I'm not sure what they mean by bulk, I'd guess it's similar to bare card/oem, but not sure.

That one picture does look like an old card.

That's odd that the prices are different, hopefully if you want that card, they'll give you the lower one.

Here's a thread you might want to read.
http://www.sapphiretech.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=9302

A 9600pro isn't going to last 'forever', but is ok for now. If you can afford it, look at some agp 6600gt's(or maybe a 6600) and see what they're priced at. I'd be a good bit more performance than a 9600pro. In usd a 6600gt can be gotten for about $165, so canadian $200? as a guess, I have no idea what it will actually cost though.

Edit: It costs more than I expected. Seems that 6600gts are about $260 Cdn. Here's the best price I found on a 6600gt, it has a rebate.
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1182887&CatId=0
6600s are only slightly less, about $220.
Here's the cheapest I found, $202
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1240195&CatId=0


Man, are there tons of computer hardware shops in Canada? It seems everytime I've helped a person from Canada, they end up buying from "the shop next door". I don't think I have a hardware shop in close driving distance that sells motherboards/cpus etc. Many places sell ram(even walmart), and cables, dvd drives etc though.

A 6600gt gets about 101fps in battlefield vietam while a 9600 pro gets
about 40. A 6600 gets 61, 9800 pro 78.
http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20041222/vga_charts-08.html
http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20041004/vga_charts-11.html
I don't think that's a too graphically intense game though. About 30-40 fps is pretty good for many games.
Here's the doom3 comparison(more graphics intense).
6600gt: 86
6600: 51
9600 pro: 22
9800 pro: 42
http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20041222/vga_charts-06.html
http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20041004/vga_charts-07.html
It isn't really a great comparison though, the 6600gt and 6600 are pci-e, while the 9600pro and 9800 pro are agp.
Also, and underclocked 9600pro will be slower than a "normal" 9600 pro.

i called the store.. 130$ cnd.. its on sale (it was suppopsed to end today .. i dont have cash, yet... but the guy sed the sale will continue.. lol i forget to ask bout the picture) oh yea.. n it comes in a box with software and cables.. i guess that saves me bout 15 dollars in buying cables.. and the hassle of lookign for softwares online right?

anyway.. to answer ur question bout computer shops.. lol there are tons here.. there are 3 good ones i check out a lot for stuff.. and there like tens more of others everywhere in the city.. small shops here n there. lol compared to tigerdirect.ca they are a lil bit higher priced (except for the 3 i like sometimes) anyway..

as much as i wanna get the 6600gt, lol i dont think my budget is enuf.. i limited my self to 100$ (mainly because my tuition is due july 15) ... getting the 130$ one is pushing it.. hmm .. im guessing the 9800 wont be in my price range.. neway i read the link.. i jus need something for a year or two.. i dont play the most recent games.. im mostly a HL2 fan. not hardcore but its prolly the only game i play. (when i have time to play) lol but yea..

thanks again! and those links with the vid cards pretty cool lol thanks

I know what you mean about the budget. It's tough to get something that's decent and still have some $ left. I think a 9600 pro would be ok, as long as you don't run at really high screen res(1600x1200+), use high aa/af settings, or expect framerates to be blazing fast on maximum detail. But if you can handle say 1024x768 screen res, no aa/af, and high, or medium detail, you should be fine. Sometimes it's nicer to deal with a shop than a online vendor.
And, if it isn't quite as fast as you like, you could overclock it some, if you're willing to take the risk.

The only other option I can think of for a card is a nvidia 6200. I have a leadtek a6200td, which is actually a 6600 that's partially disabled. I dl'ed rivatuner re-enabled the 4 disabled pipes and oc'ed it some, and I have a good card for $100 usd. It probably is more $ though in Canada.

what are the risks of overclocking? melting ur card? (if it gets too hot.. )

so wuts aa/af? wut does it do? i dont mind running nfsu2 on 800x600 res. med. detail.. as long as i get all the shiny stuff (i saw my friends running that game with a Ti4200 n it looks good enuf)

u know, the nice shiny car.. and the wet road look that reflects the lights.. awesome haha *drools* neway .. i think id rather go for a non underclocked 9600pro that has more memory.. for 20 bux more.. hmm..

someone plz help

after being lazee.. i finally took the time to look around the net... the card from that comp store with the card that looked old... is this

http://www.sapphiretech.com/awards/image/media_353.jpg

its sapphire's 9600 pro advantage card..i dono wut this 'advantage' stuff is about.. but theres this other one..

http://www.sapphiretech.com/awards/image/media_356.jpg

its jus a 9600Pro.. looks more appetizing to me than the advantage version...

here are the box shots + card shots

http://www.sapphiretech.com/awards/image/media_355.jpg
http://www.sapphiretech.com/awards/image/media_359.jpg

theyre both a 9600 pro card..... (im so confused) but the 2nd one looks more able... hmm.. help anyone?

EDIT:
i called the store n asked the guy to go to the sapphiretech.com site himself so i can show him the cards.. n he said the Advantage is the only one selling .. because sapphire discontinued the normal 9600PRO (which he mentioned is better).... who does that?

Asus 9600 PRO 128mb

i forgot one more thing.. thanks to all who helped me in this post.. especially vnf4ultra for the great replies =D

so i ended up buying an Asus 9600Pro 128mb (ye ye, coulda got a btter card, but i was already pushing my budget) for $150 Canadian (with taxes)

runs really great.. very quiet n smooth.. plays NFSU:2 very nicely as well as battlefield 2 (jus not at very high resolutions)

did 3dmark2001 n scored 11555 3dmarks

quick question.. is that a good score for 9600pro? i remember seeing 12k + somewhere..

also does CPU speed and available ram have any effect in achieving a higher 3dmark score?

I've heard that 3dmark01 is cpu and ram dependent, so having fast or slow of either will affect your score. A slow cpu will bring the score down, a fast cpu will bring the score up.
It seems anything between 10000, and 13000 is "normal".