Radeon 9600 Pro or 9800 SE?

[Rheinmetall]

I'm in dire need of a new graphics accelerator (my old one is an ancient GF2)

I have this one minimum requirement for it: TV-tuner.

So I've narrowed my options to these two.
9600 Pro AIW
9800 SE AIW

Which one gives me more bang for the buck?

Cheapest prices I could find for the two aroud here were:
Connect 3D 9600 Pro AIW : 235€
Sapphire 9800 SE AIW : 209€

 

[DaEezT]

Go for the 9800!
The 9800 SE has 4 render pipes just like the 9600 pro, but the 9800 has a 256 bit memory interface. The 9800 also has more effects and a higher memory clock.

Also a lot of those SE type card are (or used to be? dunno) modified 9800 PROs. my friend bought one and even the package was that of a 9800 pro (it even said PRO) only that it had a SE label on the front. He just has to install a sofware mod and can use it as a pro (using all 8 render pipes and higher clock).

If in doubt just check some benchmarks

 

[Rheinmetall]

I found some interesting information concerning 9800 SE. 9800 SE was originally intended having the 9700 PCB with 256bit mem interface. BUT! some ATIs partners started making the boards on 9500 card PCB (It's cheaper) and it only has 128 bit mem interface. So if I want the right one (9700 based) I should see the board before purchasing. Not gonna happen If I buy it from the web. There is also the fact that while 9800SE chips have their all 8 pipes in there there's no way telling they all work ok after enabling them. 9800SE chips seem to have some broken pipes in them so there's no way guarantee the card will work properly.

Bechmarks show that 9800SE with 128-bit memory bus is clearly slower than 9600 Pro.

 

[Rheinmetall]

I did some more research and it seems that Hercules makes 9800SE cards with 256 bit memory bus.

Club 3D's 9800SE cards have 256 bit mem bus too but they do not make AIW cards on this board.

DaEezT: Was that particular card Hercules's?

[EDiT]

Ok I'm going for that Hercules 9800SE. I found an used one for a good price. Case dismissed.