ATI Radeon 9500 Pro videocard

Last updated: 02.01.2024

General information

3DMark 2001 results

3DMark 2003 results (updated!)

Overclocking

Card overview

Card specifications

General information

This videocard produced for ATI by Saphire is based on the modern and fast graphic chip (Jan`2003) Radeon 9700.

3DMark 2001

3D benchmark of ATI Radeon 9500 Pro (Catalist 3.0 driver) results measured by MadOnion 3D Mark 2001 1.1 compared with GeForce2 GTS:

Platform	RADEON 9700/9500 SERIES	NVIDIA GeForce2 GTS/GeForce2 Pro
CPU Optimization	D3D Pure Hardware T&L	D3D Hardware T&L
Width	1024	1024
Height	768	768
Depth	32 bit	32 bit
Z-Buffering	24 bit	24 bit
Texture Format	Compressed	Compressed
Buffering	Double	Double
FSAA Mode	None	None
3DMark Score	11591	4149
Game 1 - Car Chase - Low Detail	165.8 fps	64.1 fps
Game 1 - Car Chase - High Detail	56.2 fps	33.9 fps
Game 2 - Dragothic - Low Detail	210.4 fps	71.5 fps
Game 2 - Dragothic - High Detail	122.0 fps	34.0 fps
Game 3 - Lobby - Low Detail	155.5 fps	68.4 fps
Game 3 - Lobby - High Detail	69.5 fps	37.6 fps
Game 4 - Nature	66.1 fps	Not supported by hardware
Fill Rate (Single-Texturing)	925.3 MTexels/s	252.4 MTexels/s
Fill Rate (Multi-Texturing)	2145.7 MTexels/s	475.9 MTexels/s
High Polygon Count (1 Light)	55.2 MTriangles/s	23.0 MTriangles/s
High Polygon Count (8 Lights)	11.4 MTriangles/s	4.8 MTriangles/s
Environment Bump Mapping	142.2 fps	Not supported by hardware
DOT3 Bump Mapping	128.8 fps	37.8 fps
Vertex Shader	150.8 fps	49.4 fps
Pixel Shader	212.8 fps	Not supported by hardware
Advanced Pixel Shader	152.6 fps	Not supported by hardware
Point Sprites	28.5 MSprites/s	7.3 MSprites/s

Test configuration: AMD Athlon 2100+ (1730MHz) CPU, Asus A7N8X (nVIDIA nForce2 based) motherboard and 512MB PC3200 memory, OS Microsoft Windows XP.

By the way, with increase of CPU speed to 1800MHz results are not changed.

3DMark 2003

3D benchmark of ATI Radeon 9500 Pro (Catalist 3.1 driver) results measured by FutureMark 3D Mark 2003 for default and overclocked version. Update: as I upgraded my CPU to Athlon XP 2800+ and run it at 2255MHz, I think this new results (Catalist 4.1 driver) will be interesting to show how CPU speed influences performance:

	Radeon 9500Pro 128M, Athlon XP 2100+	Radeon 9500Pro 128M (o/c), Athlon XP 2100+	Radeon 9500Pro 128M (o/c), Athlon XP 2800+ (o/c)	Radeon 9600 256M, Athlon XP 2800+	GMA950 i945G, Intel Pentium 4 3GHz	GMA950 i945G, Intel Core Duo 2 6600 (o/c)
Settings
Width	1024	1024	1024	1024	1024	1024
Height	768	768	768	768	768	768
Pixel Processing	None	None	None	None	None	None
Max Anisotropy	4	4	4	4	4	4
Texture Filtering	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal
Vertex Shaders	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal
Fixed Framerate	Off	Off	Off	Off	Off	Off
CPU Frequency	1781 MHz	1781 MHz	2255 MHz	2075 MHz	3000 MHz	3000 MHz
GPU Frequency	275 MHz	297 MHz	290 MHz	400 MHz	400 MHz	400 MHz
VRAM Frequency	270 MHz	288 MHz	284 MHz	200 MHz	? MHz	? MHz
Game Tests
3DMark Score	3407 3DMarks	3661 3DMarks	3811 3DMarks	2840 3DMarks	1578 3DMarks	2812 3DMarks
GT1 - Wings of Fury	117 fps	123.5 fps	133 fps	96 fps	60.5 fps	100 fps
GT2 - Battle of Proxycon	20.5 fps	22 fps	23 fps	16 fps	11.5 fps	20 fps
GT3 - Troll's Lair	19.5 fps	21 fps	22 fps	15 fps	9.5 fps	17.5 fps
GT4 - Mother Nature	22.5 fps	24 fps	24 fps	22 fps	7 fps	14 fps
CPU Tests
CPU Score	484 CPUMarks	493 CPUMarks	576 CPUMarks	540 CPUMarks	564 CPUMarks	1218 CPUMarks
CPU Test 1	51 fps	52 fps	62 fps	60.5 fps	54 fps	109.5 fps
CPU Test 1	9 fps	9 fps	10 fps	9.5 fps	11.5 fps	26 fps
Feature Tests
Fill Rate (Single-Texturing)	770 MTexels/s	830 MTexels/s	840 MTexels/s	600 MTexels/s	1490 MTexels/s	1880 MTexels/s
Fill Rate (Multi-Texturing)	1740 MTexels/s	1880 MTexels/s	1860 MTexels/s	1430 MTexels/s	1500 MTexels/s	1890 MTexels/s
Vertex Shader	13 fps	14 fps	14 fps	14 fps	3 fps	7 fps
Pixel Shader 2.0	32 fps	34.5 fps	34 fps	34 fps	9.5 fps	13.5 fps
Ragtroll	14 fps	15 fps	15 fps	15 fps	6 fps	12 fps
Sound Tests
No sounds	32 fps	32 fps	39 fps	-	34 fps	63.5 fps
24 sounds	29 fps	29 fps	35 fps	-	31 fps	60 fps
60 sounds	25 fps	26 fps	32 fps	-	-	-

Audio was provided by integrated sound on nVidia nForce2 MCP-ST SoundStorm subsystem.

Due to nature of 3DMark 2003 (small dependency of fillrate and great of GPU power) the increase of video chip frequency leads to almost proportional increase in 3DMarks.

Update (September`06): I run 3DMark 2003 tests on the my office computer to compare cheap modern system with integrated graphics (i945G) and 2 year old gamer's system. In short, integrated graphics is still hardly allow you to play modern games. It is twice times slower in plain game scenarios and mach slower when shaders are used. And only new and overclocked CPU nearly reaches the same mark. By the way, according to 3DMark, AMD's CPU rating is really equivalent to Intel's Pentium 4 frequency and Intel's new Core Duo 2 is really fastest.

Update (October`06): I've obtained results of Radeon 9600 family cards, the successor of 9500, and it shows that with faster GPU but slower memory the newer card may be worse then older.

Overclocking

Overclocking of this card is possible but not such as easy as sliding the bar and pressing a button. At first you need to flash special "unlocked" VideoBIOS, wich by the way make your card to look like Radeon 9700. Now you can try to find optimal frequencies for your card to work fast and stable. I stand on 288MHz for memory and 297MHz for chip - it's small increase as memory can not run faster and I have no reason for now to overclock the chip more. According to external thermal probe temperature of the video chip is increased only on 1-2C.

Update: there were some games that caused me to slightly decrease frequency settings to improve stability. So now I use 284MHz for memory and 290 for chip.

Update2 (August`06): the fan now is almost dead and at standard frequencies the chip heat up to 75C and died. To replace fan you had to disassemble the heatsink and fan, so I chose more simple solution - downclock :) With help of ATI tray tools I downclocked the videocard down to 200/200MHz frequencies and 55C, and when I start 3D game it automatically clocked up to 250/250MHz where temperature reaches maximum of 70C and stable.

The following information taken from the official pages.

Overview

RADEON™ 9500 PRO brings the world of Microsoft® DirectX® 9.0 support to gaming enthusiasts. Featuring incredibly fast 3D graphics performance, coupled with sophisticated real-time visual effects, unsurpassed image quality and cutting-edge video features, RADEON™ 9500 PRO provides powerful graphics acceleration for current and next-generation games and applications.

At-a-glance

Fast 3D gaming performance
Complete Microsoft® DirectX® 9.0 support
128MB of DDR memory
8-pixel pipeline architecture
128-bit memory interface
Video output support
Featuring CATALYST™ - Industry-leading software suite

Features

Fast 3D gaming performance

128MB DDR memory accelerates the latest 3D games
128-bit DDR memory interface provides end users with fast graphics performance
8-pixel pipeline architecture cuts rendering time in half when compared to any competing product
Supports the new AGP 8X standard, providing a high-speed link between the graphics board and the rest of the PC (2.0 GB/sec)

Highest level of realism

Provides full support for Microsoft® DirectX® 9.0 and the latest OpenGL® functionality
SMARTSHADER™ 2.0 technology allows users to experience complex, movie-quality effects in next-generation 3D games and applications
SMOOTHVISION™ 2.0 technology enhances image quality by removing jagged edges and bringing out fine texture detail, without compromising performance
128-bit floating-point color precision allows for a greater range of colors and brightness

Breakthrough video features

ATI's latest FULLSTREAM™ technology removes blocky artifacts from streaming Internet video and provides sharper image quality
Unique VIDEOSHADER™ engine uses programmable pixel shaders to accelerate video processing and provide better-looking visuals

Specifications

Graphics controller

RADEON™ 9500 PRO Visual Processing Unit (VPU)
275 MHz engine clock

Memory configuration

128MB of double data rate SDRAM
540 MHz memory speed

Display support

VGA connector for analog CRT
S-video or composite connector for TV/VCR
DVI-I connector for digital CRT or flat panel
Independent resolutions and refresh rates for any two connected displays

Features

8 parallel rendering pipelines
4 parallel geometry engines
128-bit DDR memory interface
AGP 8X support
SMARTSHADER™ 2.0
- Programmable pixel and vertex shaders
- 16 textures per pass
- Pixel shaders up to 160 instructions with 128-bit floating point precision
- Vertex shaders up to 1024 instructions with flow control
- Multiple render target support
- Shadow volume rendering acceleration
- High precision 10-bit per channel frame buffer support
- Supports Microsoft® DirectX® 9.0 and the latest version of OpenGL®
SMOOTHVISION™ 2.0
- 2x/4x/6x full scene anti-aliasing modes
- Adaptive algorithm with programmable sample patterns
- 2x/4x/8x/16x anisotropic filtering modes
- Adaptive algorithm with bi-linear (performance) and tri-linear (quality) options
HYPER Z™ III
- 3-level Hierarchical Z-Buffer with early Z test
- Lossless Z-Buffer compression (up to 24:1)
- Fast Z-Buffer Clear
TRUFORM™ 2.0
- 2nd generation N-Patch higher order surface support
- Discrete and continuous tessellation levels per polygon
- Displacement mapping
VIDEOSHADER™
- Seamless integration of pixel shaders with video
- FULLSTREAM™video de-blocking technology
- Noise removal filtering for captured video
MPEG-2 decoding with motion compensation, iDCT and color space conversion
All-format DTV/HDTV decoding
YPrPb component output
Adaptive de-interlacing and frame rate conversion
Dual integrated display controllers
Dual integrated 10-bit per channel 400 MHz DACs
Integrated 165 MHz TMDS transmitter (DVI 1.0 compliant)
Integrated TV Output support up to 1024x768 resolution
Optimized for Pentium® 4 SSE2 and AMD Athlon™ 3Dnow!
PC 2002 compliant