PC Perspective - BFG GeForce 9600 GT 512MB Review

	BFG GeForce 9600 GT 512MB Review - NVIDIA G94 Tested
	Author: Ryan Shrout Date: Feb 21, 2008 Subject: Graphics Card Manufacturer: BFG Tech

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Summary

The following is a summary of the more detailed analysis of the BFG GeForce 9600 GT 512MB graphics card. For all the in-depth analysis and testing you'd expect from us, be sure to click this link to get all the details!

Click this link to get the full article

NVIDIA is back again with another new mid-range part, this time under the disguise of the GeForce 9000-series descriptor. The GeForce 9600 GT aims at the price point that AMD's HD 3850 sits in, from $170-$200, and will surely push their previous 8600-series cards out the door once and for all.

The NVIDIA 9600 GT card looks very similar to the 8800 GT card in that they are both singe slot designs with coolers/fans differ only slightly. You guys probably remember me getting a pair of 9600 GT cards earlyfrom our very own forums, only to find out that they were such early samples that they were basically worthless in terms of performance and stability.

As it turns out the, coolers and card design of the retail boards I received this week are basically identical in design. The cooler has been refined from the original 8800 GT design with a larger opening above the fan for more air intake and an adjusted spin-up table. This new table gives the fan better logic on when to spin up faster in relation to the GPU temperature. Some very early 8800 GT users reported over heating issues that were addressed with this change.

Let's take a look at some 9600 GT performance:

When we compare the 9600 GT to the previous generation from NVIDIA, the 8600 GTS in our case, the difference is simply amazing. While the 8600 and 7600 were very similar in terms of performance, with simply the addition of DX10 features as the main differentiator, that isn't a problem in this case. I think that many users that currently have 7600-series or 8600-series installed on there systems are staring wide eyed at the performance graphs with their wallets open. The simple fact is that the 9600 GT is a return to the days of actual performance gains from generation to generation: and we love it.

Pricing and Availability

The estimated MSRP of the BFG 9600 GT is about $189 - right in the mix of where NVIDIA is hoping the majority of 9600 GTs will fall. If NVIDIA and BFG are successful in implementing the pricing structure that we outlined earlier, the 9600 GT will be priced between the HD 3850 and the HD 3870 - a great spot to be at when you are running faster than BOTH of those cards in most cases.

Update: The 9600 GTs are starting to show up in stock in several places, such as Newegg.

Final Thoughts

The G94 came in pretty much under the radar for the majority of the press and enthusiast community. We didn't expect much out of the 9600 GT - after all the 8800 GT and GTS were impressive in their own right and we had come to expected the "x600" cards to be a bust. To my surprise, the 9600 GT turned out not only to be competitive with AMD's Radeon HD 3800 series but is in contention for the best price/performance and performance/watt we have seen in quite some time.

Be sure to use our pricing engine to find the best prices on NVIDIA and AMD graphics cards and anything else you might need:

Click here for the Detailed Review