9600GT SLi review

[Keysplayr]

Is someone with a 8800GT kind enough to just use RivaTuner and disable 48 additional shaders please (if possible), clock the core and shaders exactly like a 9600GT, and run some comparable benches? Use the same drivers used on 9600GT reviews. Even an 8800GTS512 would do, just disable 64 shaders. Is this possible?

Does anyone find this method unacceptable to compare it to a 9600GT?
If so, please say why.

If it runs the same as a 9600GT, I will offer every apology to Azn possible. If it runs slower, I won't say a word, I promise.

If this compression technology is indeed available to all G92's as well as a G94, would the latest drivers used for 9600GT testing use this compression technology as well? Or are the G92 cores not capable somehow? This would be a good way to end a long debate here in this thread, and we can start another thread dedicated to this test if you like.

 

[bryanW1995]

I think that the driver issue will solve this problem for us soon enough. It seems extremely odd to me that everyone would use different driver versions to compare cards, then proclaim a "winner" based upon this dubious testing method. If it is possible to disable shaders and test using the same driver version then we'll get a true comparison; until then, we get 100 posts about sli on a midrange card...

 

[Keysplayr]

Micro Center has an eVGA 8800GT for 219.00. And a 8800GTS for 319.00. Is 16 shaders and a better cooler worth 100 bucks?

I didn't think so.

 

[SniperDaws]

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003
Micro Center has an eVGA 8800GT for 219.00. And a 8800GTS for 319.00. Is 16 shaders and a better cooler worth 100 bucks?

I didn't think so.

lol its pointless mate, until Nvidia release some info this lot will just keep winding us up.

with a bit of luck my 9600GT will be here tomorrow and im just gonna throw it in and do a fresh install of XP on Wed.

 

[Extelleron]

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003
Micro Center has an eVGA 8800GT for 219.00. And a 8800GTS for 319.00. Is 16 shaders and a better cooler worth 100 bucks?

I didn't think so.

You can get an 8800GTS 512MB for as low as $260 AR online. You can get an 8800GT online for $199.99 AR.

So the difference is $60, not $100.

If you are overclocking, then yes it is worth it in most cases. The 8800GTS G92 acheives higher overclocks than the GT, it's not too uncommon to see near 800MHz on the core with the GTS model. With the GT it's hard to get much beyond 700MHz.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: Extelleron

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003
Micro Center has an eVGA 8800GT for 219.00. And a 8800GTS for 319.00. Is 16 shaders and a better cooler worth 100 bucks?

I didn't think so.

You can get an 8800GTS 512MB for as low as $260 AR online. You can get an 8800GT online for $199.99 AR.

So the difference is $60, not $100.

If you are overclocking, then yes it is worth it in most cases. The 8800GTS G92 acheives higher overclocks than the GT, it's not too uncommon to see near 800MHz on the core with the GTS model. With the GT it's hard to get much beyond 700MHz.

Hmmm. Thanks mate.

 

[Cheex]

Originally posted by: mitchhamlin
So cheap for such great sounding cards! You can buy two and SLI them, and it'd be better than an 8800 Ultra, cheaper as well!

This is what I've been saying. It is simply beautiful.

I will go out on a limb and say that the 9600GT is the BEST mid-range card ever...Well maybe I'm wrong but it is damn good.

Especially since I've read that the 9600GT in SLI is on average...are you ready for this...??

The average efficiency is 182%!



I am now, for the first time ever, contemplating doing a SLI setup.

I can sell my GTS 320MB here in Jamaica for about US$200...so...

9600GT + 9600GT - GTS 320MB = 9600GT SLI
$180 + $180 - $200 = $160

That is 9600GT SLI for less than the price of 1 x 9600GT...
What you think?

I think it sounds impressive.

 

[SniperDaws]

lol, go for it Cheex, i havent got an SLI board so i cant do that without spending more money.

 

[Killrose]

182% efficiency?

I think they need to rethink thier logic, LOL

 

[Cheex]

Originally posted by: Killrose
182% efficiency?

I think they need to rethink thier logic, LOL

Why?

1 x 9600GT = 100%
2 x 9600GT = 182%

That is a performance ratio. What is there to rethink?

 

[Cheex]

Originally posted by: SniperDaws
lol, go for it Cheex, i havent got an SLI board so i cant do that without spending more money.

I'm not so sure yet.

 

[nitromullet]

Originally posted by: Cheex

Originally posted by: Killrose
182% efficiency?

I think they need to rethink thier logic, LOL

Why?

1 x 9600GT = 100%
2 x 9600GT = 182%

That is a performance ratio. What is there to rethink?

...that's 182 out of a possible 200... Which gives you 90% efficiency, not 182%. Still very nice though.

 

[Cheex]

Originally posted by: nitromullet

Originally posted by: Cheex

Originally posted by: Killrose
182% efficiency?

I think they need to rethink thier logic, LOL

Why?

1 x 9600GT = 100%
2 x 9600GT = 182%

That is a performance ratio. What is there to rethink?

...that's 182 out of a possible 200... Which gives you 90% efficiency, not 182%. Still very nice though.

Well, if you are really going to look at it that way, then it is 91%...but I'm not nit-picking about it...

That is still amazing because we all know you're NOT going to get 100% all the time but 91% is VERY, VERY, GOOD!!

 

[nitromullet]

Originally posted by: Cheex

Originally posted by: nitromullet

Originally posted by: Cheex

Originally posted by: Killrose
182% efficiency?

I think they need to rethink thier logic, LOL

Why?

1 x 9600GT = 100%
2 x 9600GT = 182%

That is a performance ratio. What is there to rethink?

...that's 182 out of a possible 200... Which gives you 90% efficiency, not 182%. Still very nice though.

Well, if you are really going to look at it that way, then it is 91%...but I'm not nit-picking about it...

That is still amazing because we all know you're NOT going to get 100% all the time but 91% is VERY, VERY, GOOD!!

You're right.

That number itself is a bit skewed because they are taking an aggregate from all resolutions benchmarked. Basically, what you see is the higher the resolution and the lower the fps for a single card, the higher the percentage increases by adding a second card. This is a good thing for people with 24" LCDs that are also on a video card budget, but those with a 1280x1024 LCD won't see the same level of increase over a singe card.

...it's still a powerful setup for the money provided that one already has an SLI board no matter how you slice it.

 

[Avalon]

Guys, guys...it's getting a little crazy in here.

The 9600GT is not half of a G92. Please, look at the specs of the cards that have been listed on several hardware sites. G94 simply has half the shader processors, with most other things being the same. With shader processors only being one part of the whole picture when it comes to performance, it stands to reason that going to half the SP's of a G92 is not going to cause a 50% drop in gaming performance, or likewise that the G94 is not some heavily tweaked part to be able to come near the G92 in performance in some cases. Just like how going from a 512bit to 256bit bus from R600->RV670 barely hampered performance (that the additional clocks helped to mitigate).

I would expect a 128SP "9600GT" to perform almost identical to an 8800GTS G92. Likewise, unless the upcoming 9800 series cards up something besides the shader count (ie bandwidith, ROPs, clock speed, shader speed, texture units), they shouldn't perform too differently from the current 8800GTS G92 we have now.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Cheex

Originally posted by: nitromullet

Originally posted by: Cheex

Originally posted by: Killrose
182% efficiency?

I think they need to rethink thier logic, LOL

Why?

1 x 9600GT = 100%
2 x 9600GT = 182%

That is a performance ratio. What is there to rethink?

...that's 182 out of a possible 200... Which gives you 90% efficiency, not 182%. Still very nice though.

Well, if you are really going to look at it that way, then it is 91%...but I'm not nit-picking about it...

That is still amazing because we all know you're NOT going to get 100% all the time but 91% is VERY, VERY, GOOD!!

you are also not going to get 91% efficiency most of the time

and you just might kick yourself if you don't wait a bit ... especially if you are going for a 19x12 LCD

 

[ArchAngel777]

Originally posted by: Extelleron

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003
Micro Center has an eVGA 8800GT for 219.00. And a 8800GTS for 319.00. Is 16 shaders and a better cooler worth 100 bucks?

I didn't think so.

You can get an 8800GTS 512MB for as low as $260 AR online. You can get an 8800GT online for $199.99 AR.

So the difference is $60, not $100.

If you are overclocking, then yes it is worth it in most cases. The 8800GTS G92 acheives higher overclocks than the GT, it's not too uncommon to see near 800MHz on the core with the GTS model. With the GT it's hard to get much beyond 700MHz.

The dual slot cooler alone is worth $50 for me. Ejecting the hot air INTO my computer (like the 8800GT) is pretty silly... It will perpetually get hotter and hotter unless you can exhaust all of that air out quickly.

I did make a bad decision though in buying my 8800GTS. I predicted there would be a shortage of supply and combined with the fact that my main rig was without a card during that time I became impatient and paid $350 for the card, with NO game. Now, two months later, I can pickup the same card 80-90 bucks cheaper AND get a free game with it. So my educated guess slammed right back at me... Such is the nature of the game :-/

 

[Rusin]

Originally posted by: Cheex


Well, if you are really going to look at it that way, then it is 91%...but I'm not nit-picking about it...

That is still amazing because we all know you're NOT going to get 100% all the time but 91% is VERY, VERY, GOOD!!

Good thing is that Expreview is already third site that claims 9600 GT card scales well in SLI.

In Firingsquad test 9600 GT SLI's scaling:
1600x1200 4xAA 16xAF: 68% [HD3870 59%]
1900x1200 4xAA 16xAF: 79% [HD3870 69%]

In ComputerBase test:
1600x1200 4xAA 16xAF: 81% [HD3870 68%]

Now that I checked; 8800 GT seems to scale in SLI very well with current drivers. At least in firingsquads test it did scale as well as HD3870 at both resolutions.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: ArchAngel777

The dual slot cooler alone is worth $50 for me. Ejecting the hot air INTO my computer (like the 8800GT) is pretty silly... It will perpetually get hotter and hotter unless you can exhaust all of that air out quickly.

I did make a bad decision though in buying my 8800GTS. I predicted there would be a shortage of supply and combined with the fact that my main rig was without a card during that time I became impatient and paid $350 for the card, with NO game. Now, two months later, I can pickup the same card 80-90 bucks cheaper AND get a free game with it. So my educated guess slammed right back at me... Such is the nature of the game :-/

i don't ever want a single slot cooler again ... unless the GPU runs really really cool
--i can't even imagine the furnace that would be my case with Crossfired 2900s circulating fiery air inside ... as it is, the 2nd Pro and more highly OC'd CPU didn't raise temp much if at all.
:sun:

as to 'timing' ... you win some and you lose some .. next time you will forget all about it in your joy over a sale. Forget the 'free game' - it will be $20 in a few months anyway [almost no matter what it is]. So ... you spent an "extra $45" a months for two months of superior gaming - so what? ... a hellofalot better than suffering for two months with inferior HW you hate

 

[Rusin]

Apoppin:
Yeah! ..

[offtopic]
My solid plan:
Build unique heat sink for both HD2900XT cards and heat-pipe going from those cards to sauna. Have 3dMark 06 looping.. and Enjoy the heat

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Rusin
Apoppin:
Yeah! ..

[offtopic]
My solid plan:
Build unique heat sink for both HD2900XT cards and heat-pipe going from those cards to sauna. Have 3dMark 06 looping.. and Enjoy the heat

well thanks ...


... and i already do that ... they make an awesome blow drier for my hair while i game; just turn the rig around so the rear and the exhaust face you after you step out of the shower and turn the fan to about 80% ...
--it's very quiet for a hair drier

Dual purpose

 

[SickBeast]

Just to de-bunk these questions surrounding the 9600's shaders:

Why doesn't someone with an 8800GT open up RivaTuner, and reduce your shader clockspeed to 50% of your stock speed (should be around 800mhz). That should, in theory, give them equal shading power so long as their SPs are the same.

Then, just benchmark a game. If it benchmarks the same (or very close to the same), it probably means that the G94 and G92 have idential SPs.

If I have time later tonight I'll see what happens when I run my 8800GTS 320mb's shaders at 800mhz. :moon:

 

[Hauk]

Well one thing for sure, both camps have done just what said they'd do, which was to make make midrange multi-gpu's a mainstream option. Anyone recall that post that had quotes from both ATI and nV saying such? I do..

 

[Rusin]

Originally posted by: SickBeast
Just to de-bunk these questions surrounding the 9600's shaders:

Why doesn't someone with an 8800GT open up RivaTuner, and reduce your shader clockspeed to 50% of your stock speed (should be around 800mhz). That should, in theory, give them equal shading power so long as their SPs are the same.

Then, just benchmark a game. If it benchmarks the same (or very close to the same), it probably means that the G94 and G92 have idential SPs.

If I have time later tonight I'll see what happens when I run my 8800GTS 320mb's shaders at 800mhz. :moon:

I did run few tests with my card and used following clocks:
620/1440/902
620/720/902

Unreal Tournament 3: No difference
Lost Planet (DX9): No difference
3DMark06: No difference
Supreme Commander: No difference

 

[thilanliyan]

Originally posted by: Rusin
I did run few tests with my card and used following clocks:
620/1440/902
620/720/902

Unreal Tournament 3: No difference
Lost Planet (DX9): No difference
3DMark06: No difference
Supreme Commander: No difference

No difference whatsoever?? That's news for sure.