I have been looking at the PowerColor 9600SE as a solution to my low profile needs, but have a few questions. 1. Is it any good, I've heard some bad things about the SE versions of Radeon cards. 2. It's my understanding that 90 degree risers don't support 8x, is this correct? 3. Does anyone know if there are any other low profile cards...9600PRO? 4. Should I wait for PCI Express...would there be no way in hell that Next Gen cards would have low profile versions and/or 16x cappible 90 degree risers?
Not all se cards suck. If its all you can afford, and all you need, then theres nothing else to say. I'm in the same position, i'm getting a 9600se next week. As far as i know risers work at a max of 4x. Not sure about other cards. Pci express, its difficult, i've heard it might be out next month, and also heard it might be the end of the year, personally, i'm not waiting, i dont need it yet. GL
Regular 9600 (according to the site) There are low-profile 9000's, 9200s, and 9200se's, but the 9600se is better. You can get nvidia geforce mx440 low profile cards, but the 9600 is much better.
That looks identical to the 9600SE I was looking at from newegg. I wonder if it is the regular, or just a mistake from that retailer. Shadowxf... Thanks for confirming the 4x riser thing. As for PCI Express, I guess the only reason I am hesitant not to wait for it, is because the last PC I got I screwed myself. It is only 3yrs old, but doesn't have an AGP slot, and it has onboard video (whopping 11MB of RAM) that conflicts with PCI video cards...oops. So when I get a new mobo I want maximum future proofing. As an aside, I got Windows ME when it first came out, and thought I was on the cutting edge of OS's...boy was I wrong.
Googling that above cards model number returns a bunch of SE cards, I'm assuming that it is just the 9600SE. I have looked all over for a non-SE low profile 9600. At one point newegg was carrying a sapphire that was a low profile regular 9600, but that was about a month ago and I haven't found it again since. And Sapphire has no information on their site. I have a gigabyte 9600SE though, and I have been perfectly happy with games (Splinter Cell, Halo... running 800x600 on my TV).
Ah...the "no 8x riser" thing in my head is a myth! I just have to get this place to sell me one. The AGPRX4-1 would suit my needs perfectly. Then I wouldn't be bound to low profile. It says "User has the option to order the extender in 3.3V, 1.5V or universal configuration" Which option would suit consumer video cards?
from what i hear about pci express, the 8x riser problem will no longer be an issue! Pci express x16 uses multiple serial data paths, rather than an actual paralel connection. From what ive been reading, the difference is that not 16 (?) bits being transmitted have to arrive at the same time! The articles talk about how this is good for motherboard manufacturers in that they don't have to worry about traces as much, so i assume it will be easy to make ribbon cable risers. Not to mention that the 1x connector has so many fewer connections! idk if now is a good time to buy, since the technology is so new, but the future is promising.
