![[H]ardOCP](/images/blank.gif){kind=small}
- Date:
- Sunday , December 08, 2002
- Author:
- Brent Justice
- Editor:
- Sean Quinn
- Google +1
Radeon 9500 Pro Review
We've already previewed the 9500 Pro a while back, and now it's time to take a look at the final retail version of the card that's shipping and compare it with the competition. Read inside for the lowdown on ATI's answer to the mainstream market.
Test Setup
Gigabyte 8IHXP, P4 2.53GHz, 512MB Kingston PC1066 RDRAM, Maxtor 40GB ATA/133, 3Com 3C905C-TXNM, Windows XP Pro SP1, DirectX 8.1b, Intel Chipset INF 4.10.1012
ATI Radeon 9500 Pro – Operating at default clock speeds using Catalyst driver 2.4 Packing Version 7.79 Version 6.13.10.6200
Asus V8460Ultra GeForce4 Ti 4600 – Operating at default Ti 4600 speeds and an underclocked speed of 275MHz core and 444MHz memory with NVIDIA driver version 41.09.
I used an Asus GF4 Ti 4600 at default speeds to compare the 9500 Pro to a Ti 4600. I then downclocked it to 250MHz/444MHz to represent a 128MB Ti 4200. As you look at the results of this review, keep in mind ATI is targeting the Ti 4200 as the main competition for the 9500 Pro.
Because of the quantity of results to show, I changed up some of the graphs a bit to reflect a better comparison between AA and AF benchmarks. Note that each graph represents one resolution, and the bars represent the video card tested. In the other graphs they represent one AA or AF setting, comparing the resolutions between the cards.
3DMark2001SE
We're using the latest version of 3DMark2001SE (build 330) for our testing. We ran each test at default 3DMark2001SE settings in the benchmark.
In this default run of 3DMark2001, the results show us that the Radeon 9500 Pro is faster than the Ti 4200 in every resolution. However, the Ti 4600 is faster than the 9500 Pro. At 1024x768, the 9500 Pro is 6.4% faster than the Ti 4200, and the Ti 4600 is 7.8% faster than the 9500 Pro. At 1280x1024 though, the 9500 Pro is 11.3% faster than the Ti 4200, with the Ti 4600 being 8.9% faster than the 9500 Pro. At 1600x1200, the 9500 Pro is 13.7% faster than the Ti 4200, with the Ti 4600 being 11.5% faster than the 9500 Pro. On average, the 9500 Pro is around 10% faster than the Ti 4200, and the Ti 4600 is about 9.4% faster than the 9500 Pro.
To get a better idea of what's actually going on, it's best to look at the details.
If you look at the game results, you'll see that the Ti 4600 takes the lead, with the 9500 Pro right behind it and the Ti 4200 trailing. The nature tests show the same scenario as well. It's important to note the Nature tests uses a lot of alpha textures, which become very bandwidth oriented. Look down at the High Polygon Count 1 lights and 8 lights. The 9500 Pro actually comes out slightly on top there. Check out the performance of the Bump Mapping Environment. The 9500 Pro score is much higher than the Ti 4600, but the Dot3 Bump Mapping is not. Now, the most important tests I want you to look at are the Vertex Shader Speed, Pixel Shader Speed, and Advanced Pixel Shader Speed tests. The 9500 Pro blows the Ti 4600 away on all of them.
Medal of Honor Allied Assault:
Medal of Honor is based on the Quake3 engine, but very tweaked for this game. I used a full installation of the retail game for these tests. The settings were at maximum for all video card options testing at 1024x768, 1280x1024, and 1600x1200. The benchmarking method used is not the easiest, but if used correctly can give a good comparative result. We followed the good Reverend's method of benchmarking strictly, a method he describes in full detail here.
At 1024x768, this game is very CPU limited. All the cards are close in performance with no anti-aliasing and no anistropic filtering. However, once we enable AA and AF, the 9500 Pro takes the lead. Even at 6X AA and 16X AF, this game is very playable at 1024x768. At 1280x1024, the same scenario remains the case here. At 1600x1200, more emphasis is placed on the video card, so it's interesting to note that with no AA and no AF the Ti 4600 does lead in performance slightly. However, once AA and AF are enabled, the tables turn and the 9500 Pro is in the lead.