NVIDIA's GeForce 9600 GSO series GPUs get official

As of tonight NVIDIA's got one more notch to add to that bed post: the GeForce 9600 GSO, which is a little more on the cheap date end of the spectrum. The first of the card-makers to launch their 9600 GSO is EVGA, with a 650MHz, 384MB / 1900MHz DDR3, PCI Express 2.0 ditty (e-GeForce 9600GSO Superclocked 384MB), as well as an even lower end 550MHz, 384MB / 1600MHz version (e-GeForce 9600GSO 384MB). And yeah, it does DirectX 10 -- not that you should even need to ask.

[Thanks, Carlos]

[akstylish @ Apr 28th 2008 12:57AM]

So will this perform better than 9600GT?

[Jeremy K. @ Apr 28th 2008 2:09AM]

Mark, you're so 1337 I'm blinded by your comment.

[RattusP @ Apr 28th 2008 1:00AM]

First person to say ANYTHING about Crysis gets a swift kick in the face.

[Sanchez @ Apr 28th 2008 1:02AM]

I guess you need a kick in the face.

[Pochi @ Apr 28th 2008 1:02AM]

Technically...

Kick yourself.

In the FACE.

[DarkLightConnection Unbanned @ Apr 28th 2008 1:03AM]

OK.... (Gives a swift kick in the face to RattusP)

[compuguy1088 @ Apr 28th 2008 11:18AM]

NVIDIA really needs a swift kick to the face.....there has been zero official stable drivers (whql) for the 8800GT or 8800GTS since the end of last year...

[akstylish @ Apr 28th 2008 1:00AM]

fail

[the_pearhead @ Apr 28th 2008 1:05AM]

its just a rebadged 8800gs. nvidia did so because they didnt sell as well as hoped. and no it has less performance than a 9600gt

[rahul @ Apr 28th 2008 1:34AM]

Not very sure how its performance relates to 9600GT.
GSO has more shaders and higher texture fill rate than GT.
However memory bandwidth of GSO is lower.
So relative performance will depend on game.

See some benchmarks here :
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/1370/9/page_9_benchmarks_crysis/index.html

3dmark appears to be almost the same. 8800GS beat 9600GT in crysis. Seems to be losing in AA. Now talk about confusing :)

[Rollins @ Apr 28th 2008 1:43AM]

The 8800GS/9600GSO (they're definitely identical, looking at the specs) was able to put up some higher frame rates at lower resolutions. Once you get to 1680x1050 or higher, the memory bandwidth limitation kicks in and the 9600GT pulls ahead.

I'm a bit disappointed in NVidia for pulling this, though. Looks like the lack of serious competition from ATI has stunted the 9 series cards. I guess my 8800GT and I will be happy together for another generation.

[Zorque @ Apr 28th 2008 3:05AM]

Just because it has the same speeds doesn't mean it has the same chips. And different chips probably means different features, like potential DX10.1 support. Hopefully.

[A.C.E.R. @ Apr 28th 2008 5:20AM]

Zorque: 8.2 seconds of research says you're wrong. Sorry.

[Ghen @ Apr 28th 2008 9:20AM]

The 8 extra seconds on your research came from a porn sidetrack?

[Pochi @ Apr 28th 2008 1:04AM]

Posted @ 12:57AM.

Yep. First ass of the day.

[RattusP @ Apr 28th 2008 1:05AM]

My face is kickproof.

[UKNigel @ Apr 28th 2008 1:40AM]

Unfortunately, your brain also seems to be smartproof.

[craig#2 @ Apr 28th 2008 4:12AM]

I call shenanigans.

[Ian @ Apr 28th 2008 5:34AM]

i swear by the end of my life i WILL pistol whip someone for saying shenanigans! dont let me find you! :P

[thatrotierkid @ Apr 28th 2008 9:22AM]

Hey RattusP what's the name of that restaurant you like with all the goofy shit on the walls and the mozzarella sticks?

[Jeremy K. @ Apr 28th 2008 1:13AM]

When are the low profile (half height) NVIDIA GeForce 9 series cards coming out? That's all I'm interested in. I've got a sweet HP slimline computer and would like a better card than an 8600GT, which is currently the best low profile card available.

[Syntax Error @ Apr 28th 2008 11:06AM]

Half height? As in half a slot, not a single slot? Or are you talking about length?

The 8600, perhaps other than its small size, is a horrible choice for a card at this point.

[urbanpeasant @ Apr 28th 2008 11:45AM]

hey jeremy, is your icon Tuco?

[Jeremy K. @ Apr 28th 2008 12:18PM]

@Syntax
Yes, as I said above, the 8600gt is the best card available in a low profile version. It's actually not that bad. I'm amazed by how many people don't understand what a low profile (half height) card is.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peripheral_Component_Interconnect#Physical_card_dimensions

@Urban
Yes it's Tuco!

[gabe @ Apr 28th 2008 1:44AM]

anyone else get a boner too?

[Jeremy K. @ Apr 28th 2008 2:05AM]

no.

[w00t @ Apr 28th 2008 3:08AM]

Just you, you should get that checked out!

[Reader @ Apr 28th 2008 5:46AM]

Remember to use a match to get that baby back down.

[roman.kim @ Apr 28th 2008 1:50AM]

Hopefully this isn't the can of whoop-ass they were talking about..

[Syntax Error @ Apr 28th 2008 1:53AM]

Another rehash 8-series card with a "9" on the label.

The 9-series has thus been disappointing so far, hopefully ATI will have a monster with their upcoming HD4800 series.

[Ridgecity @ Apr 28th 2008 3:27AM]

Is this faster than a 8800gt? is it true you can turn a 8800gt into a quadro flashing the card or something like that? does anyone know about this?

[futurepastnow @ Apr 28th 2008 6:37PM]

"Is this faster than a 8800gt?"

No.

"is it true you can turn a 8800gt into a quadro flashing the card"

Why would you want to? Quadro's suck for gaming. Oh, and no, you can't.

[tekdroid @ Apr 28th 2008 3:42AM]

Nvidia tells me I should buy one of these to retire my Intel CPU. I'll go to the shops now.

[x3qt0r @ Apr 28th 2008 3:51AM]

GPUs have become like girls..
when you feel that you have the best one.. and you have done "playing" with her..
a better one comes around.....not affordable of course

[craig#2 @ Apr 28th 2008 4:12AM]

Is there any market for used CPUs? Like Amazon or eBay?

[craig#2 @ Apr 28th 2008 4:12AM]

I hate you so much.

[Mobius_1 @ Apr 28th 2008 6:13AM]

Yet another release, and I can barely see the difference, or for that matter, the point of it.

[sam @ Apr 28th 2008 6:36AM]

but will it play doom?

(someone had to!)

[Ghen @ Apr 28th 2008 9:21AM]

No, actually no one had to.

[Japanesegorilla @ Apr 28th 2008 7:44AM]

*SIGH OF RELIEF*

For a second there I was freaking out because I just ordered an 8800gt for $140 after rebates yesterday.

[info @ Apr 28th 2008 8:47AM]

F-That....where are my NVIDIA VISTA DRIVERS? Running 8800gt's in SLI and getting sh*t performance.

[Ghen @ Apr 28th 2008 9:23AM]

http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/24/dell-rumored-to-be-selling-xp-until-2012-ballmer-says-ms-can-w/

nvidia sees the writing on the wall for vista as well.

[Rollins @ Apr 28th 2008 10:57AM]

Have you tried the beta 174.74 drivers? A lot of people seem to be having better luck with them than with previous ones.

[Kin @ Apr 28th 2008 10:10AM]

GSO's are renamed 8600GS parts, the ones that nvidia cant sell because of cheaper ATI cards

[Blaine Oliver @ Apr 28th 2008 11:55AM]

FAIL!

They are [b]8800GS[/b] parts so RTFA.

[Mike Berry @ Apr 28th 2008 4:18PM]

It's great that NVIDIA made it to the top by having great driver support, frequent updates, and great price for performance ratios. Since last December, they've refreshed and introduced new lines, yet we still haven't seen a WHQL driver release for the 8-Series cards.

As everyone has said, what's the point? The 9-Series GPU's don't have "new" architecture, only smaller chip sizes. Are they DX10.1 compatible? Does that even matter? Very disappointed in NVIDIA recently, it seems they're moving away from the direction that brought them to the top.

-m23