ATI Radeon 9600SE?

[reever]

Well, I just plunked down $130 for this card which is bundled with Half Life 2. Is this a reasonable price? I have been doing the research for a mid level card. I know there are others out there that are much more expensive and powerful. I am not into heavy gaming but don't want it to go obsolete on me too soon. It's still in shrink wrap, so what do you think? Good value for a fairly decent card?

[The Real Bingo]

You say it comes with HL2? Seems like a sweet deal to me.

[Starfury_2260]

well i've heard that the SE is no good. should have got the pro instead which is around $150 i think. that reminds me bestbuy had this problem where some of their 9600SE's were really pros in a se box. i think it's over now though. where'd you get yours?

[joker_927]

Uh oh. You should have bought a 9600 PRO.

SE's are horrible cards. Well, not really horibble, I just hate how Ati fools people into thinking a 9600SE or 9800SE is ANYTHING like a 9600 or 9800. They basically take a 9600 or 9800, rip off a few, transistors, cut the pipes in half, and clock it at half the speed, and then sell it for $50 less and call it an SE. People think they a getting a deal when they are getting fooled.

Nvidia does the EXACT same thing with their MX cards. A GeForce 4 MX is just a GeForce 2 with the core clocked higher. Kind of pisses you off, huh?

Hope the card works for you. At least you got HL2 for free. Make sure you send in that rebate quickly, mine ends next week.

http://atitech.ca/products/radeon960...o/compare.html

[XxCowOfChaosxX]

well, if you get it from best buy, its a possibility that the 9600SE would be a pro
to make sure its a pro look at the P/N number at the top, it shuld begin with 180339

[reever]

I did get it at Best Buy. I WILL check to see if it's a Pro. Wouldn't that be sweet!! All Pros begin with 180339?

[reever]

The first one was not a pro. I went back to Best Buy, returned the 9600SE and picked up two more. They were selling for 129 in a 9600SE box but both ended up being 9600 Pros!!! Apparently Radeon put the wrong card in the boxes that were shipped to Best Buys. A coupon for HL2 comes with. So, hard to pass that deal up. I do have an extra 9600 Pro that I might sell if it isn't too complicated. Both came with the 180339 serial number. Thanks for the heads up XxCow!!!

[darkheart]

Originally posted by Starfury_2260
well i've heard that the SE is no good. should have got the pro instead which is around $150 i think. that reminds me bestbuy had this problem where some of their 9600SE's were really pros in a se box. i think it's over now though. where'd you get yours?

Yeah I read that also where pro denotes a premium part the SE suffix denotes a budget part.

[Starfury_2260]

thats what i was talking about, best buy's got pros in the se boxes. i woulda posted the serial number but i couldn't get the site to come up that i saw it on.