![[H]ardOCP](/images/blank.gif){kind=small}
- Date:
- Wednesday, April 16, 2003
- Author:
- Sean Pelletier
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
Radeon 9600 Pro Review
ATI's new Radeon 9600 Pro certainly has some large footprints to follow in after the incredible success and popularity of the Radeon 9500 Pro. Equipped with some new features and build upon a .13u process, it looks as though ATI might have another winner.
Introduction
Although ATI’s new R350 core that powers their flagship Radeon 9800 Pro is collecting the most attention these days, there is another new card which offers even more exciting news. Illustrating a successful first attempt at using the .13u process, the new RV350 VPU of the Radeon 9600 series represents a sign of things to come. In essence, the Radeon 9600 Pro is paving the way for the next generation of graphics cards from ATI and will create a great deal of opportunity for the company’s next flagship VPU.
Looking at ATI's new family of VPU's, we find the new Radeon 9600 Pro filling the higher-end mainstream market. As such, you can expect to see performance and feature trends from the high-end Radeon 9800 Pro while witnessing some of the pricing strength of the Radeon 9200 series. In an effort to better understand the Radeon 9600 Pro's new RV350 core, we must take a look at the Radeon 9500 Pro's RV300 VPU it is replacing. Based upon a more traditional .15u process, the RV300 core was ultimately a chopped version of the high-end R300 core. Here, we find the same eight-pipelines seen within the flagship 9700 Pro, although the memory bus has been cut down to 128-bit. Overall, the conservative memory bus represented the main difference between the Radeon 9500 Pro and the higher-end 9700 series. However, despite this crippling 128-bit bus the 9500 Pro delivered an incredible price/performance ratio and easily outperformed its competition from other vendors. This popular card received even more attention once users began having some success in “transforming” their 9500 Pro into a 9700 Pro equivalent. In the end, the RV350 certainly has some large footsteps to fill. Given the amount of technology and features powering this new VPU, the new Radeon 9600 Pro looks to be a very worthy successor to an extremely impressive graphics card.
As mentioned above, the new RV350 VPU is made utilizing a new .13u process. The successful implementation of this process is significant as it illustrates ATI’s ability to produce a VPU of this size without the issues we have seen in the past from other vendors.
Unlike its predecessor, the new RV350 core is not a chopped-up version of ATI’s high-end VPU. Rather, the mainstream VPU is completely unique and comes complete with features which have been optimized accordingly. In this case, the RV350 core features four pipelines instead of the eight found within RV300. While this would seemingly cripple the performance of the new VPU, the 128-bit optimized memory architecture will help alleviate this setback. Interestingly enough, this memory architecture also supports DDR-II as well as memory configurations up to 256MB. In addition, the new core features a new HyperZ III+ engine that allows from an 8:1 up to a 24:1 loss-less Z-compression ratio. Bandwidth is also conserved through the use of fast Z-clear and early-Z detection. Furthermore, the RV350 core comes complete with full support of “SmartShader 2.0" and the new “SmoothVision 2.1” to ensure the ability to play next-generation titles with exceptional image quality.
Referencing the image above, we find a global view of the new card's features. In addition to a number of enhancements and functionality improvements, we see that ATI’s decision to utilize a .13u process for this core allowed their engineers to reach some impressive clock frequencies. In the case of the 9600 Pro, the core comes stock at a 400MHz frequency. This is well above the 9500 Pro’s stock frequency of 277MHz, a fact which should help level the playing field with regards to performance comparisons between the two. Even the “vanilla” 9600 benefits from a healthy 325MHz core frequency to provide additional performance.
Card Layout
Looking at the board layout for the Radeon 9600 Pro, we find everything laid out in clean and orderly fashion. No portion of the board seems too cluttered as there is ample space from end to end. It should be noted that no component beyond the VPU on this card calls for additional cooling ( as seen on both the Radeon 9700 Pro and Radeon 9800 Pro ). Without question, this is a testament to the card's cooler-than-usual operating temperatures thanks to the .13u core.
Side by side with a Radeon 9500 Pro, you cannot help but notice that there are some drastic differences between the two. For one, the orientation of the memory modules is entirely different on each card. Whereas the Radeon 9500 Pro opted to align the memory along the top of the card, the Radeon 9600 Pro follows the more conventional layout with an even amount along the top and side of the card. Perhaps the largest difference however would be within the heatsink assembly selected for each model. Looking at the two cards beside each other, you cannot help but feel as though the Radeon 9600 Pro is that guy at the gym who showers with a bathing suit on. The small size of its hardware seems to be inadequate and you wonder whether it could even get the job done. Fortunately, this appearance is misleading as the .13u process the RV350 core uses allows for much lower operating temperatures. In a day when we are seeing ( and hearing ) some very exotic cooling measures on graphics cards, this is a welcomed change from the new norm.
Moving to the memory modules, we find the specific memory of choice on the reference card to be from Samsung. Referencing the model off of Samsung's website, we find that these modules are rated for a maximum operating frequency of 350 MHz (700 MHz DDR). Given the default memory speed of 600MHz, it appears as though there is significant headroom for overclocking. Carrying our attention beyond the memory and towards the corner of the board, we find one component missing. Ironically enough, the outline of the additional power header is screened onto the PCB though the physical connector is nowhere to be found. Evidently, the RV350 core proved to be a bit more lenient with regards to power. The fact that the outline of the part is there does give cause for a bit of speculation. Perhaps the possibility of a 256MB version ( or even a DDR-II equipped version ) would necessitate the additional power connector?
Strange Features
Image my surprise when it came time to pop-off the heatsink to take some pictures of the core and I find that there are no retention pins! For the first time in a number of years, I was dealing with a mainstream-level card that had a fixed heatsink assembly! Lacking any thermal adhesive and the nerve to put an unreleased reference card in the freezer, I opted to leave the heatsink assembly on the card and save that project for another day. Looking at the first image above, you can see a small glob of thermal adhesive which keeps the heatsink in place. The other strange feature found on this board certainly has me puzzled. Alongside an inductor, there is a tiny red package with two dip-switches. At this time, I have no clue what the purpose of these switches are.
Editors Note: On other recent ATI cards we have seen PAL/NTSC switches. While this is not 100% verified, that is most likely what these are.
UPDATE: ATI has confirmed that these dip switches are NTSC to PAL switches (for TV out).