It's been a long time coming, but it looks like the GPU industry finally figured out the fact that most consumers don't want to blow a couple grand on an SLI setup, they just want to play Crysis debt-free. The new GeForce 9600 GT from
NVIDIA is an answer to those prayers, offering solid performance ratings nearly in line with last-gen's
8800 GT, at a completely lovable $199-and-under pricepoint. For now the top of the performance charts is still the
8800 Ultra -- as NVIDIA will readily admit -- but the 9600 GT is just the first of NVIDIA's GeForce 9 series, and while it's sure to be followed by bigger, badder and more expensive versions, it's refreshing to see the 9600 hitting the market first.
Read - GeForce 9600 GT
Read - PC Per GeForce 9600 GT review
Read - HotHardware GeForce 9600 GT review
posted February 21st 2008 11:49AM
I wonder if the 9800 gtx will play crysis 2?
I wonder if it will play Crysis 1 (at very high res and full graphics, I mean).
Correct me if im wrong, but isnt the HD 3870x2 the fastest card?
Engadget is supposed to broadcast news not opinion.
It does irritate me how companies release revision after revision, without any performance progress.
I wonder if it will blend, while playing Crysis and welcoming our new sub-$200 GPU overlords...
[^_^]
When the drivers are up to it, 3870 x2 will be fast, near the performance of a single 8800 GTX, when not, its just like a 2900 XT.3 series will be short lived, 4 series series the way.
@blaine
Engadget is a blog, not a news source, they can do what they want, if you dont like it, leave
@Blaine
Just like the nVidia 7950GX2 , the AMD 3870X2 is a 2 GPU card, and most respectable places don't generally classify it with single GPU cards because they don't behave the same. If games don't support Crossfire/SLI, you won't get the full performance from the card, and even among games that do support it, the performance can vary quite a bit. (The 3870 is priced a little more reasonably than the 7950GX2 at least)
@Dseaver-
I'm not so sure Engadget is just a blog. They sure ride the line between news source and blog. I feel its at least worthy of a discussion.
I read this and ARS quite often. One is a 'blog' one is a 'news source,' so 'they' say. If I put both their iPhone reviews in a text doc side-by-side, could you tell me which is which? Would it even matter? I think perception maybe be reality in this case.
In case you want to take me up on it:
http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/03/iphone-review-part-1-hardware-interface-keyboard/
http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/iphone-review.ars
Actually from what I've read the 3870 X2 behaves like a single card as far as your computer is concerned. So theoretically Quad CrossfireX should be possible with these with the appropriate drivers, giving you 8 graphics cores (and a relatively decent electricity bill too..)
It's about time they released there next gpu family! Thanks nvidia :)
http://www.threadless.com/product/290/They_re_Their_There
Well spotted lol but please don't be patronising as everyone is prone to typos when making quick comments on a blog. I can't proofread every thing I do. >:(
improper usage of their/they're/there is not a typo... that's just plain dumb. public schools fail again.
It's not just plain, dumb, it's a mistake typing without thinking tired, stressed out and worrying about essay deadlines and a Russian exam. I'm not in a public school. I'm a university student at the University of London majoring in history. Next year I study at the UPenn. Get off my back, we're talking about graphics cards, you've no business being judgemental about the fact that I wrote 'there' instead of 'their' ffs. It's not like I don't know the difference!
Lofty bastards, think they're so high in mighty *trails off angrily*
I'll take the bait...
It's supposed to be "high *and* mighty," silly goose! ;)
The PCPer article has a video of them melting some 9600 GTs with thermite! LOL
http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=522&type=expert&pid=3
Why not just get the 8800GT? Is there really a difference between this and the previous gen?
Yes. the 9600 is cheaper
But the 8800GT is better.
With that logic, why not go for the Ultra?
Because, for about $20-30 more, you can get the 8800GT. That runs AA on the games where the 9600 runs none, mostly thanks to the 128 stream processors on the 8800 compared to the 64 on the 9600. Until the 9600 drops a little more, the 8800 looks to be the good buy for those who are looking for overall value in this price range. I'm not saying the 9600 is a shabby card; I'm just saying that for the overall value, I'd prefer to have the 9600 settings + 2xAA on many games for $20-30. Sure, they're both a great value, and I think it just comes down to whether you're looking for the bargain part (which is cool) or if you're looking for the value part (which is equally cool). And why isn't the [H] review linked here, engadget? Come on now.
@JD: The 8800GT has 112 stream processors. The 8800GTS 512MB has 128.
None the less, the 8800GT is better for the extra you pay.
However, it is loud and does require a different cooler if you want something a little more silent.
The 9600GT is really quiet (for a single slot cooler) and has decent performance for what it is.
I have the single slot 8800GT card in a system that I designed to be silent, because when I built it, the only real estate I had was on the desk next to my monitor. Obviously, quiet is good in that case, and while it now lives on the floor, it is still inaudible. I agree that the single slot is not ideal, I'm going to upgrade to the dual slot evga AKIMBO cooler that is basically what is on the GTS, but I can't complain about my system. I'm currently in a studio apartment, so I sleep in the same room as my computer. The sound doesn't bother me, I'd hardly call it "loud," but I do agree, a real silent heatsink would be nice. It was my understanding that the G94 was a G92 with the new compression technology, but I may be mistaken. I imagine it would run the physics pretty damn near the G92 though, since it seems to be a minor revision rather than a significant revision, or a new core altogether. And thanks for correcting me on the 112 procs- you're quite right, I got mixed up. I think they need to make a better naming scheme for all their damn cards, lol. :)
Perhaps power usage may be factor.
Cool! I hope they make a low profile version.
That *is* the low profile version.
No, that's the single slot version. I actually highly doubt they'll make a lp version, but I hope the 9 series has somthing better than the 8600GT, since that's the best lp card out there.
How do the 9xxx series handle the new onboard physics stuff that nvidia announced compaired to the 8xxx series?
If you read ANY of the 3 reviews they posted links to, you'd know that it's basically an 8800GT with half the stream processors. So, it would handle the physics in the exact same way. But half as much, I suppose.
This is a different core though, they fixed some bugs and other things. I was wondering if the 9xxx series will handle the new physics things better. I would think they would since the physics support starts with the 8xxx series.
Damn... What am I going to do with my 2 8600's??? Maybe I'll sell 'em and get these... They are already factory overclocked, maybe I'll get more money for 'em.
wanna swap?
Swap??? swap for what??
hmm.. it may be time to let go of my ATI 2900 XT...
Nah, I don't think this would have any benefit besides lower power consumption, the 2900XT might even be a fair bit faster than this. I've got a 2900 Pro and I'm waiting for the true next gen 4870 or 10800/whatever that actually has some new tech and not just a die shrink, although the 3870 with the price drop is really tempting for the reduced power usage.
Is there a release date for the higher end cards?
february 30th
Good to see the 9 series starting to roll out. I'll wait for a GTX version though before buying any :)
I was about to buy one of these this week, but I bought an 8800GS instead. The GS matches or bests the 9600GT in almost every benchmark, and is about $20 cheaper.
I got tired of waiting for the 8800GT to drop below $200. $159 for the GS was much more reasonable for a casual gamer.
we're getting dangerously close to the time when NVIDIA is using the model numbers that ATI used to use, while ATI is using the model numbers that NVIDIA used to use... How about some creativity??
Probably launching the budget version first to steal some sales from ATi, their pricing is amazing even if their driver support isn't.
no its not the best, ati responded by cutting the 3800 series prices, $169 for 3850, and $189ish for 3870. much better buy IMO
pretty sure the 3870 x2 is the performance king right now.
Barely.
Two of these beat 2 3870's, and a single 3870x2. The price is pretty similar between the 3 options as well. Its just that you have to use 2 PCI-X slots, which might deter some.
Think about it.
2 cores with 512 shader processors and 16 rasters and 256bit m
vs.
2 cores with 64 shader processors and 16 rasters and 256bit m
The latter wins in benchs. Thats sad.
The 3870, on paper should be annihilating these cards, but they lose to them. When coupled with 2 cores each (either x2 or SLI), they still lose. ATI fucked up this round, badly.
Really? I'm not. You read the [H] review? And also, don't just say that their test methods suxor. At least read the article they wrote last week that justifies their superior test procedures. According to non-canned benchies, the 3870x2 is not the best card. It can keep up quite nicely with the 8800GTX, but not school it like ATI needed. And had a year to come up with. But never mind.
I'm not going to argue; When I know the truth I know the truth, there's no sense in trying to stand up for myself when I know you're wrong.
Heads up I just got an MSI NX8800gt overclocked with an aftermarket zalman cooler for 200 bucks after rebate on newegg. This is THE best price/performance right now. Forget 9600gt if you want to spend 200 dollars on a card get this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127329
I'm playing Crysis 1680x1050 on all high with excellent frames with an E8400 OCed to 3.6
Got the same card here and I 100% agree.
While that card does look like a great value, I have vowed to never buy any MSI products ever agiain because their customer service simply sucks.
I was trying to buy an 8800gt from them in early December (when they were all sold out). Well, I kept calling the store where it was back-ordered and MSI kept giving them an ETA and then pushing it back a week the day the cards were supposed to arrive! I then began trying to contact MSI directly to ask them when their cards were going to come in, and they NEVER responded.
Midway through January, I said screw it and bought an evga instead. I am very happy with my card, even though I paid a little more for it. I have been playing the beach levels of crysis with everything on very high (no AA) with no overclocking. It overclocks nicely too ;)
All that just to say, I would recommend against MSI products because their customer support sucks.
No HDMI? Seems an odd ommission at this stage in the HD era. I can only imagine that this card was ready to roll prior to the format wars subsidence, but even so, the connectivity could have been accomodated.