking for a video card which performs very well with DX8 games then the MSI GeForce4 Ti4200 is for you, if your looking for a DX9 video card then get the Sapphire Radeon 9600."

ULTIMATE HARDWARE AWARDS THE SAPPHIRE RADEON 9600 70%

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