[SOLVED] nVidia 9500GT vs 9600GT, which to buy?

[mips]

I can get a XFX 9500GT for a good price?

1. I do not see linux driver support for this gpu or am I mistaken, ftp://download.nvidia.com/XFree86/Linux-x86_64/177.70/README/index.html (ftp://download.nvidia.com/XFree86/Linux-x86_64/177.70/README/appendix-a.html)

2. Are there any know issues with this card in linux generally, using Arc64+KDE4.1?


How does the 9600GT perform. Issue I have is that it is 50% more than the 9500GT in price.

There is a comaprison site out there that I lost the link to that you can compare gpus side by side from a drop down menu, anyone know the site?

EDIT: I found the site, http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php

[mips]

What is the difference between the different series models, ie 8800GT vs 9800GT. From what I gather a 8800GT will outperform a 9600GT?

Why is this and can someone please explain this to me?

What would currently be a good buy that falls into the same price range as the 9500GT to 9600GT?

[Bachstelze]

A 8800 GT will indeed clearly outperform a 9600 GT.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Nvidia_graphics_processing_units

From what I've read in lots of reviews, the 9000 series is generally not worth it. I guess a 8000 would be the best buy, since they got much cheaper when the 9000 series came out, and are still very good cards.

[astroboy78]

It depends what you want to do with it. If you are a gamer, I will suggest that you buy something more powerful that a 9500GT, if you have the financial resources. If you just surf the web and watch videos, a 9500GT will be plenty.

The way it works, the second number (eg. the 5 in 9500) means its power across GPU generations (6000, 7000, 8000, 9000). So even a 6800GT will "beat" a 9500 GT, bechmarking wise. ;)

It's like CPUs. First they produce the 9800GT and then when they get chips that aren't "stable" at the spec speed of a 9800, they tag them 9600, then 9500 and so on. Instead of trashing the chips, they sell them at a cheaper price.

If you want to do some comparison, you can go to:

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/graphics-cards/3dmark06-v1-0-2-hdr-sm3-0-score,538.html

and check benchmarks for different graphic cards. The 9000 series is not there yet, but you'll have a good idea on how it works.

If you have more questions, do not hesitate to ask! :)

[mips]

Thanks for the info, I'm busy looking at the links you guys provided.

I just came back from the pc shop and I also spotted the 8600GT 512MBddr2 from Asus & XFX which are reasonably priced. The 8800 series they have there is more than what I'm willing to pay.

I'm not a gamer, but will be trying CSS in future but that does not have a very high requirement of the GPU from what I have read..

The only reason I'm buying a new card is that my old pc, which I got working again now no longer has a gfx card as I transferred the 6600 to my new PC.

[mips]

From comparison it looks like the 8600GT lags far in performance compared to the 9600GT.

They have a 8800GT 1GB ddr3 in stock but that is more than twice the price of the 9600GT. They also have a 8800GS in stock which is pricier than the 9600GT but outperforms in some areas and loses in others, http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php?card1=551&card2=557

There is also the issue of heat and noisy fans, I think the one 8600GT does not have fans.
I'm thinking 9600GT, what do you guys think? Fortunately they sold out on 9500GTs so that is no longer an issue.

EDIT: These are my options,
http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=2&l2=6&l3=514&l4=0&model=1896&modelmenu=1
http://xfxforce.com/en-gb/products/graphiccards/8series/8600GT.aspx#2 512MB ddr2 version
http://xfxforce.com/en-gb/products/graphiccards/9series/9600GT.aspx#2 650MHz clock version

[geekygirl]

With benchmarking a lot will also depend on the other hardware found in the test bed PC they are using, and the performance you actually get (ie realworld performance) might be a lot different to the benchmark results as well.

Another thing to remember is GPU performance can be very much affected by the drivers in use as well...

Generally speaking the 8800GT 512MB and 9600GT 512MB are very much on par with one another, with the 8800GT only edging out the 9600GT in the higher resolutions. To say that the 9600GT is basically a rebadged or slightly newer version of an 8600GT couldn't be further from the truth.

I have compared the real world results of my XFX 9600GT and also my evga 8800GTS 320M KO ACS3 (which was the fastest 8800GTS 320M at the time) and the 9600GT more than keeps up, an 8600GT wouldn't. Given that both times I was running Bioshock with shaders and graphics turned up, on a 1280x1024 resolution the difference between the two was rather minimal - pretty much the reason I kept the 9600GT rather than sell it and get an 8800GT....

The 9600GT is a good buy for mid to low end budget gaming PC's, but it is nothing like an 8600GT, more like an 8800GT 512MB, but not quite! It will also run most 3D games (yes it struggled with Crysis..but so do most cards, and it took a mate of mine to run in Crossfire 2 HD4870X2 cards to get it to run well!)

The 9 series GPU's run quite well with Ubuntu, just had to use envy to install the latest drivers.

[mips]

I have compared the real world results of my XFX 9600GT and also my evga 8800GTS 320M KO ACS3 (which was the fastest 8800GTS 320M at the time) and the 9600GT more than keeps up, an 8600GT wouldn't. Given that both times I was running Bioshock with shaders and graphics turned up, on a 1280x1024 resolution the difference between the two was rather minimal - pretty much the reason I kept the 9600GT rather than sell it and get an 8800GT....

Thanks for that, you just made up my mind for me. Always easier hearing from someone that has owned & tested both than comparing specs on a web page ;)

I'm off to the shop seeing the only have one 9600GT left ;)

Thanks to everyone that provided input in this thread, much appreciated!!!

Will provide feedback once I get back and have installed it.

[mips]

geekygirl,

Ok, got my card & installed it. What is that tiny little cable that comes with the card for? I don't see any mention of it in the instructions.

[zekopeko]

geekygirl,

Ok, got my card & installed it. What is that tiny little cable that comes with the card for? I don't see any mention of it in the instructions.

you'll we get a pic?

[mips]

you'll we get a pic?

As soon as my cameras batteries are charged.

[mips]

Never mind about the two pin cable, I figured it out. It is a SPDIF cable to feed audio from your MB to your gfx cards HDMI out.

Can be seen in the 5th picture here, http://www.legitreviews.com/article/679/2/

[mips]

The card I got is a XFX GeForce 9600 GT 512MB DDR3 Standard (PV-T96G-YDF4)
Drivers I'm using are nVidia 177.70 beta

All is working just fine:)

[zachtib]

Nice. I almost ordered a 9600GT, but for less money, I got an 8800GT. Should arrive today.

[geekygirl]

The card I got is a XFX GeForce 9600 GT 512MB DDR3 Standard (PV-T96G-YDF4)
Drivers I'm using are nVidia 177.70 beta

All is working just fine:)

Nice :)

[Tindytim]

Yeah, I got a 9800 GTX ($170 USD) and I'm using the same drivers.

The 9 series GPU's run quite well with Ubuntu, just had to use envy to install the latest drivers.
I had issues with the Envy install on x64. So I did it manually, and it runs great.

[mips]

Nice. I almost ordered a 9600GT, but for less money, I got an 8800GT. Should arrive today.

The 8800GT is more expensive than the 9600GT by a significant margin over here.

[mips]

Nice :)

That's what I thought but I'm going to have to find a silent cooling solution for this card. My old Gigabyte 6600 used silent pipe technology.I hate fan noise ;)

[mips]

Yeah, I got a 9800 GTX ($170 USD) and I'm using the same drivers.

I had issues with the Envy install on x64. So I did it manually, and it runs great.

Lucky bugger on the 9800GTX.

I use Arch so I just install the beta drivers from AUR which is pretty easy.

Going from a plain 6600 to a 9600GT is a huge improvement for me :)

[spoons]

8500GT = 9400 series
8600GT = 9500 series
8800GT = IDENTICAL to 9800GT
8800GTS 512mb = 9800GTX & 9800GTX+ (9800GTX+ pulls away slightly)
8800GTX = 9800GTX (8800GTX wins with lots of AA or ultra high res, 9800GTX wins with more shading going on.

[mips]

Hmm, this card apparently overclocks very well.

http://www.bjorn3d.com/read.php?cID=1243&pageID=4567
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/Shady_9600_GT

.

[fatality_uk]

Just to add a little here. I have seen real world from most of the cards mentioned and I went for the xfx 8800GT 1GB DDR3. Amazing card and I picked up one here in the UK for £150

[anywebloco]

Amazing card and I picked up one here in the UK for £150

I'm in the UK too and struggling to find the 8800 for much less than £200. Where'd you get yours?

[Tindytim]

Wait, wait , wait.

You paid £150 (~$265) for an 8800GT, and I bought a 9800GTX for $170 (~£95). Must be the bad american economy.

Jeez I bet I could make a good bit of cash shipping things from Newegg to the UK.

[REMcCain]

Wait a sec, you can get the 9600gt to run with hardy?

I recently upgraded my to a opteron 180 and a 9600gt and Ubuntu refused to install. The 32 bit doesn't work, the 64 bit doesn't work, the live cd's don't work... nothing works.

I understood it to be a Nividia driver issue and after some research, I decided I wasn't going through all the trouble to command-line install a driver.

[Tindytim]

Wait a sec, you can get the 9600gt to run with hardy?

I recently upgraded my to a opteron 180 and a 9600gt and Ubuntu refused to install. The 32 bit doesn't work, the 64 bit doesn't work, the live cd's don't work... nothing works.

I understood it to be a Nividia driver issue and after some research, I decided I wasn't going through all the trouble to command-line install a driver.

Ubuntu refused to install, or the Driver?

[fatality_uk]

I'm in the UK too and struggling to find the 8800 for much less than £200. Where'd you get yours?

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0079529484.122064132 0@@@@&BV_EngineID=cceeadefdilddfkcflgceggdhhmdgmi.0&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=037238&category_oid=

And that's the 1GB version :) Don't bother with the XFX drivers, the nVidia reference drivers are much faster.

[Lord Xeb]

Just to let you know, the 9500GT will overclock like crazy. You can take it from the stock 550MHz to about 750 to 800 MHz! Also the mem overclocks nicely too.

[REMcCain]

Ubuntu refused to install, or the Driver?

Sorry about the lack of info, I should know better.
The previous setup was a 2800 athelon 64 & ATI x300se

I now have a dual core Opteron 180, 2.5GB RAM, and Zotac geforce 9600gt running on a A8AE-LE mobo. 250GB primary, 80GB secondary HD's, 16x dvdrw

Standard configuration, nothing modded/oc'ed

I was running Hardy, but once I slapped the new processor and video, I had boot issues - as in I got dropped to the command line.

So long story short, I went thru many attempts to make Hardy work with my new setup, all to no avail. [ That includes complete reinstall of 32 & 64 bit edition & live cd.
After wasting several hours of my time, I finally re-installed XP and decided to wait for the next version that would correct the driver issue. Just for jijjles a few weeks ago I attempted to run Ubuntu from USB - no go. However, the Feisty live cd did work, as did a version of pendrive linux. Hardy, it seems, is right out. ]

I have enough knowledge and ability to drop to the command line and sudo this and that and make it work (when there is actually a solution), but I'm not going to do it. Either it goes in smooth the first time or it doesn't, because I don't waste my time kludging.

I'll just make another attempt once the issues are resolved.

[PurposeOfReason]

Hmm, this card apparently overclocks very well.

http://www.bjorn3d.com/read.php?cID=1243&pageID=4567
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/Shady_9600_GT

.
Very well. I have one and got it to play crisis on all high.

[Tindytim]

Sorry about the lack of info, I should know better.
The previous setup was a 2800 athelon 64 & ATI x300se

I now have a dual core Opteron 180, 2.5GB RAM, and Zotac geforce 9600gt running on a A8AE-LE mobo. 250GB primary, 80GB secondary HD's, 16x dvdrw

Standard configuration, nothing modded/oc'ed

I was running Hardy, but once I slapped the new processor and video, I had boot issues - as in I got dropped to the command line.

So long story short, I went thru many attempts to make Hardy work with my new setup, all to no avail. After wasting several hours of my time, I finally re-installed XP and decided to wait for the next version that would correct the driver issue.

I have enough knowledge and ability to drop to the command line and sudo this and that and make it work (when there is actually a solution), but I'm not going to do it. Either it goes in smooth the first time or it doesn't, because I don't waste my time kludging.

I'll just make another attempt once the issues are resolved.

I had a similar issue where I installed multiple new components. I just reinstalled Ubuntu, and that worked fine afterward.

[mips]

Very well. I have one and got it to play crisis on all high.

Thats good news as i thought Crisis was a GPU killer.

Will Crisis run on XP if it has DX10?

[fatality_uk]

Is DX10 available for WinXP? I thought it was still only Vista?

[Tindytim]

DX10 is Vista only. But Crysis can use DX9 and XP.

[mips]

Is DX10 available for WinXP? I thought it was still only Vista?

Officially, no. Unofficially, yes.

Read into that what you want ;)

[PurposeOfReason]

Thats good news as i thought Crisis was a GPU killer.

Will Crisis run on XP if it has DX10?
Only one way to find out. ;)

Next time I'm in Vista I'll post my OC settings.

[macadavy]

Just to let you know, the 9500GT will overclock like crazy. You can take it from the stock 550MHz to about 750 to 800 MHz! Also the mem overclocks nicely too.

Any pointers to where I can learn more about overclocking the GeForce 9500GT? TIA

[mips]

Any pointers to where I can learn more about overclocking the GeForce 9500GT? TIA

In Windows or Linux?

For Windows look at RivaTuner. Also see the link in one of my posts above about overclocking.

There are many dedicated overclocking sites out there with usefull info.

[handy]

I didn't read the page again, but I think it is the one in the link provided that states that the 9XXX series of nVidia GPU's use less energy than the 8XXX series.

I think the 9 series are a finer die.

http://www.anandtech.com/printarticle.aspx?i=3413

[mips]

Ah, so I'm greener as well :)