Another funny [H]-review...

128MB/64bits FX5200s are for OEM part, most retail version are 64MB/64bits or 128MB/128bits.

soltek's 599RMB 128bit 128MB FX5200 :
http://www.gzeasy.com/itnewsdetail.asp?nid=10226

 

The statement actually was

And the 5200 was just as fast (actually a whopping 1.2 fps, 8 % or so faster ) as the 9200 in that game (with no FSAA). And almost exactly the same framerates in UT2003.

Edit:

It seems to be very hard to find out if your 5200 card has a 64 or 128 bit interface. At least by going to the manufacturers homepages. I looked at Sparkle, Abit and Albatron and Albatron was the only one of these where you could easily spot what mem bus your card had. I actually couldn't find that information at all on the other pages (Sparkle, Abit), might have missed something though

Might be the manufacturers fault more then Nvidias but it's still just as bad for the consumers. And Nvidia could easily do something about it. F.e by forcing the manufacturers to add a LE or something for the 64 bit versions. All Radeon 9200 64 bit cards i could find (didn't do a extensive search though) was clearly labelled as SE versions. And it was easy to go to Ati's homepage and look at the product comparision (easy to find link in the 9200 SE product page) to see that SE meant 64 bit.

Now, i think SE is a rather bad name, although it could stand for Slow Edition which wouldn't be that bad And it seems that Ati is going to continue to use SE for it's newer "slow edition" products (9800 SE ?) which, if they do it, is a good thing.

As for the the prices, did a pricewatch search and found a Prolink card which supposedly was 128 bit, 128 Mb for 72 $ (searched on "fx 5200 128 bit"). 64$ for the 64 bit version.
Komusa link
The card after that (pricewatch search + clearly labelled as 128 bit) cost 86$ though.

 

Actually this is because the link was for a page with 128MB 5200 only off cause Newegg sells both 5200 Ultras and 64MB 5200 non-ultras.

Newegg GPU/VPU overview:
http://www.newegg.com/app/manufactory.asp?catalog=48&DEPA=1

 

Regardless of what China-made, Pricewatch special card one has to risk it with to find this alleged $75 128-bit, 128MB FX-5200, the review pretty much sums up one message- a DX9 sub-$100 part from ATI isnt around.

I think it's pretty funny how a spit shined R9000 (which is just a spit shined R8500) competes so well with the newest budget flagship from NVIDIA. Given how cheap 3rd party 9600 Non-Pro's are (some for as low as $115 OEM), a small price budge downward for these would blow out NVIDIA's entire product line at all price points.

So however you feel about the [H] review, it does kinda reinforce a small gap where ATI should adjust to fill soon.. if it doesnt happen already. I don't think it will be long before the 9600 non-pro's start filling the sub-$100 notch, and then the bargain gamers will have some pretty decent power, with not only being a DX9 part, but one that actually has the power to PLAY a few DX9 games to boot. lol.

 

A yahoo-shopping store is selling a sub $100 9600 -- SmartPC Radeon 9600 128MB for $98.12:

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/kmexpress/sp-960-128.html

 

Going from 115$ to 75$ is not exactly a small price budge even if it's not that much money.

I think they need a new version of the chip before they can "fill this gap" and still make some money.

I wouldn't touch anything lower then the 9600 and i recently recomended that card for a guy that wanted the cheapest card you could get that could play Half Life 2 decently. And that would also last longer then 2 months

But, the problem isn't only the price, it's the massive amount of cards to goes into the OEM machines. And there it's all about features and margin. And the 5200 will still have the same features and a much larger margin.

I did a quick search on on of the largest electronics dealers here in Sweden and the most expensive computer they had (800 - 2200 $ price range) had a Radeon 9200 card (also in a 1300$ version).
The one for 1000$ had a GF 4 Mx. 1900$ = FX 5200. Pretty scary but that's they way it is. (Most of them were Compaq's)

 

There are 64 bit versions of the 9600 so you might want to make sure that it isn't one of those. (I did a quick search on google but found nothing)

 

Are the 64bit 9600 actually availeble anywhere yet?

 

http://www.komplett.se/k/ki.asp?action=info&p=39696&t=278&l=2&AvdID=1&CatID=24&GrpID=1&s=pl

They don't have it in stock though.

 

Smart PC R9600 for $93

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?p=SP-960_128&c=biz

Another Smart PC 9600 128 mb. This time for $93, or so they claim. Out of stock right now.
I'm guessing these use 64 bit memory: First, the price is what we'd expect based on the x-bit labs article. Also, it's a new oem card with a brand name I've never heard before-- I'm sure they're willing to cut corners.

The big question is, who's gonna be the guinea pig that buys one of these things? Any volunteers?

 

While we're on the topic of prices, I'd like to point out that the 9000PRO can be had for a very low cost, at least in Canada:

http://www.factorydirect.ca/cgi-bin/product_spec.pl/AT9020

That $70 CDN, or about $50 US, for a retail 64MB 9000PRO. I don't know of any comparable NVidia card for that price (but wouldn't mind if someone proved me wrong).

 

I don't know when and/or if 64bit 9600 are shipping but the Smart PC 9600 have been around since the middle of July... first seen on a post on Rage3d on July 18th:
http://www.rage3d.com/board/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33699161

 

Man, that's cheap! We've finally arrived at a $100 9600, only half a year after either ATi or Wavey (can't remember who) hinted at that destination.

Looking at the Digit-Life 3Digest numbers, I'd probably take a $100 9600 over a $100+ 4200 (given the 9600's better 2D, DVD, & AA and faster AF & AA, not to mention DX9). It's be a tougher decision between a $80 64MB 4200 and a $100 128MB 9600, though if you want AA or AF, the 9600 appears to be the way to go.

How does a 64-bit 128MB card work? Do they use half the chips, but each being double capacity? I'm assuming the difference b/w 64- and 128-bit cards is simply using half the memory chips, this using half the full 128-bit connection (1x64, rather than 2x64 on the 9600 [and 4x64 on the 9800]).

 

If there's a 9600 down that level, I'd almost DEFINITELY be going there. Pay $20 extra bucks, who cares? I was assuming we'd still be in 92's down that way. $100 9600++ (And low $200's 9800+++)

 

To continue about prices the lowest price for 9200 that you can find from DealTime is 56 USD!

(link http://www2.dealtime.com/xPO-ATI_ATI_RADEON_9200_SE_128MB_8XAGP_DDR_W_TV_DVI)

The lowest price for GFFX 5200 is 62 USD.
(link http://www2.dealtime.com/xPO-Chaint...B_DDR_Video_Card_w_TV_Out_DVI_Retail_Free_2nd)

So I guess Kyle continues his long history of 'objective' (yeah, right) reviews...

-Tom