9600GT or 8800GT?

[specbfast]

I have been looking at a new graphics card, and been reading about the new 9600GT by nVidia. It looks like the 8800GT and 9600GT have similar performance with the 9600GT showing great performance with antialiasing enabled.

I went on newegg and found these cards:

XFX - 9600GT 512MB 256-bit with 650 Mhz core $180

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150277

eVGA 8800GT - 512MB 256-bit with 600 Mhz core $230

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130318

The 9600GT looks to be $50 cheeper, but similar performance so I would go for the XFX 9600GT in this case cuz I save some money.

Does this seem like a good choice?

2 9600GT would be cheeper then 2 8800GT, but would this SLI combo have enough performnace to be worth the extra $100 for the 8800GT's?

[Black]

i will choose the 9600gt,because i read in tomshardware its true,the performance is slightly similar with 8800gt and 9600gt can compete with ati radeon hd3870.plus,this is the new model,so if you can wait,if there is the 9800gx2?

[jlreich]

I have been looking at the exact same thing over the last week or so. I have had an eVga super clocked 8800GT ($250) sitting in my cart at newegg for over a week.

I looked at Tom's as well and see the 9600GT has good price/performance score. But in nearly everything the 8800GT beat it by enough margin for me to choose it over the 9600GT.

The only reason I haven't ordered the 8800GT is I have been trying without success to find out when the higher end 9xxxx cards will be released. If they are going to come out in the next few weeks I will wait to see what I can get for $250 or so.

The 9600GT is the first low-midrange offerings of the series. It has noting new to offer over the 8xxx series having the same GPU as the 8800GT/GTS. They cut the price over the 8800GT by dropping the stream processors from 128 to 64. :( Yeah they made it up somewhat by bumping up the internal speed, but I think it's really just a high end budget card.

I will pass on the 9600GT myself. But that doesn't mean I suggest you do as well. The benchmarks show it will perform well for the price. So you must weigh the $50 difference.

SLI? I am still no fan if SLI. I still think the cash would be much better spent on the best single card you can afford.

Anyone got the scoop on when the higher end 9xxx cards will be released? If not I guess I will be hitting the checkout button at newegg soon. :p

[jlreich]

dropping the stream processors from 128 to 64.
That should have been 112 stream processors.

[specbfast]

Thanx for the info.

I am seriously thinking about the XFX 9600gt for now, but we will see.

Has anyone done a user review of this card? (the XFX one I mean)

[George Hallam]

Has anyone done a user review of this card? (the XFX one I mean)

On this review the eVGA shines against the rest
http://www.hothardware.com/articles/Nvidia_GeForce_9600_GT_Launch_and_3Way_Shootout/?page=1

Re-reading reviews i would go with the 9600Gt and SLI looks good aswell

i just cant wait for the 9800GX2 to come out :D

[Black]

can be the 460 watt psu support the incoming 9800GT?i mean without overclock it.

[jlreich]

It depends. You need to have a PSU with a combined amp rating of at least 26A on the +12v rails.

460 is kind of low for a modern system, but if it is a high quality PSU it will probably be OK. It also depends on what else you are running on the system as well.

Currently a video card can only pull 75W max from the slot. Another 75W from the extra power connector for a combined maximum of 150W. Now, don't think wow, 150W is nothing! Because when you are playing a game it is going consistently suck as much power as it can get, drawing a lot of amps from the system. Only the very expensive PSU's are meant to put out 100% of their capacity. Most are meant for up to 70-80% load, with 100% possible in short bursts.

BTW I am looking forward to tomorrow when my 8800GT and other new core parts get here. You know what I will be busy doing tomorrow night. :)

[Heartborne]

I consider the 9600 gt to be a gaming-ish card. Gaming lite. Yes, it will run your games for the most part and they'll look good. Your framerates will be, for the most part tolerable. But if you want your games to look amazing and your framerates to be awesome you want the 8800 GT. Especially now that they are under $200!

The 9600 GT is cheaper, but for the same reason that an 8 oz. steak is cheaper than a 12 oz. steak. Sure, they're both steaks, but the latter is just a lot meatier.