9600gt

[James_Patterson]

Nvidia has released it's 9 Series.............. .......in the form of the 9600gt.

Now I'm confused, don't Nvidia usually release their main card before they release their mid-range cards?

But they have released it (http://www.nvidia.com/object/geforce_9600gt.html) first.

It may be so they can go against the ATi HD3850 and HD3870 which are in the same price range but perform better, but wasn't this the basis of the 8800gt? The 8800gt only costs about $60 more and is much more powerful.

So why has Nvidia released their 9 series with a Mid-range card.

Post your thoughts here.

[daveee]

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/1293/nvidia_geforce_9600g t_512mb_g94_tested/index.html

It's pretty much on par with the 3870. Slightly better than the 8800GT in some aspects, but generally the 8800GT spanks the crap out of it.

I'm pretty sure nvidia have released it and will stop producing the 8x series cards from now on, forcing people to grab the 9600GT in the mean time before they release their Gx2 and 9800GT series, along with hopefully a 9800GTX.

[Wokeye]

I assumed it was because the existing mid-range nvidia cards (8600gt/GTS) were pretty crap for some games. The 9600gt deals with this. It does push on the 8800gt though.

Now they dominate low/mid and high parts of the market. They still have the 9800X up their sleeve to bury any ATI contender.

I fear nvidia smashing ATI/AMD now is ultimately bad for competition - bad for us gfx card consumers.

[daveee]

Hmmm, specs/benchmarks on the 9800GTX is out..doesn't really do much more than an 8800GTX.

Hopefully its only because they are early drivers and aren't optimised yet, otherwise the 9800GTX is a bit of a flop. :(

Though now is the time to pick up an 8800GTX, they have been going for $400~ on OCAU. Most shops have excess stock of 8800GT's too, and they are going for around $300~.

Good time to buy hardware in general.

[Captain_Wolf]

OCAU?

I'm looking at building a new comp for a friend ATM an 8800GTX for $400 would be great.

[Wokeye]

overclockers forum
http://forums.overclockers. com.au

Great spot for hardware discussion

[daveee]

OCAU?

I'm looking at building a new comp for a friend ATM an 8800GTX for $400 would be great.

You wont be able to post or view the buy/sell area for 3 months with a new account.

[Captain_Wolf]

Weak.

If anyone knows where I could get a cheap 8800GTX or 8800GTS near Melbourne that would be a great help thanks.

[Kindros]

You wont be able to post or view the buy/sell area for 3 months with a new account.

He will be able to see the sponsor specials straight away though. And I thought it was only like 1 month?

[daveee]

Nah its 3 months.

They are second hand GTX's not brand new from stores so wont be in sponsor specials..they are still around $500-550.

[RHYS4190]

Well the 9800GT has sold out in the Dell fourms http://accessories.us.dell. com/sna/products/Games/productdetail.aspx?c =us&l=en&cs=19&sku=A1514009

But im sumped realy is the 8800GT and 8800GTX better or some thing

But im slumped really is the 8800GT and 8800GTX people have been saying the 9600GT is inferior and I should go for a 8800 GTX ultra but if what your saying is correct then I have to hurry and get one :o. Before there all gone OH noes,

[daveee]

9800GT isn't even out here yet.

The 9600GT isn't better than an 8800GT or GTX.

On Intel chipset based motherboards the 9600GT gets a 25% overclock as standard..something to do with some special feature they have (you can do this on any non-intel based chipset just by setting the PCI freq to 125 instead of 100). Just be careful when reading reviews about the 9600GT and they are comparing it to the 8800GT dependant on what motherboard it is being tested in it might be running speeds that aren't stock.

8800GT's are down to $244 according to staticice. With the 9600GT's being around $180-230.

I'd probably go the 8800GT...will probably pick one up in a week or two just so I can get 16x AA in BF2.

[RHYS4190]

Yeah but problem is I don't know whether my motherboard will even support this 8800GT it a Intel Pentium D cpu 3.00GHz, And I don't know what my power supply is and if it can even manage this 8800GTX thing.

[daveee]

What is your current video card?

What motherboard is it?

If it has a PCIe slot it will be fine.

I wouldn't bother with the 8800GTX...if you've only got a Pentium D I'd probably just get an 9600GT and save some money.

[RHYS4190]

What is your current video card?

What motherboard is it?

If it has a PCIe slot it will be fine.

I wouldn't bother with the 8800GTX...if you've only got a Pentium D I'd probably just get an 9600GT and save some money.

What mother board huh i gave it to you dident i im confused i thought the Pentium D is the motherboards name.

[daveee]

No.. Pentium D is the CPU.

[Psyrus]

Alright, RHYS:

Download CPU-Z: http://www.cpuid.com/download/cpuz_144.zip
Open it up, go to the mainboard tab.
Give us what it says under:
- Manufacturer
- Model
- Graphics Interface (Version & link width)

This is all the information we require to tell you what graphics card you should get. It'll also help if you make sure your processor is indeed a pentium D, which will provide a significant bottleneck to presumably even a 9600GT.

[RHYS4190]

http://img213.imageshack.us /img213/1144/motherboardmo7.th.pn g (http://img213.imageshack.us /my.php?image=motherb oardmo7.png)

It should be bigger but it not but bugger it that will do guess just click on it.

IT a conspiricy thay make these parts wonky sizes just so you have to build A new computer just to house them it facisim to the core.

[Captain_Wolf]

Well your MB can handle the new card as it has PCI-E x16 as shown down the bottom of that pic.

There is still the question of your PSU. But I would hazard a guess and say you should be fine as long as you don't try to run a 8800GTX.

[Psyrus]

IT a conspiricy thay make these parts wonky sizes just so you have to build A new computer just to house them it facisim to the core.

Owch... Dell :(

2 things:

- Have you ever heard of photoshop? :)
- Before buying anything after the 7XXX range, I suggest you measure your case internals and then look up the tech specs of the card you intend to buy, then add 1.5cm to that length (for the PCI-E connector, which you probably don't have :sweat:) to make sure it'll fit.

[RHYS4190]

But will the mother board support it?.

[Psyrus]

Yes, it is a PCI-X16 slot which means it's PCI-express, which supports all the way up to the 8800 Ultra.

[Marduk]

Here goes MSI trying to rip off the less tech savy buy putting a 2GB model on the market.

What complete waste of framebuffer ... anyway, it seems that MSI is preparing a GeForce 9600 GT with 2GB of DDR3 memory. Next to all that memory the card also will be equipped with a DisplayPort connector. The 2GB-equipped card is likely clocked at the standard (650/1625/1800 MHz GPU/Shaders/memory).
Guys, you can throw 6 GB memory on a graphis card, and it still would not matter. At this very moment 512MB is the best config for a single-gpu mainstream graphics card. More memory would just be a marketing gimmick as it barely improves the performance.
http://www.guru3d.com/admin/imageview.php?image= 12394
http://www.guru3d.com/newsitem.php?id=6584

[daveee]

Eh, they didn't learn with the 1GB 8800GT's?

Lame.

[Marduk]

MSI will continue to lure in non-tech savy customers with this crap for years to come I would guess. If they can they will. Other companies have been doing it for years aswell.

[SMakked]

I have one of these cards Zotac Branded and im impressed, very nice card for the price, Can max out all settings in all games at 1600x1200 well all except crysis.

[Psyrus]

Ahh, don't you guys remember the days when VRAM was actually a deciding factor? The difference between the 16MB and the 64MB generation was huge. It most likely was not the VRAM causing the increased performance, but the amount of VRAM back in the day was a very good indicator of card performance. That ended after the shift from 128MB -> 256MB [1999-2001], at which point we reached a surplus of VRAM (for about 3 years) and consumers had to start focussing on the technical specifications of pipelines, core clocks, memory bandwidth etc. Of course for the less savvy, this was far too difficult (myself included) and so in 2003 when I bought my new computer, I chose a cheap-as-chips X600 Pro only because it was the card with 256MB @ the price I was willing to pay... despite the 128MB version of the X700 outperforming it easily.

I learned my lesson after that :)

[RHYS4190]

I wonder where I can get a ultra or a GTX, but if your going to suggest getting it of a web site make sure it secure and trust worthy if that is at all possible on the net.

[Marduk]

https://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page= product_info&cPath=193_376&products_id=4850

Leadtek 8800GTX $548

I have used PCCaseGear before and they were fine.

[James_Patterson]

https://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page= product_info&cPath=193_376&products_id=4850

Leadtek 8800GTX $548

I have used PCCaseGear before and they were fine.

Just buy 8800gt and overclock it.

I got mine for $250. :)

[Psyrus]

Just buy 8800gt and overclock it.

I got mine for $250. :)

I have an 8800GT as well... it's awesome :) (Although I payed over $330 for mine :()

The performance difference between a 8800GTX and a 8800GT that's overclocked is minimal. You probably won't have to overclock the 8800GT anyway, since the rest of your system will bottleneck the power of these graphics cards :P

[Marduk]

Just buy 8800gt and overclock it.

I got mine for $250. :)

I have an 8800GT aswell but hew as asking for a GTX.

[James_Patterson]

Slightly off topic, but my 8800gt shows up as 1.9gb VRAM, even though it only has 512mb DDR3. Could it be showing what it would be if it was DDR2 or................?

[Psyrus]

Slightly off topic, but my 8800gt shows up as 1.9gb VRAM, even though it only has 512mb DDR3. Could it be showing what it would be if it was DDR2 or................?

Where does it show that? Is a screenshot possible?

It could be taking into account your virtual VRAM as well (for when those darn textures just won't fit in 512MB :P)

[James_Patterson]

nvm, turns out it was just a glitch with COH:OP demo.

[RHYS4190]

Will a 340 ish, power supply cut it for a 8800?.

[James_Patterson]

Will a 340 ish, power supply cut it for a 8800?.

THe recommended spec for it is 500w, so it would run it, but it would be sufficiently underpowered I would say.

[bishos30]

I'm running a HD 3870 X2 in my other comp with only a 430W power supply while I wait for a larger supply to arrive. Runs fine but wigs out when you run graphic intensive stuff like Crysis.

[Ablack77]

THe recommended spec for it is 500w, so it would run it, but it would be sufficiently underpowered I would say.

Run it yeah, but expect wild graphics glitches like abstracts making some games unplayable.

[Psyrus]

Run it yeah, but expect wild graphics glitches like abstracts making some games unplayable.

I was under the impression that insufficient power would lead to a hard reset by the GPU, just as overvoltage would. I've never been crazy enough to skimp on my PSU though, so I wouldn't know from personal experience.

Seriously, if you're considering high end components, spend the $150 or so for a decent PSU (like my beauty, the HX-520), and peace of mind.

[RHYS4190]

Phy you where saying some thing before about photoshop why 0_o does it do some thing?.

[Scottdog]

My graphics card slot is a smaller one, is that the Pci or the Pci-express? Awhile ago when I went to get a graphics card the employee didn't know which was which.

[Ablack77]

I was under the impression that insufficient power would lead to a hard reset by the GPU, just as overvoltage would. I've never been crazy enough to skimp on my PSU though, so I wouldn't know from personal experience.

Seriously, if you're considering high end components, spend the $150 or so for a decent PSU (like my beauty, the HX-520), and peace of mind.

I can't speak as an expert in the field but my experience when i upgraded my GFX card was wildy erratic abstracts getting in the way of PR,
also caused long screen hangs making PR unplayable.
Finally worked out that the cause was an underpowered PSU.

Causing this:
http://static.filefront.com /images/personal/j/jmull/90425/mjgnvjnvaz.jpg
http://static.filefront.com /images/personal/j/jmull/90425/beiiqimtkn.jpg
http://static.filefront.com /images/personal/j/jmull/90425/wtbbczbmsg.jpg

[Psyrus]

Wow Ablack that's pretty bad.. might as well be a crash :P

As I said, don't skimp on the PSU :)

[RHYS4190]

hmmmm, my brother said seeming your needing to replace a power supply and a fan filter, and possibility the mother board I have is not compatible with a 8800GT witch may result in a huge nuclear explosion resulting in a very over cooked flame grilled RHYS. To negate this terrible risk of system failure i should get a new computer from dell..... What do you think is installing these new components risky?.

[Ablack77]

Don't be a DILL and get a Dell

Dell is great if you want a PC for spreadsheets and viewing the internetz
But Dell are CRAP for gamers, forget about upgrading anything to do with a Dell,
in fact if I were you I would forget about the name Dell altogether.