[gamefreak94]

FINALLY have enough for an average upgrade on this. Initially I was looking somewhere around the 9800GTX or so, but then I realized my 400W ASUS PSU sucks really bad and I don't want to be in a position where it messes up everything.

So I'm looking slightly below. The 9600GT seems like the sweet-spot right now. And what's more, EVGA is making a low power version of it that doesn't even need a 4-pin PCIe connector and it's available here oO

I looked up some reviews on this specific product and people were praising it that it does, indeed give the same performance as any other 9600GT. Also, the fact that it doesn't need a PCIe connector is an obvious indication that the card uses <60W since the PCIe slot can't provide any more (also it's written on EVGA's site that it only need 20A on the +12V rail which my PSU can output).

That's all well and good, but I have some doubts which I wanna confirm first:

1) The store's only giving a 1 year warranty on EVGA products, I've seen people say that you shouldn't buy EVGA unless it offers life-time warranty since their products are liable to fail.

2) Are people getting fooled with performance? I mean what's so special in how EVGA made it that allows it to perform just as good without any performance loss? I know for a fact that many a times, random comments on the internet can be deceptive.

3) Should I go for the XFX version which requires a PCIe connector and hope that my PSU doesn't give way (I'm fairly convinced it won't)? I've heard XFX make the best Nvidia cards aside from ASUS and this is slightly cheaper too.
Graphic Cards - NVIDIA GeForce® 9 Series - NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT (see #4 i.e. Standard version).

Input in appreciated

 

[Squall-Leonhart]

XFX's tech support is the worst in the world.

 

[gamefreak94]

So I should stick with the safe side and go with EVGA?

 

[koko]

Graphic Cards - NVIDIA GeForce® 9 Series - NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT

1GB version, if you can buy it. Nowadays some games request more amount of memory.

Edit; XFX is not a new manufactory, they have the experience and they have the good reputation.

 

[gamefreak94]

The only 1GB version available is by Inno3D which I don't want to buy cuz their products suck, and it has MASSIVE power requirements for some reason (like 30A on the +12V rail! That's as much as a GTX260!).

 

[Squall-Leonhart]

XFX tech support said that the second card not downclocking is normal.

... i don't consider that to be good tech support.
everyone knows its a driver bug

 

[redlofredlof]

I say go for XFX, I've had two cards from XFX, 6600 and now 9500GT.
ps: their tech support is not bad at all and they reply fast. Plus XFX cards look good :wub:

 

[46480]

Go for the Evga.

Seriously I would be happy with a warranty of 1 year.
In computer hardware by the time the warranty is out, you will see Geforce 400 or 500 series in the market.

 

[Spyhop]

It doesn't really matter.

 

[redlofredlof]

I've 3 year warranty on both my XFX cards. the last card 6600 got kaput in the last week of its 3 yr warranty and I got a new replacement card with complete new driver CD and DVIto Analog connector.

 

[koko]

The only 1GB version available is by Inno3D which I don't want to buy cuz their products suck, and it has MASSIVE power requirements for some reason (like 30A on the +12V rail! That's as much as a GTX260!).

How about Sparkle? . Worst manufacturer ever :lol:

 

[gamefreak94]

Sparkle isn't available here (I wonder why)

I say go for XFX, I've had two cards from XFX, 6600 and now 9500GT.
ps: their tech support is not bad at all and they reply fast. Plus XFX cards look good :wub:

Actually, I'm gonna be getting the EVGA one. It costs like Rs.350 ($4.5) more then the XFX one and it's a low power consumption model. I'm fairly certain my PSU would hold up the XFX one as well but there's still an element of risk that it might not and I don't want myself in that kinda position.

The fact that this low power version doesn't even have PCIe power connector is a clear indication that its consumption never exceeds 60W (since that's the max. amount of current that can be delivered to a PCIe slot).

 

[runawayprisoner]

Look, Ma! No PCI-E 4-peen!

PC Perspective - Galaxy GeForce 9600 GT LP Review - Low Power, Low Profile

No, seriously... go for a normal 9600GT. :innocent: Build a PCI-E adapter out of scraps if you need one. A 300W PSU would be enough for this ****er and an average Core 2 Duo.

Alternatively, opt for a HD4770 if you are bored with emulation. Or if you don't care much for OpenGL. A 9600GT LP is only necessary when you need to lower power consumption at absolutely any cost. Otherwise, it's a waste of bucks.

 

[Squall-Leonhart]

i think hes sticking with nvidia, because he does care about emulation.

 

[redlofredlof]

Sparkle isn't available here (I wonder why)



Actually, I'm gonna be getting the EVGA one. It costs like Rs.350 ($4.5) more then the XFX one and it's a low power consumption model. I'm fairly certain my PSU would hold up the XFX one as well but there's still an element of risk that it might not and I don't want myself in that kinda position.

The fact that this low power version doesn't even have PCIe power connector is a clear indication that its consumption never exceeds 60W (since that's the max. amount of current that can be delivered to a PCIe slot).

have you checked the technical details like clock speed etc etc.
no extra power supply means a downpowered card/features removed and so on. even a 350w power supply will work for the card xfx9600 just don't overclock it. whats the manufacturing process of this card in nm?

 

[P_RePTiLe]

These wattage-speculations..

This is what i use for my C2D & XFX GTX260 "xxx".

Ace Gears 4 ATX 500W - DATAPARADISET.COM


But irregardless, gt9600 should be a good choice.
Brand is not that important, as long as you do not go with a card+manufacturer combo that has been proven broken.

 

[raksmey1309]

Go for ASUS EN8800GT 1GB > 9600GT

 

[gamefreak94]

Look, Ma! No PCI-E 4-peen!

PC Perspective - Galaxy GeForce 9600 GT LP Review - Low Power, Low Profile

No, seriously... go for a normal 9600GT. :innocent: Build a PCI-E adapter out of scraps if you need one. A 300W PSU would be enough for this ****er and an average Core 2 Duo.

Alternatively, opt for a HD4770 if you are bored with emulation. Or if you don't care much for OpenGL. A 9600GT LP is only necessary when you need to lower power consumption at absolutely any cost. Otherwise, it's a waste of bucks.

Hmm....I thought people would say this. The PSU doesn't have a PCIe power connector but I do have 2 free peripheral connectors and I could use a 2x Molex to PCIe cable, right?

i think hes sticking with nvidia, because he does care about emulation.

Actually, emulation isn't very high on my priority. Linux is though, last time I installed Ubuntu on a VM, the GUI was stuttering and showing jaggies a LOT and I sure don't want that again. Plus, I'm looking for a bit of change. When I upgrade from the 9600GT I'll probably get bored of Forceware and go back to CCC

have you checked the technical details like clock speed etc etc.
no extra power supply means a downpowered card/features removed and so on. even a 350w power supply will work for the card xfx9600 just don't overclock it. whats the manufacturing process of this card in nm?

:O You have a point there xD But the problem is that the online store doesn't link to the exact product page, it links to the page listing all the sub-models of the 9600GT, from downclocked ones, up to highly OC'ed editions.

Edit: Scratch that, it's selling the standard 1800MHz edition (i.e. the same as the EVGA one). So it looks like my choice is set!

P.S. I was looking around the net and some people were actually saying that at lower resolutions, the 9600GSO beats the 9600GT cuz it has more shader pipelines, would this be true at 1280x1024 or 1024x768?

 

[-StrikE-]

i think hes sticking with nvidia, because he does care about emulation.

Stop saying that ati and emulation do get along now

Linux is though, last time I installed Ubuntu on a VM, the GUI was stuttering and showing jaggies a LOT and I sure don't want that again. Plus, I'm looking for a bit of change. When I upgrade from the 9600GT I'll probably get bored of Forceware and go back to CCC

Yeah i noticed you like linux and linux + ati is a bad idea unfortunately...

On another note i don't think you'll have problems getting bored of forceware its a well made piece of software .

 

[P_RePTiLe]

I Actually use only three Molex to Get two PCI-E power for my gtx, and my amp is only 480W. Either i am lucky, or you don't need that much power less you "go sli".
A friend rated how much power my system used and i think it was around 200W or so.