Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsIn HotHardware’s test, an ATI Radeon 9600 Pro running at its stock 400 MHz core and 600 MHz effective DDR memory reached a stable 519 MHz core and 732 MHz effective memory clock on stock cooling. That setup delivered roughly 28% higher performance across the review’s 3DMark2001 tests, while its 3DMark03 score rose from 3,180 to 4,000. Another reviewer’s sample reached a stable combined setting of 527/662 MHz, showing why there is no single guaranteed overclock for every 9600 Pro.
What was the Radeon 9600 Pro’s stock speed?
The Radeon 9600 Pro is based on ATI’s RV350 GPU, built on a 0.13-micron process. The clocks cited in the reviews were 400 MHz for the core and 600 MHz effective for its DDR memory. The memory’s underlying clock is 300 MHz; HotHardware reported its overclock as 366 MHz, or 732 MHz effective DDR.
Those are the reference speeds used in the historical tests, not a guarantee that every manufacturer’s board had identical components or settings.
How far did the reviewed cards overclock?
The two reviews reached different stable combined settings. That difference is useful evidence of sample variation, not a universal limit.
#1 Best Overall
| Review | Stock clocks stated | Stable combined overclock | Cooling and notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| HotHardware | 400 MHz core; 600 MHz effective DDR memory | 519 MHz core; 366 MHz memory clock (732 MHz effective DDR) | Stock cooling, no card modifications. Settings above 540 MHz core and about 370 MHz memory caused visual anomalies and hangs; the reviewer raised AGP voltage to 1.7 V before settling on the stable setting. |
| Legit Reviews | 400 MHz core; 600 MHz memory | 527 MHz core; 662 MHz memory | RadClocker 1.800d; no memory cooling and the small factory core cooler. The card could reach 533 MHz core alone or 688 MHz memory alone, but those maxima together caused lockups. |
HotHardware’s stable setting added 119 MHz to the core and 66 MHz to the memory clock (132 MHz effective DDR). Legit Reviews’ combined setting added 127 MHz to the core and 62 MHz to the stated memory speed. These figures come from individual review samples; they should not be treated as a safe target for another card.
What performance gains did overclocking deliver?
3DMark results
HotHardware reported an approximate 28% gain across its 3DMark2001 tests. In 3DMark03, the score increased from 3,180 at default clocks to 4,000 overclocked—about 26%. The overclocked 9600 Pro moved ahead of the Radeon 9500 Pro in that test but remained 679 points behind the Radeon 9700 Pro.
Rank #2
- Performance redefined
- Features for a truly immersive experience
- Bus Type: PCI Express 3.0 x16
Comanche 4 and the Radeon 9500 Pro
In HotHardware’s Comanche 4 results, the overclocked 9600 Pro beat the Radeon 9500 Pro at 1024×768 across the tested settings. At 1600×1200, it remained ahead with antialiasing and anisotropic filtering disabled; the 9500 Pro took the lead when those image-quality features were enabled. The comparison therefore depends on resolution and settings, rather than establishing one card as faster in every situation.
Why these results are not a universal overclock limit
Overclocking results depend on the particular card and test conditions. The two review samples did not reach the same combined clocks, and one sample’s separate core and memory maxima could not run together. Cooling, memory chips, voltage, drivers, and the test platform can all affect stability and performance.
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Rank #3
- Delivering a Gigantic 32 GB of High-Performance ECC Memory
- Hardware Raytracing
- Optimizations for 6 Ultra-HD HDR Displays
- Accelerated Software Multi-Tasking
- PCIe 4.0 for Advanced Data Transfer Speeds
HotHardware tested its card in an AMD Athlon XP 3000+ system with a 333 MHz FSB, Asus A7N8X nForce2 motherboard with AGP 8X, 512 MB Corsair PC3500C2 Platinum DDR RAM, Windows XP Professional SP1, DirectX 9.0a, NVIDIA nForce 2.03 drivers, and ATI Catalyst 3.2 drivers. Its review also noted that early overclocking utilities did not initially recognize the 9600 Pro VPU; support was later added to Rage3D Tweak. Different software and a different system can produce different results.
For a 9600 Pro you own, treat the review clocks as historical examples rather than targets. Increase clocks gradually and check for visual errors, hangs, or other instability; a setting that boots or completes one benchmark is not necessarily stable for longer use.
Rank #4
- Drive a single 5K (5120 x 2880 resolution) display @ 60 Hz or up to four 4K displays
- Experience up to 50W maximum power consumption enabled by AMD PowerTune technology, which dynamically optimizes GPU power usage, and AMD ZeroCore Power technology
- Load massive models and manipulate them in real time with 4 GB of ultra-fast GDDR5 memory and a 128-bit memory interface
- Speed up single-precision video effects and rendering, signal processing, transcoding, and digital rendering applications with up to 2.4 TFLOPS of compute performance
Is an overclocked 9600 Pro faster than a Radeon 9500 Pro?
In the cited tests, the overclocked 9600 Pro could outperform the 9500 Pro at lower resolution and in some benchmark conditions. The 9500 Pro was still faster at 1600×1200 in Comanche 4 when antialiasing and anisotropic filtering were enabled. If comparing these period AGP cards, weigh the actual resolution and image-quality settings you care about, as well as a specific board’s condition and cooling—not just its maximum reported clock.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- New card in bulk package
- Comes with full height bracket
- Support 4 monitors
- You will receive: 1x Card, 1x spare short bracket
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