GeForce 8800 GTS and the GeForce 9600 GT top video and graphics cards

9600 GT Vs. 8800 GTS

The GeForce 8800 GTS and the GeForce 9600 GT are two of the top video and graphics cards on the market in 2009, and are staples in nVidia's library. However, just because the 9600 GT has a higher number than the 8800 GTS does not necessarily mean that the card is superior to the GTS. Knowing what separates these cards will go a long way towards helping you make an informed decision on which card to go with.

Age and Different Models

1.      Before you compare two video cards side-by-side, it is important to know when each card was released so you can get an idea of whether or not you are making a fair comparison. For this comparison of the two cards, the technology is roughly the same age, with only a two-year difference.

The GeForce 8800 GTS was first released on November 8th, 2006. The early model of the 8800 GTS ran on an nVidia G80 Graphical Processing Unit (GPU), which is a 90nm (nanometer) GPU. The second video card to be released under the name 8800 GTS was a G92-powered, 65nm video card. That card was released on December 11th, 2007.

There is only one true version of the GeForce 9600 GT. This card was released on February 21st, 2008 and is powered by the G94 GPU. This card is not to be confused with the 9600M GT, which is a video card designed for laptop computers.

Core Clock Speeds

2.      When deciding on what kind of video card to buy, the number that most hardcore computer enthusiasts look at is the core clock speed. This, more than anything else, determines how powerful a particular video card is, and in turn, what the card is capable of doing.

The GeForce 8800 GTS, being a slightly older card than the 9600 GT, features a G80 GPU with a core clock speed of 500 MHz. The 8800 GTS running on the G92 GPU has a much improved core clock speed of 650 MHz. This core clock speed matches the speed of the newer 9600 GT.

This is, in part, because the G92 GPU doubles the number of Fragment Pipelines (128), Texture Units (64) and Vertex Pipelines (128) that are programmed with the G94. In many respects, the G92 is technologically superior to the newer G94.

Memory Clock Speeds

3.      While the speed of the GPU is representative of raw processing power, the speed of the memory is more indicative of how fast the card can process information. When it comes to the 8800 GTS and the 9600 GT, the memory stats are quite similar. The 8800 GTS on the G80 GPU has a memory clock speed of 800 MHz. The 9600 GT has a memory clock speed of 900 MHz.

The 8800 GTS running on the G92 GPU, once again, outperforms the 9600 GT. The memory clock speed of the 8800 GTS (G92) is, out of the box, 970 MHz.

The 8800 GTS (G92) is also the superior card when it comes to memory bandwidth, or the speed at which the card can access the memory. The 8800 GTS (G92) has a memory bandwidth of an impressive 62 GB/sec (Gigabytes per second). The 8800 GTS (G80) clocks in even faster, at 64 GB/sec. Both of these cards outperform the 9600 GT's memory bandwidth of 57.6 GB/sec.

Overclocking Potential

4.      When building a computer, an enthusiast often looks at how much they can overclock a graphics card before the card will start to malfunction. Because of different cooling methods and different propriety technologies from the different card manufacturers, the numbers will differ slightly. However, they tend to hover in the same general range due to the GPU technology being the same.

Many reviews cite the 8800 GTS's GPUs (both the G80 and G92) have a good amount of headroom to overclock with, with the G80 GPU capping out at just under 650 MHz. The G92 GPU can be overclocked, safely, to near 780 MHz before the card starts to suffer heat damage.

Additionally, the 8800 GTS's memory can be overclocked to near 1 GHz. If you have the 8800 GTS (G92), memory can be overclocked (with proper cooling) to 1030 MHz (1.03 GHz).

The 9600 GT, while also able to withstand significant overclocking, does not meet the numbers of the 8800 GTS. According to some reviews of the card, the GPU can be overclocked by as much as 20%, raising the total core speed to 780 MHz. The memory is also highly "overclockable," with some reporting that they have overclocked their memory to over 2 GHz.

Of course, each card is slightly different and the results of your personal overclocking may differ, either for good or bad.

Price

5.      The one area where the 9600 GT does better than the 8800 GTS is with pricing. A quick search for GeForce 9600 GT prices will find that they are going for as low as $90 new through some online retailers. Also, because the 9600 GT is newer than the 8800 GTS, the 9600 GT is also more common in brick-and-mortar computer and electronics retailers.

The 8800 GTS, while a slightly older card, is still wildly popular with PC enthusiasts as well as hardcore computer gamers. Because of this, the price has remained between $250 and $400 for the card. However, if you are not concerned with price but solely performance, you will be pleased to know that many national retailers like Best Buy carry the card, making it very easy to find for the casual shopper.

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