15 - The Verdict

The Verdict

Alright then, first a little comment on the GeForce 9600 GT in general; it's just a good product. I mean, I'd still prefer a 8800 GT or 8800 GT 512MB GTS over this product, but for a mid-range product priced in this segment you get to have good performance at an acceptable price. This is the product I have been waiting on for a long time. Depending on what kind of model you purchase, prices will range from 160 to 200 USD, and expect the prices in EUR to be roughly the same, maybe slightly lower. By doing so NVIDIA places a very competitive product under the sub-200 USD price range, making really nice gameplay affordable for a large and broad audience.

As this article has shown; SLI gaming definitely hits a soft spot as well, if you go a little higher in resolution, 1600x1200 for example, that's where you'll hit a sweet-spot price/performance wise. You'll outflank the 8800 GTS 512MB and even the Radeon 3870 X2, and these products are priced similar. The downside .. you'll need an expensive SLI compatible nForce mainboard. But granted SLI works really well with the 9600 GT.

The 9600GT whether in single or SLI setup will offer you heaps of functionality, but more so, will give you the opportunity to play modern games at really good framerates up-to a resolution of 1600x1200, armed with very good image quality settings. After 1600x1200 things will get a little tricky for the more intensive games; but granted anything higher than 16x12 means entering the high-end segment anyway. So yeah, really good bang for your buck is what the GeForce 9600 GT will deliver.

Inno3D however surprised me. The OC card we tested today, though 100% reference based, is clocked pretty high. When I checked pricing and warranty on the card this is what surprised me .. the card has a suggested vendor price of 175 USD and comes with two years warranty. So expect this 9600 GT OC model with 512MB memory to cost roughly 200/210 USD. This is a rock-solid product, reference based yet offered with a good overclock. Expect above baseline performance, yet what makes this card incredible is the competitive pricing. Very recommended. Obviously Inno3D will offer the regular and soon the iChill editions of this product as well. It's good to have options, but I can tell you for sure, you can't go wrong with the Inno3D GeForce 9600 GT OC edition. Good stuff!

Company: Inno3D
Info: Inno3D.com
Price: 199 USD/EUR

The on-line shops are now showing availibility of the new mid-range GeForce 9600 GT, we sorted some of the deals for you:

• EVGA Superclocked GeForce 9600GT 512P3N862AR Video Card - $179.99
• EVGA GeForce 9600GT SSC 512P3N867AR Video Card - $209.99
• Leadtek GeForce 9600GT PX9600GT Video Card - $179.99
• GIGABYTE GeForce 9600GT GVNX96T512HB Video Card - $179.99
• EVGA GeForce 9600GT KO 512P3N865AR Video Card - $189.99
• MSI GeForce 9600GT N9600GTT2D512 OC Video Card - $179.90
• BFG Technologies BFG Tech GeForce 9600GT BFGE96512GTE Video Card - $179.99
• XFX GeForce 9600GT PVT94PYDF4 Video Card - $179.99
• ECS GeForce 9600GT N9600GT512MX EDM Video Card - $179.99
• XFX GeForce 9600 GT Video Card - XXX Edition 512MB - $229.99