SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON 9600 XT
play the latest DX9-class games, the 9600 XT offers all the power you need. In a market where series numbers dont exactly give an accurate indication of a cards merit, to call the 9600 XT reliable is a supreme compliment. If you dont have the money to purchase something such as ATIs Radeon 9800 SE, the 9600 XT is a great alternative.

by Eric Melvin Reed

Vital Statistics
Video Card Interface Chipset RAM Core Clock Memory Clock Actual (Effective) Overclocked Maximums (core clock/memory clock in megahertz) Max. Resolution Refresh Rate at Max. Resolution APIs Supported Operating Systems Sapphire ATI Radeon 9600 XT AGP 8X ATI Radeon 9600 XT 128MB DDR 500MHz 300MHz (650MHz) 525/310
2,048 x 1,536 85Hz DirectX 9.0, OpenGL Win98/Me/NT4/ 2000/XP 13793 [14269] 3834 [4024] 264.3 125.7
o call Sapphires ATI Radeon 9600 XT reliable is not to say that it is also boring. Although its true that the package leaves us without any mouthwatering goodies to talk about, its equally as true that the card offers exceptionally good performance capabilities. And lets be honest, is there really anything more important than performance? The 9600 XT posted precisely the sort of numbers during testing that you might expect from one of ATIs higher-end midrange cards, which is what the card is. Take, for example, the 3DMark2001 SE and 3DMark03 scores we got of 13793 and 3834. Consider also the AquaMark3 score of 31285 and the Halo scores of 15.77 at 1,600 x 1,200 and 13.61fps at the same resolution with all AA and AF set to full. In comparison, the Sapphire ATI 9600 PRO we tested offered just 11.38fps with full AA and AF. Sapphire let us down by not including an attractive software bundle (the driver CD is the only disc in the package), especially considering that the full retail version
of the Atlantis Radeon 9600 XT at Sapphires Web site is bundled with HalfLife 2 (as soon as the game is released). However, the company at least included a DVI-to-VGA connector and S-Video-tocomposite cable to accompany the cards VGA, S-Video, and DVI outputs. We purchased the 9600 XT at retail for $152. (The OEM 9600 PRO we tested cost us $129.50.) For the few extra bucks, you get the satisfaction of knowing you have ATIs third-generation VPU, as well as ATIs Smartshader 2.0 and Smoothvision 2.1 technology. Whats more, you dont have to worry about the cards speed. When overclocked, the 9600 XT reached a core clock speed of 525MHz, up from its core VPU clock of 500MHz. The memory clock speed bumped up to 310 from 300, making the 9600 XT a slightly better overclocked card than the 9600 PRO. But even without the extra boost, the 9600 XT is still a great value. With it, there wasnt a game we werent able to play. Although the card doesnt have an external power connector, if youre looking to
3DMark2001 SE 3D Marks [overclocked] Fill Rate (single texture) Fill Rate (multitexture) 3DMark03 3D Marks [overclocked] Fill Rate (single texture) Fill Rate (multitexture) Quake III Arena at 32-bit 1,024 x 768 1,600 x 1,200 Unreal Tournament 2003 at 32-bit (average fps) Anatalus 1,024 x 768 Anatalus 1,600 x 1,200 Phobos2 1,024 x 768 Phobos2 1,600 x 1,200 Unreal Tournament 2004 at 32-bit* 1,600 x 1,200 AquaMark3 at 32-bit Default Test [overclocked] GFX [overclocked] CPU [overclocked] Halo 1,600 x 1,200 1,600 x 1,200 (AA/AF at full) Phone URL

SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON 9800 SE
or even a 9600 PRO, but at a much better price and without the software bundle. As long as you don't expect the Sapphire ATI Radeon 9800 SE to perform on par with other higher-end or upper middle-end cards, and if you want to play DX9 and OpenGL 2.0 games at decent resolutions, this card is worth the small dent it will put in your pocketbook.

by Eric Melvin Reed

Vital Statistics
Video Card Interface Chipset RAM Core Clock Memory Clock Actual (Effective) Overclocked Maximums (core clock/memory clock in megahertz) Max. Resolution Refresh Rate at Max. Resolution APIs Supported Operating Systems Sapphire ATI Radeon 9800 SE AGP 8X ATI Radeon 9800 SE 128MB DDR 325MHz 290MHz (580MHz) 380/340
2,048 x 1,536 85Hz DirectX 9.0, OpenGL Win98SE/Me/NT4/ 2000/XP 13611 [15813] 991.5 1288.[4049] 924.4 1280.1 239.2 92.7
apphire's international influence is evidenced by the fact that the box in which our card shipped features text in no fewer than five languages. With the company so seemingly well-entrenched in Europe, you have to wonder why the company has been so slow to amass a following in the United States. One of the reasons could be the company's ATI Radeon 9800 SE. Our test unit produced some very disappointing benchmarking scores, such as 13611 in 3Dmark2001 SE, 3315 in 3Dmark03, and 24679 in AquaMark3. It's not that those scores are substandard, per se; they're just not what you might expect from a Radeon 9800. Each of the scores listed were lower than those hammered out by ATI's Radeon 9600 XT, leading us to think that if the card had been made by ATI it would be a lot faster. After squeaking by with such meager results in 3Dmark2001 SE, 3Dmark03, and AquaMark3 tests, the card posted scores of 11.11 in Halo, 37.1 in the UT2003 Anatalus test, and 51fps in Phobos2 at a resolution of 1,600 x 1,200 again, each score
was lower than the ones posted by ATI's Radeon 9600 XT. Fortunately, this four-pipeline VPU card makes up for its somewhat disappointing scores by exhibiting some nice overclocking potential. We were able to increase the core clock speed and memory speed from 325MHz to 380MHz and 290MHz to 340MHz, at which point the card's 3Dmark2001 SE and 3Dmark03 scores shot up to 15813 and 4049. Its AquaMark3 scores rose to 30428. At this point, NVIDIA fans might be inclined to point out that even when overclocked, the Sapphire ATI Radeon 9800 SE pales next to the PNY GeForce FX5900 SE at its core clock speed and memory speed, and frankly, there are quite a few cards that offer better performance than this one, but not many go for the same price ($136 OEM). Nor do they come with an S-Video cable and a Y-adapter power cable. During real-time game play, the card showed that it is powerful enough to fully support DX9 games. Buying the 9800 SE from Sapphire is like purchasing a 9600 XT
3DMark2001 SE 3D Marks [overclocked] Fill Rate (single texture) Fill Rate (multitexture) 3DMark03 3D Marks [overclocked] Fill Rate (single texture) Fill Rate (multitexture) Quake III Arena at 32-bit 1,024 x 768 1,600 x 1,200 Unreal Tournament 2003 at 32-bit (average fps) Anatalus 1,024 x 768 Anatalus 1,600 x 1,200 Phobos2 1,024 x 768 Phobos2 1,600 x 1,200 Unreal Tournament 2004 at 32-bit* 1,600 x 1,200 AquaMark3 at 32-bit Default Test [overclocked] GFX [overclocked] CPU [overclocked] Halo 1,600 x 1,200 1,600 x 1,200 (AA/AF at full) Phone URL

88.1 37.1 110.7 51

26.[30428] 2852 [3653] 9130 [9082] 11.11 9.41
(909) 594-0597 www.sapphiretech.com
*Custom Demo: DeathMatch DesertIsle map