Impressions of nVidia 9600 GPUs?

[JadedRaverLA]

Originally Posted by welwynnick

I'm using a 6600GT at the moment, and it seemed that nvidia didn't really move forwards with the 7600 & 8600, as far as gamers were concerned. The significance for many round here is the BD decoding support in the 8600, but the 9600 presumably has that as well. Plus better gaming capablity.

The 9600GT is just a slightly cutdown version of the 8800GT. It's lightyears beyond the performance of the earlier 8600 series.

Originally Posted by welwynnick

That inevitably makes it the new boy on the block that will attract attention, demand, and prices. I noticed that lesser versions of the 8800 seem to be going for about the same as the 9600, so I'm now thinking why not go for one of those instead?
Nick

If you want to do any gaming and can get an 8800GT (512MB) for near the cost of the 9600GT, get the 8800GT. They use the exact same GPU, with the same excellent video capabilities for Blu-ray, but the 8800GT has more shaders (112 vs. 64) and are typically clocked slightly higher. Although if you REALLY want a gaming card, then you might want to hold off for the upcoming 9800 series which will outdo the 8800GT. If gaming isn't a priority, then the 9600GT is a great card... but wait for the prices to settle down.