I am looking to upgrade my graphics card and on a limited budget the two contenders are FX5600 Ultra or the Radion 9600Pro, both 128MB RAM.Wich is best buy for FS9?TIA

5600 Ultra is the better buy :)Make sure it is in fact the Ultra version before you buy

Many thanks for the response John, I value your opinion (chance how many others who's opinion I value chip in with the Rdaeon :-))Having read so much about video cards lately I am aware of the standard vs Ultra models and how to tell them apart.EDIT: At least I thought I could tell real Ultra from fakes :-hmmm Before I start throwing out accusations of trades descriptions violations ;-) I had better check.Am I correct that FX5600 Ultra should have a core speed of 500MHz, RAMDAC 400MHz and memory 500MHz?The reason I ask is that on closer inspection of the few FX5600 Ultras I have found on line (UK) they all seem to have a core or engine speed of 325MHz which I thought was the original FX5600 not the Ultra?Again many thanks.

I'm also considering buying this card, the main specs for the board are these;Process Technology 0.13 micron copper process (75M Transistors) Package FCBGA AGP Interface AGP 8x including Fast Writes and sideband addressing Core Engine 256-bit GeForce FX 5600 Ultra (NV31) Core Clock 400Mhz Memory Type/Size 128/256MB GDDR Memory Clock 800Mhz Memory Bandwidth 12.8GB/s (128-bit) RAMDAC Dual integrated 400Mhz RAMDACs Max Resolution 2048 X 1536 X 85Hz Output Options DVI-I Output / TV Output / VGA Output also just out of curiousity where are you buying yours from??, i've found them from differant people priced from as low as

Hi Ben,I too have seen those very different prices and that prompted my EDIT above.If you look at the specs of the lower priced cards you will probably find the core speed is 350MHz and my understanding is that it should be 500MHz for the ultra, but I need confirmation on that.I thought I had seen one at Aira Technology but it wasn't an Ultra. Micro Direct list a number of FX5600 Ultra, about 4 from Gainward, but again these look to have a core speed of 350MHz.I normally use Aria or Micro Direct as they are local to me in Manchester but you could also try Dabs.com (could not find any real details of their cards),Eclipse, http://www.eclipse-computers.com/, Novatech http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/home.html or Overclockers http://www.overclockers.co.uk/My purchase is on hold until I have confirmation of that core speed, I could not find it on nvidia's site even !Out of interest where did you get that spec from?Rgds

http://www.vr-zone.com/reviews/NVIDIA/FX5600U/ - The most recent review I could find, most reviews out there are on pre-release cards which often differ from the version that finally becomes available, this is a retail version.

Many thanks for the link Ben, yet another review site to add to my many :-)

Ben,After just about having given up on finding a true FX5600 Ultra (all the Gainward offerings still seem to use the 350MHz core) I came across this while searching the web for FX5600's.http://www.micromart.co.uk/content/feature...Article&ID=1167Just look at that price!Specs here http://www.chaintech.dk/All I need now is to find someone selling them.

Right then, finally figured this out with the help of some people 'in the know', the original version of the 5600 Ultra had a clock of 350Mhz, but there is a newer version with a new 'flip-chip' design which has got an increased core clock to 400Mhz, the cheapest i've found with the revised chip is the LeadTek one from Overclockers, I've emailed them and they have confirmed this is a new board and the specs also say it has a 400Mhz clock so thats the one I'm going for... try and avoid the 350Mhz version. Plus the leadtek version also has full VIVO support,DDR2 and a good retail package with lot's included.

I will visit Overclockers again and have another look but the spec and price of the Chaintech is very tempting and the board is listed as 'New' on Chaintech's site.

>the cheapest i've found with the revised chip is the LeadTek one from Overclockers,

It was there on Wednesday but it ssaid out of stock, I checked again yesterday and it's not gone completely, i emailed them to ask if they would be getting more and I'm waiting for a reply, It was definately an Ultra as the title was Leadtek WinFast A310 Ultra TD MyVivo with the specs here http://www.leadtek.nl/nts/uk/products/gc/c...0and%20Features

Just got my reply :-( ;Dear Ben, We will not be getting this card in again i'm afraid. Regards, Alex Grecian - Overclockers UKCustomer Services Department

>Just got my reply :-( ;>>Dear Ben,> >We will not be getting this card in again i'm afraid.> >Regards,> >Alex Grecian - Overclockers UK>Customer Services DepartmentThat's bad Ben :-(I did some further searching on that Gainward card as I thought the price was too good. I found one US site that had them at $200 so I guess if they do ocme over here they will be about

I was originally looking for a 9500 Pro but I had no look, I found one again from Overclockers by Hercules and what a suprise the day I went back to order it it'd dissapeared with no more coming in, then i dedcided to look for the 9600 Pro then to the 5600 Ultra, but now I'm starting to think the same as you - i've had just about enough, anyway From what i've read the 9600 Pro is a tremendous overclocker coming within reach of the 9700 Pro in performance, and like you with the money I save I can up my RAM,