http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTQ2NiwxLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==
Click on the link for full details but here is the conclusion
Pricing and Value
With the 9600 GT right on the heels of the 8800 GT and a bit out in front of the 3870 we have to look very closely at the selling prices of all of them. The 9600 GT’s MSRP is $169-$189.
Searching Newegg this morning we can find a 512MB 8800 GT selling for $199.99 after MIR. (Last week when checking we found an MSI 8800 GT for $184.99 after $20 MIR.) With the 9600 GT coming in between $179.99 and $209.99 things start to get sort of blurry. If this remains the case and you have a larger resolution display (say 1600 or larger), the smarter choice would be to shell out the $20 and purchase the 8800 GT. If we again see the 8800 GT for $184.99 like we did last week, it is a no-brainer. If the 9600 GT starts selling at the lower $169 price point, then it might be worth it for you to save the $30 to $50.
It will be very important to look around at pricing and ask yourself what is the better value for your gaming situation. The 8800 GT is likely to provide greater longevity over the 9600 GT and possibly a better upgrade path should you consider an SLI configuration later on. We think we will see the 9600 GT pricing come down or the 8800 GT pricing climb back up considering how closely these two cards are in performance. Right now there is simply not enough definition between the two in terms of pricing to properly insert the 9600 GT into the market. Hopefully we see the 9600 GT satisfy the lower MSRP price of $169.00. In that case NVIDIA will truly have a winner on its hands while not eroding the valuable 8800 GT market. Then throw into the mix that Radeon 3870 cards are reaching the sub-$200 pricing ($184.99) as well and you certainly end up with a lot of choices. And having this many choices is certainly a great thing for the gamer and hardware enthusiast.
Our Thoughts
The BFGTech GeForce 9600 GT OC surprised us in the fact that it was able to handle 1920x1200 gaming very well on a 24” LCD. We were able to play Call of Duty 4 and UT3 at 1920x1200 with 16X AF and the highest in-game settings. The only game of course it couldn’t do that with was Crysis. We did try 1600x1200 in Crysis but it choked, even at all “Medium” settings. 2560x1600 resolutions proved to be too much for it in today’s games. Suffice it to say, the 9600 GT also performs great at 1600x1200 and lower. At 1600x1200 you can enable 2X or 4X AA in COD 4 and UT3.
We applaud NVIDIA’s decision to equip the GeForce 9600 GT with 512MB of RAM. 256MB of framebuffer will likely cripple this card’s performance spectrum. We have not seen any 256MB versions yet, but this is something to keep in mind. By having 512MB of RAM it will be equipped for possible future games that may push the framebuffer harder. 512MB of RAM will also provide a positive result if you wish to SLI this card. SLI will add performance, and the last thing you want is that performance to be bottlenecked by memory capacity.
We were surprised by and excited with the high overclocks achieved with the BFGTech GeForce 9600 GT. We were also very happy at the low temperatures experienced. After seeing very hot 8800 GT cards a cool running 9600 GT GPU is welcomed. We can’t wait to see what enthusiasts do with this card; there is mad potential for overclocking the 9600 GT and getting a true gaming experience benefit.
The Bottom Line
The BFGTech GeForce 9600 GT OC is a solid video card that performs tremendously. Our only disappointment is the rather small 25MHz stock out-of-the-box GPU overclock and missing memory overclock. For an enthusiast oriented brand, its “OC” line of cards is hardly overclocking anything, and this is not just limited to BFGTech as it seems “overclocked” cards are more of a marketing gimmick now days than anything else. But do we really expect bleeding edge clocks and a lifetime warranty? Maybe, but you will pay a premium for it. Our thought is that if you are not going to OC it at least 10%, then just don’t do it at all. The hugely redeeming value though is the potential for overclocking that exists for enthusiasts as we showed you on the previous pages. A 20% overclocking increase over stock GPU speeds with stock cooling while keeping the card under 65c is exciting.
Price is going to be the most important aspect of the GeForce 9600 GT. The price of GeForce 8800 GT is falling to sub-$200 levels. Unless you find a GeForce 9600 GT at the low end of the MSRP it may be smarter to shell out the extra cash for the 8800 GT. In all of our testing the 8800 GT performed better, as expected. The BFGTech GeForce 9600 GT falls right under the 8800 GT in terms of the gameplay experience provided while providing a better experience than the Radeon HD 3850 or 3870.
The GeForce 9600 GT is a great GPU. Now we just need to see its value better defined in the retail market.
