GeForce 8800 GT v 9600 GT

[Cov(enant)]

This subject has been touched 1000 times ... but the opinions are still controverse.

The GeForce 8800 GT was the non-plus-ultra card since its first appearance last year.

Since the GeForce 9600 GT is out, two groups of fans have built up.
Each group claims their card to be the better choice (performance aside).

As the 9600 has been now reported to run much cooler (interesting for people with SFF pc cases) I wonder if anyone can confirm that ?

Since I'm about to order the graphics card soon, I need to clear the picture a bit first, with your help:
I would like to request from those of you who had the chance to have tested BOTH cards, to give us your opinion please.

I have recently spoken with an online friend who has both cards and recommended the 9600 as the better choice.
Reason: the performance is absolutely sufficient while the power consumption is much lower than the 8800.

Idle 31°C / Load 48°C (compared to 60°C on load for the 8800)

http://www.abload.de/img/9600gtoc852.jpg
(thank you pvhk from hardforum)


Please don't reply to this thread by just saying: The xxxx is much better / Don't get this - get that !! or I have the xxxx and it's the best.
It's not about reaching the first place but making the most reasonable choice by collecting unbiased opinions, based on facts.

Please only reply if you can give some relevant data regarding performance & temperatures.


Thank you ... :)

[cloned]

Well the 8800 GT has far more stream processors and can be had for under $200 at newegg. That gives it better performance at higher resolutions, more AA and higher shader settings in games.

I would recommend it for someone that is really tight on money. As for temps I can't say much on those since I only have a 8800 GT right now but the lower temps would help with overclocking a good deal I would imagine just like a cooler running CPU.

[xMrBunglex]

if the price difference is relatively small, i'd pick an 8800 GT too. i've heard rumors that the initial 9600 reviews were a bit misleading because the reviewers might have accidentally overclocked the 9600's (i think an article was linked to XS when the news was leaked but i can't find it now). at any rate, the extra SP's are there for a reason. i have trouble believing a 9600 can really keep up with an 88GT in new games with high settings.

[George_o/c]

There are some versions of the 9600GT that are equipped with 1 GB of memory ... Well that's another marketing trick, since the only difference in comparison with the 512 MB ones, is that in extremely high resolutions (like 1920 x 1200) [even with AA and AF enabled] you can get a couple more FPSs ... :p:

8800GT is more powerful than 9600GT in terms of both shader and texturing power ;) Bare in mind though, that even if 8800GT is overall better, in some cases they are both equal ... :)

All in all, I'd go for the 8800GT ;)

P.S. Are you sure you can not find some more money, so that you buy the GTS ... ? That would be a hundrend times better ... :D :up:

[Cov(enant)]

Alright so I'm still waiting for any of my three retailers to get the Wolfdale in, then it will be decision-time ... but for the vga-cooler I have the Zalman VF900-CU in mind.

http://www.abload.de/img/6653cr.jpg

Has anyone got this one ? Does it fit on the 8800 GT card ?

[cloned]

Yeah I have one on mine right now and I am pretty sure that picture is of a 8800 GT with a VF900.

[Funky]

Alright so I'm still waiting for any of my three retailers to get the Wolfdale in, then it will be decision-time ... but for the vga-cooler I have the Zalman VF900-CU in mind.



Has anyone got this one ? Does it fit on the 8800 GT card ?

Yes it does....
Here you go, sitting on my card for 2 months :)

http://www.imgx.org/thumbs/large/9645_ou3ob/100_3929.JPG (http://www.imgx.org/view/full/9645_ou3ob)
http://www.imgx.org/thumbs/large/9646_0evox/100_3931.JPG (http://www.imgx.org/view/full/9646_0evox)
http://www.imgx.org/thumbs/large/9657_dbnjs/100_3925.JPG (http://www.imgx.org/view/full/9657_dbnjs)

[Luka_Aveiro]

http://www.abload.de/img/6653cr.jpg

This is a 8800GT nVidia's reference design image.

[Dumo]

9600GT all stock air...

http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/2937/screenshot295lp2.jpg

http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/1207/screenshot287hp1.jpg

Will run 8800GT next

[Cov(enant)]

Awesome !! :)

You guys must play all the top title of the previous years with this card.

See, I'm still messing around with my on-borad graphics, with a low rate of frames per seconds - nobody would put up with ... that sucks though.
Many PC games won't even bother to install because of my too low spec PC.

I guess I'm gonna see a little difference when going for this little upgrade, hehe.


By the way, I will also change from my 17" Compaq to a 24" Dell (2408) monitor.
Hope this one is the right choice but that might be another thread.

[LightSpeed]

i feel that as newer games come out, the extra shader processors at the 8800GT's disposal will come into use. for now, all the 112 SP's arent utlilsed that efficiently

8800GT and GTS's perform almost the same when similarly clocked. the extra 16SP's make almost no difference.

hence, for now, the 9600 may seem more efficient. But newer titles may change that

[Kryckter]

I would vote for the 9600 for the mean time:)

[ClockCatcher]

8800GT is better ofc.

[xMrBunglex]

lol @ the mixed opinions here. the disagreement is probably caused by how well the 9600's have performed in all the reviews so far. it doesn't seem right that the card with 64 SP's can keep up with the 112-SP card. something seems off to me.

[eknny]

lol @ the mixed opinions here. the disagreement is probably caused by how well the 9600's have performed in all the reviews so far. it doesn't seem right that the card with 64 SP's can keep up with the 112-SP card. something seems off to me.

Exactly what I was thinking, the 9600gt just seems too good to be true!

[largon]

It seems G94 has some serious optimizations over G92 given the deficit of 64SPs doesn't yield a huge performance hit.

btw, I'm going to get rid of my G92GTS 512MB and downgrade to a Palit 9600GT which costs about ½ of what I'll get for selling the GTS.

[Verisimilitude]

Well the 8800 GT has far more stream processors and can be had for under $200 at newegg. That gives it better performance at higher resolutions, more AA and higher shader settings in games.

Actually, the 512 of 9600GT makes it far and away the better choice at res's over 1650x1080. Streaming processors don't mean anything when you can't hold the 01's in memory to display to the monitor.

A 9600GT @ 700core 105pcie will be a better card than a 8800GT on anything larger than 1280x1024.

For those calling SP#'s, the 2900 had several more SP's than the 8800's...

[sfdmalex]

Well with a E6300 @ 3.0 the 8800GT runs Crysis on all high settings at 35 FPS (results from the Crysis benchmark) @ 1680x1050

At all settings on medium @ 1680x1050 it runs @ 65FPS!


Keep in mind it OCed.

And reading GURU3d at least the 9600 doesnt beat the 8800 in anything.

[cloned]

Actually, the 512 of 9600GT makes it far and away the better choice at res's over 1650x1080. Streaming processors don't mean anything when you can't hold the 01's in memory to display to the monitor.

A 9600GT @ 700core 105pcie will be a better card than a 8800GT on anything larger than 1280x1024.

For those calling SP#'s, the 2900 had several more SP's than the 8800's...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048%20106791921%201067932704%201068310557&bop=And&Order=PRICE

512MB 8800 GTs, all most of which are around $200 or less after mail-in rebate. What did you think I meant the 256MB version?

[Verisimilitude]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048%20106791921%201067932704%201068310557&bop=And&Order=PRICE

512MB 8800 GTs, all most of which are around $200 or less after mail-in rebate. What did you think I meant the 256MB version?

and almost all the 9600GT's are around 150$ after MIR... is the 8800GT even 10% better? Highly debatable

[sfdmalex]

and almost all the 9600GT's are around 150$ after MIR... is the 8800GT even 10% better? Highly debatable

read this

http://guru3d.com/article/Videocards/504/

[Cov(enant)]

and this

BFGTech GeForce 9600 GT OC (http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTQ2NiwxLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==)

... what impressed me was the difference in the temperatures:

http://www.abload.de/img/temperature96008800isuj.gif

... In the case of Crysis we saw the most advantage for gameplay with the 8800 GT allowing us to enable “High” shaders quality at 1280x1024. In some games though, like COD 4, and UT3 the improvement wasn’t as big, ...

Is it worth accepting the disadvantages of higher price and temperatures for the 8800 just because of the "high shaders quality" in Crysis ? Everything else you throw at the 9600 seems to be a childs play.

You have here a 64 streaming processor GPU (9600 GT) beating a 320 streaming processor GPU (3870). This goes a long way to prove that there are major architectural differences between both GPUs that a simple glance at a spec sheet will not explain. The picture is painted even prettier in favor of the 9600 GT when you look back on the previous page and note that the BFGTech GeForce 9600 GT OC is pulling this kind of performance with cooler temperatures and lower full-load power draw of all the video cards tested here.

What to do - what to do ? :confused:

[ClockCatcher]

Actually, the 512 of 9600GT makes it far and away the better choice at res's over 1650x1080. Streaming processors don't mean anything when you can't hold the 01's in memory to display to the monitor.

A 9600GT @ 700core 105pcie will be a better card than a 8800GT on anything larger than 1280x1024.

For those calling SP#'s, the 2900 had several more SP's than the 8800's...

Are you idiot or are you joking? I hope you are just joking, because otherwhise you are really stupid and don't really know anything... :rofl: :rofl:

[Kosior]

Are you idiot or are you joking? I hope you are just joking, because otherwhise you are really stupid and don't really know anything... :rofl: :rofl:


We know nothing about the difference between SPUs in 9600gt and 8800gt but it turns that there is a difference as 9600 got half of 8800's SPUs and it still performs quite good

Having said all that, I'm wondering if nVIDIA hid something ;o

P.S.
to ClockCatcher - hopu you will correct your message, cuz double negation in english means true like "-(-) = +. Someone can misunderstand.

[Verisimilitude]

Are you idiot or are you joking? I hope you are just joking, because otherwhise you are really stupid and don't really know anything... :rofl: :rofl:

You're about as witty as a gnat aren't you?

I originally believed we were talking about the same price point which is a 256 8800GT (which is still alittle over the price of a 9600GT). At that point my statement is 100% correct.

[Verisimilitude]

Are you idiot or are you joking? I hope you are just joking, because otherwhise you are really stupid and don't really know anything... :rofl: :rofl:

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3234&p=1

Just incase tard brain wants to refute me with more ignorance.

[kiikkuja]

Have you seen this (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=181216)?

I'm not sure if it's anything to be worried about though. :shrug:

[cloned]

Kiikuja, thanks for the info. I can't wait to see how it affects other future cards.

And clockcatcher calm down man, there is no need to be insulting people here. Verisimilitude did bring good points and was very respectful. In any matter both are good cards with the 8800 GTs have an edge in higher resolutions, textures and maybe longevity if you ask me, but honestly if you are at the resolutions where it makes a significant difference you are probably outside the midrange selection of cards.

[vcp-cur]

http://www.abload.de/img/6653cr.jpg

This is a 8800GT nVidia's reference design image.


is it worth it getting this cooling for the EVGA 9600GT ?

[ClockCatcher]

Verisimilitude: I thought that you talked about 8800GT 512MB vs. 9600GT, not 8800GT 256MB. So no offence.

[Kosior]

is it worth it getting this cooling for the EVGA 9600GT ?

Of course it is. It'll just be as cold as it can be and it will let you do some serious volt mod :D

[vcp-cur]

Of course it is. It'll just be as cold as it can be and it will let you do some serious volt mod :D

ok .. i wanted to know if it fits the 9600gt ..

volt modding the 9600gt? you got a site for that?

i can barely overclock my 9600gt i think it gets too hot..

[B.E.E.F.]

Can the 9600GT do Softquadro? And when are they supposed to release Hybrid SLi for the 9xxx series?

[gurusan]

I was under the impression that SoftQuadro and softFireGl were pointless as the rendering features are still disabled.

[B.E.E.F.]

I was under the impression that SoftQuadro and softFireGl were pointless as the rendering features are still disabled.

Mostly. The Quadro drivers can still be used after a little modification. Not all the features, but stable like a Quadro in 3D Apps.

[jas420221]

Owning both cards at one point, I have to say 8800gt hands down. The 9600gt is a benchmarking queen scoring about 1k less than my 8800gt at similar CPU clocks. When playing a game, the 8800gt pulls away noticeably from its younger cousin. In COD4 I would be in the 90fps range with lows in the 60s-70s (8800gt). With the 9600gt I would be sitting in the 70s with lows in the 40s and 50s.

Crysis...dont even bother with one 9600gt.

[Cov(enant)]

Owning both cards at one point, ...

Crysis...dont even bother with one 9600gt.

Ok, the BFG 8800 GT it is then for me. ;)

[Cov(enant)]

Alright, have ordered the eVGA GeForce 8800 GT a few minutes ago.
I wasn't sure about this card when I placed the order for my other computer items, but the person who took the order convinced me to the point that this is the card to go for and he managed to calm me down regarding my heat-problem concerns ... I then just ordered it .

I know for Crysis and Flightsimulator X for example - every single FPS counts.
Hopefully I won't get my case in flames one day, hehe.

eVGA ! Please don't let me down !


http://www.abload.de/img/evgageforce8800gtrd9.jpg

I was really unsure which one to get, the 8800 GT or the 9600 GT.
The 9600 is reported to run approx 20 degrees cooler but has about 10 to 15 % lower performance.