Hi, A few months back I bought a 9600 Pro. It says Pro in big letters on the front of the box. However, it doesn't benchmark high, and the card runs at 400mhz core and 200mhz memory. Does this sound like a pro to you and I'm expecting more than it will ever give, or does it sound like a non pro? The speeds are very low. Using latest ATi drivers too. Cheers for your help!

Here's the various Radeon 9600 "flavors" with the GPU model number, GPU/RAM speed, & memory buswidth: Radeon 9600 XT = RV360 500MHz/600MHz 128-bit Radeon 9600 Pro = RV350 400MHz/600MHz 128-bit Radeon 9600 = RV350 325MHz/400MHz 128-bit Radeon 9600 SE = RV350 325MHz/365MHz 64-bit http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20041004/vga_charts-02.html Asus A7N8X-X 1800+ @ 8 x 210MHz 512MB PC3200 Asus Ti4200 128MB WinME/WinXP Pro

As with other DDR Ram you have to double those 200MHz which brings you to 400MHz. That still sounds low compared to those 600MHz a pro should have. But with my FX5900XT and 6600GT both cards run a lower clock if they only need 2D graphic and go higher if 3D graphic is needed. I don't know if it's the same with ATI cards but it might be a reason for that ratings!

So basically the card is a bit naff..

For 2D graphics 200(400)MHz is more than enough to run and the lower frequency saves power and keeps the gpu cooler. So running at a lower clock if only 2D graphic is needed is not a bad thing. But I don't know for sure if the Ati cards work the same way as Nvidia so maybe the owners of Ati cards can help out there!

Who manufactured your card? ATI sets the spec for the 9600 Pro at 400/600. I'm not sure if 3rd party manufacturer's have to adhere to that spec however. Your's appears to be running at 400/400. I just did a quick check at Newegg & they have many different 9600 Pro cards listed...some run at 400/600, others at 400/400. Here's an example: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-125-166&depa=0 Asus A7N8X-X 1800+ @ 8 x 210MHz 512MB PC3200 Asus Ti4200 128MB WinME/WinXP Pro

there is a big chance thet you have a 3rd party card. i have a ati 9200se made by atlantis (3rd party company) and their cards run at lower speeds then official radeons