I was using Omega drivers for the about 12 months when I was using a Radeon 9800 Pro and they were definitely quicker and much less prone to compatibility issues. I can't say anything about 9600 though. Also, when I was using them, the settings were always in Properties/Settings/Advanced . That could have changed by now. There's also Dhzeropoint (I think thats how it's spelt) drivers for radeon as well, and apparently they are quicker for Oblivion. Best is to try a few and see what's best for you. I also found that using DriverCleaner before installing resulted in less hassles. Either way, I always preferred these modified drivers over the stock catalyst ones.
Hope this helps.
Hope this helps.