NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 and GeForce GTX 280 Announced

NVIDIA, the leader in visual computing technologies, today introduced its new family of GeForce GTX 200 graphics processors (GPUs) — which includes the GeForce GTX 280 and GeForce GTX 260 GPUs — taking graphics beyond gaming and gaming beyond anything that's ever been possible before on a consumer computing platform.



"The advances NVIDIA continues to make in visual computing are simply incredible, and we are excited to be one of the first companies in the world to offer the technology in the new Exhilaration Edition of the award-winning HP Blackbird 002," said Rahul Sood, chief technology officer, HP Voodoo Business Unit. "Exceptional graphics quality and performance is important to our customers, and now the GeForce GTX 200 GPUs are bringing something else into the mix. By using the GPU to enhance everyday applications such as video encoding and manipulating photos, HP Blackbird 002 is one of the most cutting-edge PC platforms ever designed."

Graphics Beyond Gaming
One of the most powerful processors in the PC is the GPU. Rendering 3D images in real-time is just about the most mathematically intensive task your PC will ever undertake, but it's not the only one. As PC applications become increasingly visual, many ordinary tasks will benefit from the graphics horsepower provided by the GPU, including encoding and playing high-definition videos, editing photos, getting driving directions off the Internet, or simply running a new operating system like Windows Vista.

"Millions of users around the world know how time consuming it is to convert their home videos for use on video sharing sites such as YouTube or for downloading to popular media players such as the iPod," said Sam Blackman, CEO of Elemental Technologies. "Elemental has developed the BadaBOOM Media Converter, a consumer video application scheduled for release in August. By taking advantage of the massively parallel, general-purpose computing architecture of a GeForce GPU, we are able to transcode high-quality video 18 times faster than with CPU-only implementations. This unprecedented performance scaling is the reason why we have made sure that our RapiHDTM Video Platform takes advantage of NVIDIA GPUs."

By recognizing that the value of a GPU transcends gaming, an increasing number of applications are also being written that use the GPU for straight, non-graphical computational tasks. For example, Stanford University's distributed computing computational program Folding@Home, combines the computing horsepower of millions of consumer GPUs to simulate protein folding to help find cures for diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's. With the computing processing power of the GeForce GTX family, applications such as Folding@Home and others can run upwards of 140 times faster on an NVIDIA general-purpose parallel processor than on some of today's traditional CPUs.

"GeForce GPUs will soon deliver the biggest boost in processing power we've seen in the history of Folding@Home," said Vijay Pande, Associate Professor of Chemistry, Stanford University. "The GeForce GTX 280 GPU runs Folding@Home 45 times faster than the latest 3GHz Core2 Quad CPU. If just one percent of the world's GeForce 8- and 9-Series GPUs ran Folding@Home, we would have 70 petaflops of processing power to help find cures for disease. That's 10 times more processing power than the world's top 100 supercomputers combined."

Gaming That's Beyond
The CUDA general-purpose parallel processing mode will usher in a new generation of ultra realistic games. Developers can use the supercomputing power of the "CUDA Computing" mode to simulate realistic, physically accurate effects then render beautiful images using the "GeForce GPU" mode. NVIDIA GPUs are also the only ones to support PhysX technology, the world's most pervasive physics engine that is already delivering dynamic 3D realism to more than 140 games across multiple platforms, and is being used by more than 25,000 developers worldwide. With PhysX, developers can incorporate effects such as rigid body dynamics, collision detection, and cloth simulation that dramatically change the way the games are played and how the on-screen stories unfold, and then accelerate those effects using the processing power of the GPU.

"I haven't been this excited about a new gaming technology in years," said Chris Taylor, CEO and founder of Gas Powered Games. "We're focusing all of our physics efforts on PhysX, and it already delivers the kinds of advanced effects in Space Siege that takes the whole experience to the next level. And in the near-future, you're going to see real-time, Hollywood cinematic-level environmental effects on GPUs like the GeForce GTX 280. We're talking about some wicked-cool technology here!"


Additional features of the GeForce GTX 280 and GeForce GTX 260 GPUs include:
2nd Generation NVIDIA Unified Architecture: Delivers 50% more gaming performance over the Company's previous NVIDIA GeForce 8800 Ultra GPU through 240 enhanced processor cores that provide incredible shading horsepower at resolutions as high as 2560 x 1600.

3-way NVIDIA SLI Technology: Industry leading 3-way NVIDIA SLI technology offers amazing performance scaling by implementing 3-way alternate frame rendering (AFR) for the world's fastest gaming solution under Windows Vista.

NVIDIA PureVideo HD Technology: The combination of HD video decode acceleration and post-processing delivers unprecedented picture clarity, smooth video, accurate color, and precise image scaling for movies and video.

NVIDIA CUDA Technology: With the power of NVIDIA CUDA technology and the new CUDA runtime for Windows Vista, programmers can now offload the most intensive processing tasks from the CPU to the NVIDIA GPUs, putting the power of up to 240 multi-threaded processor cores to work.

Graphics cards featuring GeForce GTX 280 GPUs will be available starting tomorrow from global leading add-in card manufacturers, such as: ASUS, BFG, Emtek, EVGA, Gainward, Galaxy, Gigabyte, Innovision, Leadtek, MSI, Palit, PC Partner/Zotac, PNY, Point of View, Unika, Unitek, and XFX. Graphics cards featuring GeForce GTX 260 GPUs will be available starting on Thursday, June 26, 2008. Suggested retail pricing for the GeForce GTX 280 and GeForce GTX 260 GPUs are $649 and $399, respectively.

BFG Launches Overclocked GeForce GTX 280/260 Cards

BFG Technologies, the leading North American and European supplier of advanced NVIDIA-based 3D graphics cards, power supplies and other PC enthusiast products, announced today the BFG GeForce GTX 280 OC and the BFG GeForce GTX 260 OC graphics cards. With 240 processing cores and 1GB of frame buffer memory, the BFG GeForce GTX 280 OC delivers an average performance improvement that is one and a half times better than high-end GeForce 8 and GeForce 9 series single-GPU graphics cards.


The BFG GeForce GTX 260 OC is targeted at price/performance conscious enthusiasts and includes a reduced number of processing cores (192) and lower frame buffer size (896MB), yet still permits the top 3D games to be played at high resolutions and fast frame rates.

"Backed by our free 24/7/365 world-class tech support and the longest running lifetime warranty in the industry, the BFG GeForce GTX 200 series graphics cards are built from the ground up for amazing next-gen gaming performance and a whole lot more", said John Malley, senior director of marketing for BFG Technologies. "Graphics cards aren't just for gaming anymore. In addition to ripping through DirectX 10 games at blazing fast frame rates, the BFG GeForce GTX 200 series graphics cards give end user systems the power of up to 240 multi-threaded processor cores—offloading the most intensive processing tasks from the CPU to the GPU with unprecedented efficiency."

BFG GeForce GTX 280 OC
Bus Type: PCI Express 2.0
Memory: 1GB (1024MB) GDDR3
Core Clock: 615MHz (vs. 602MHz standard)
Shader Clock: 1350MHz (vs. 1296MHz standard)

BFG GeForce GTX 260 OC
Bus Type: PCI Express 2.0
Memory: 896MB GDDR3
Core Clock: 590MHz (vs. 576MHz standard)
Shader Clock: 1296MHz (vs. 1242MHz standard)

Availability
The BFG GeForce GTX 280 OC will be available at leading online and in-store retailers throughout North America and Europe beginning June 17, 2008. The BFG GeForce GTX 260 OC graphics cards will be available at leading online and in-store retailers throughout North America and Europe beginning June 26, 2008.

EVGA GeForce GTX 280 Line-up Unveiled

Expect nothing but NVIDIA all over the place today. After BFG it's EVGA's turn with six more GeForce GTX 280 cards. Some of them come overclocked, some are even watercooled.

Intel Announces Floating Body Cell Memory

Intel announced today that it has made scaled Floating Body Cell (FBC) memory with its High-k and Metal Gate 45nm technology that could mean a new era of super dense cache cells in CPUs and other applications.

FBC memory will allow three to four times greater memory density than standard SRAM cache. FBC uses just one capacitor while SRAM uses six transistors further decreasing the needed size. The FBC is on a single 45nm Metal Gate on a thin 22nm, ultra low voltage Silicon On Insulator (SOI) substrate. The device is two generations ahead of the one Intel showcased in 2006.

CoolIT Systems Announces VGA Cooler for the NVIDIA GTX280

CoolIT Systems announces the availability of the NV200 VGA Coldplate compatible with the new GeForce GTX280 and GTX260 cards recently announced by NVidia. The solution features a single slot, high performance liquid cooling solution that effectively cools the GPU, RAM, nVio Chip and VR that, when mated with CoolIT's award-winning liquid cooling technology, provides extreme cooling to achieve optimal performance for the GTX280 in single card or SLI setup.

"There is an insatiable demand in the enthusiast and gaming markets for high performance graphics cards" remarks Geoff Lyon, CEO of CoolIT Systems. "By keeping up with today's newest graphics cards, CoolIT can enable extreme performance dropping the temperature significantly to enhance the already stellar performance of these cutting-edge NVIDIA cards" adds Lyon.

The CoolIT Systems NV200 VGA Coldplate is now available with the VGA Reference solution, 120mm Radiator and will soon be available as a stand alone product for the DIY market.

About CoolIT Systems

CoolIT Systems has been working with industry leaders in the computer industry to research, design, and deliver next generation cooling products that provide a comprehensive solution while exceeding high OEM standards for reliability and maintenance-free operation. This carefully designed and patented technology unleashes the full potential of a PC, providing superior cooling performance while reducing system level noise and improving reliability of vital components. The CoolIT MTEC Technology can be found in the top names in performance computing like Dell, Alienware, Velocity Micro, MAINGEAR, Hypersonic, Biohazard, Ultraforce, Systemax, and Shuttle. CoolIT also works with the AMD engineering group to provide the Reference cooling solution for the latest high performance video cards.

ATI Believes GeForce GTX 200 Will be NVIDIA's Last Monolithic GPU

The head of ATI Technologies claims that the recently introduced NVIDIA GeForce GTX 200 GPU will be the last monolithic “megachip” because they are simply too expensive to manufacture.

The statement was made after NVIDIA executives vowed to keep producing large single chip GPUs. The size of the G200 GPU is about 600mm2¬¬ which means only about 97 can fit on a 300mm wafer costing thousands of dollars.

Earlier this year NVIDIA’s chief scientist said that AMD is unable to develop a large monolithic graphics processor due to lack of resources. However, Mr. Bergman said that smaller chips allow easier adoption of them for mobile computers.

ASUS Silent Knight II Heatsink Review

Asus is such a well known computer brand that it's not surprising the company is expanding into thermal solutions, though sometimes we think this area is better left to dedicated firms. Asus has released a handful of heatsinks each year since it began selling Asus-branded thermal solutions, and Frostytech has already tested a half dozen of these models. The results have been mixed, and thus far the Asus name doesn't immediately equate to a given performance standard in the world of heatsinks.

With established thermal solutions brands like Arctic Cooling, Zalman and Thermalright, you generally get back what you expect. Asus have some good heatsinks, the Triton 77 comes to mind, but you need to do a little research before committing to a purchase.

In this review Frostytech is evaluating the ASUS Silent Knight II heatsink. The Silent Knight II is a copper heatsink vaguely reminiscent of the Zalman CNPS9700NT. Like most thermal solutions being introduced, it's compatible with Intel Core 2 Duo/Quad/Extreme and AMD Athlon64 processors. A 92mm PWM fan is set within the body of the heatsink and spins at 800-2300RPM, generating no more than 46 dBA in Frostytech's real world measurements. A pair of blue LEDs illuminate the translucent impeller blades, giving the Silent Knight II a nice visual effect.

The heatsink itself is almost entirely made of copper, the base and fins and heatpipes all utilize this thermally conductive metal. Six copper heatpipes wind around in a semi-circle from the base to support a donut of copper cooling fins that wrap around the inset fan, so clearly Asus are aiming for low noise operation over sheer performance. The heatsink weighs 610 grams and runs about $70USD.


Accompanying the Asus Silent Knight II heatsink is a mountain of brackets so it can be installed on Intel or AMD processors. In both situations the user must remove the motherboard to install a specialized back plate and upper metal retention frame. It's complicated and a little unwieldy, and it would be unnecessary if an appropriate clip had just been designed that fit over the top of Asus Silent Knight II's base.


The AMD bracket is compatible with socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+ processors, the Intel bracket with LGA775. Once installed the Asus Silent Knight II fits into the center of a metal frame, and a K8-like bracket clamps down on the base of the cooler to apply clamping pressure.

Base Finish and Flatness

Flipping a heatsink over to inspect the business end is often a simple indicator of overall cooler quality. More practically speaking, a heatsink is in many ways only as effective as the contact it makes with the processor - the flatter and smoother the better. Base finish is one of the criteria that Frostytech measure in the course of evaluating heatsinks, and it involves two distinct aspects. Surface Finish is the first; this is calculated with the aid of Surface Roughness Comparator that has a cross section of common machine surface finishes and their numerical surface roughness equivalents in microinches. The second is Surface Flatness. This is tested with an engineers straight edge or proven flat surface, in two axis.

The copper base of the Asus Silent Knight II heatsink has a brushed surface texture, with a surface roughness of about ~32 microinches, which is considered good. It is generally quite flat in both axis.
FrostyTech's Test Methodologies are outlined in detail here if you care to know what equipment is used, and the parameters under which the tests are conducted. Now let's move forward and take a closer look at this heatsink, its acoustic characteristics, and of course its performance in the thermal tests!

The 25x92x92mm fan is illuminated with a pair of blue LEDs. Power is supplied by a 4-pin motherboard fan header. The Asus Silent Knight II heatsink stands 140mm tall, so it should easily fit within most computer cases. If you're not careful it's easy for the fan cable to get tangled in the impeller, so watch out for that when installing the Silent Knight II.

Two 40mm wide sections of cooling fin form the basis of the Asus Silent Knight II heatsink. With the 92mm PWM fan set in between, both intake and exhaust airflow is put to use cooling the processor. The six copper heatpipes are 6mm in diameter, and soldered at the joint and base plate. The base is 4mm thick copper. Each copper fin is 0.15mm thick and spaced 4mm apart at its widest.

The copper base plate measures 38x39mm in size. It has a smooth sanded texture that is generally flat in both axis. The bulk of the Asus Silent Knight II heatsink is 45m above the base, so there is some clearance for adjacent motherboard components.

The heat output from Intel processors varies widely between single and multi-core processors, so Frostytech relies on two thermal values that represent the upper limits of existing CPU families. With a 150W heat load applied by the Intel LGA775 version of FrostyTech's synthetic thermal test platform, the Asus Silent Knight II heatsink maintains an test temperature of 34.9°C over ambient. Noise levels hold steady at 46.2dBA.

If we drop fan speed from 2300RPM to ~800RPM, the Silent Knight II yields a 38.8°C rise over ambient for 41.0 dBA noise.

For the next round of testing the Asus Silent Knight II heatsink was tested with an 85W heat load. In this case the Silent Knight II heatsink maintained a 21.4°C rise in temperature at full fan speed, and 24.3°C at the reduced fan speed.

With a retail price of about $70, the Asus Silent Knight II heatsink seems expensive for what you get. While noise levels are kept moderate, and the heatsink is compatible with both AMD and Intel processor platforms, the Asus Silent Knight II's thermal performance is a mixed bag. On the AMD platform the heatsink performed well at stock fan speed. The thermal test results on the Intel platform were a little disappointing.

The Asus Silent Knight II maintained acceptable temperatures with a 150W simulated Intel CPU thermal load, but for the price Asus are asking there are plenty of other heatsinks which perform significantly cooler while keeping noise in check. Given these results, Frostytech recommends you look to another AMD/Intel heatsink and pass on the Asus Silent Knight II

Intel to Launch its First Quad-core Mobile CPU in 3Q08 '

Intel to Launch its First Quad-core Mobile CPU in 3Q08 '

Intel outlined plans to launch its first quad-core CPU for notebooks, the Core 2 Extreme QX9300, in the third quarter of this year with pricing set to US $1038 in thousand-unit tray quantities. While not expected to become standard in performance laptops, the new CPU will have some enviable characteristics. It will be manufactured using the company's advanced 45nm process, and have a core frequency of 2.53GHz (1066MHz FSB). Using a socket P package, the chip will include 12MB L2 cache and maximum TDP of 45W.

Patriot Memory Introduces 2GB DDR3 1800MHz Low Latency Kit

Patriot Memory Releases Viper Series 2GB DDR3 1800MHz Low Latency Kit

Patriot's DDR3 1800MHz Low Latency Kit: Optimized for Intel's Quad-Core CPU's


Patriot Memory today announced the release of their DDR3 Extreme Performance, 2GB Viper Series PC3-14400 (2 x 1GB) enhanced latency kits. "Patriot Memory is excited to offer consumers our 1800MHz Low Latency Kits", says Les Henry, Technical Director for Patriot Memory. "Intel's pioneering Quad-Core technology is forward thinking and to be able to offer a solution that matches with this technology says a lot about the innovative culture that Patriot Memory possesses."

Each kit is programmed with Intel's Extreme Memory Profile (XMP), an exclusive set of Serial Presence Detect (SPD) settings that automatically configure the memory settings to allow uncomplicated overclocking capabilities for consumers looking to maximize the performance of their systems.

For more information on Patriot's Extreme Performance DDR3 PC3-14400 2GB kit and other memory module and flash memory solutions, please visit http://www.patriotmemory.com

MSI N9600GT-T2D512-OC (GeForce 9600 GT)

Introduction

At the risk of sounding like a stuck record, we have to point readers to yet another updated report on the state of the desktop graphics market. The scores are in for fanboys from both sides. Despite the generally optimistic outlook many of us had about the Radeon HD 3800 series, these cards failed to halt NVIDIA as it plowed to gain a massive 71% of the discrete graphics card market in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Overall, the desktop market has actually grown quite spectacularly, so all those doomsayers predicting the end of PC gaming may just have to wait a while longer. A small decrease in total revenue however from the third to fourth quarter hints that the growth is likely fueled by a drop in prices, the timing of which suggests that the arrival of the popular and attractively priced GeForce 8800 GT may have been the catalyst for this growth. If true, it's a pretty big sign of the market potential of consumers genuinely wanting more graphics horsepower at more sane prices instead of the super high-end stuff that costs more than an average console or even whole PC systems.

The arrival of the mid-range GeForce 9600 GT will go a long way towards pulling in the mainstream consumer. Although 'mainstream', we have seen it do quite decently in the latest games, provided that you're not overly ambitious. The 256-bit memory bus and 512MB frame memory certainly helps raise the bar on what constitutes mainstream and while ATI's Radeon HD 3800 series is capable of matching the newcomer on performance, prices have to be adjusted to stay competitive. Consumers will definitely benefit from this, though we can't say the same for ATI's (AMD) revenue.

In any case, even after our recent shootout involving a number of GeForce 9600 GT cards, there have been new review units coming our way, so without further ado, here's a slightly overclocked GeForce 9600 GT from MSI:

Given the highly competitive scene in the NVIDIA graphics card business, with multiple vendors vying to push the same product, MSI has rightly tried to spruce up its GeForce 9600 GT offering with a custom cooler. This is your basic if well-made cooler that uses heat pipes to distribute heat to the cooling fins. The fan itself is relatively quiet though we found the red translucent plastic shroud rather unsightly. It is however well secured to the cooler so no unnecessary vibrations here. Besides the well performing non-standard two-slot cooler, the card is identical to the reference board.

We have seen quite a few custom coolers for the GeForce 9600 GT SKU so far and MSI is another.
It takes up an extra slot but the quiet operation and good cooling from this heatsink fan make it worthwhile.

The amount of overclocking on this MSI card is decent and on par with many of its competitors. The core has been upped to 700MHz while the memory is now at 1900MHz DDR. The stream processors also got a slight increase to 1680MHz. Obviously, we have seen more extreme versions out there but 700MHz is in fact quite common among retail overclocked GeForce 9600 GT editions.
Pretty standard I/O ports at the back.

MSI has also included quite the collection of accessories and cables for the prospective buyer. The S/PDIF cable to interface with your audio device and channel digital audio through the graphics card's output (via HDMI) is included, along with a DVI-to-HDMI adapter. This perhaps will make up somewhat for the lack of any games or applications in the package.

The complete list is as follows:
- Driver CD
- Installation guide
- DVI-to-VGA adapter
- DVI-to-HDMI adapter
- 6-pin Molex power connector
- 7-pin mini-DIN to Component/S-Video dongle
- S-Video extension cable
- S/PDIF cable

Conclusion

It's early days since the introduction of the GeForce 9600 GT but from what we found on online retailers like Newegg, prices have quickly plunged from the launch price set by NVIDIA. The competitive market, with ATI's own recent price cut, has made this a good time to buy. A mainstream price of around US$150 now also entices consumers to finally upgrade their graphics cards, especially as the mediocre GeForce 8600 series probably turned off some previously.

A decent GeForce 9600 GT with an improved, albeit two-slot cooler. For its specifications, it has a very competitive price at S$299.

To distinguish itself, MSI has gone through its book of tricks, from overclocking the N9600GT-T2D512-OC to having a custom cooler. The usual MSI proprietary software and applications are mostly missing however, so another 'Diamond' edition may be in the works, with features like CoreCell, D.O.T and likely even higher clock speeds. The present version we have now however works at giving users excellent value. No doubt, it is hardly the fastest card, or the quietest or even the coolest. Yet, from our results, it has scored well in all these aspects, making it a well rounded GeForce 9600 GT. Finally, its value is best exemplified by the very competitive S$299 local price. At this price, one could probably get a basic standard clock GeForce 9600 GT with little frills, though ASUS' Glaciator equipped GeForce 9600 GT at the same price, does pose an attractive counteroffer to the MSI. The clincher is as we mentioned, a combination of factors that make the MSI an above average choice for those doing comparison shopping. Coupled with the reliability and warranty support of an established vendor, the choice is none too difficult.

MSI Working on ‘Powerless’ CPU Cooler

MSI has taken a step to try and reduce computer power consumption slightly by building a processor fan that is powered using only heat given off by the CPU. As the processor heats up, it causes air inside a piston to expand. That forces out the piston rod, which in turn causes the fan to spin and blow air over the heatsink, as shown in the first image below. This then helps to cool the air inside the piston, causing it to contract again, pulling the piston rod back in and cooling the CPU without needing any extra electricity. The technology is by no means a modern idea - it uses a mechanism invented in 1816 by Scottish engineer Robert Stirling - but it's never before been used on a large scale for computing purposes. MSI's fan is capable of converting 70% of the heat energy given off by the CPU into kinetic energy, and the company plans to demo the cooler at next week's CeBIT show in Hanover. However, there is no news of when this fan will become available for purchase, or what prices will be like.

ASUS R.O.G. Pinot Noir Motherboard Previewed

The nForce 790i-powered Pinot Noir motherboard, part of the latest ASUS Republic of Gamers series, is now being showcased at CeBIT. What's uncommon about this motherboard is the unique water cooling solution for its major components. Furthermore this board can work with the latest Intel 45nm CPUs and utilize 4x DDR3 modules, three PCI-E 2.0 x16 slots and six SATA 3.0 Gbps connectors.

GIGABYTE Wants to Water-Cool Your Memories

There's something cool from GIGABYTE, too. Captured at CeBIT this is their new memory cooling solution. Featuring a self-contained water cooling system the unit is powered by a single fan header on the motherboard and features a pair of fans cooling a small radiator situated above the DIMMs. The system features two heat spreader units which allow the liquid inside the system to move the heat away as quickly as possible. There's also a pump underside the radiator. The only downside is that only 2 memory modules can be cooled.

Walton Chaintech Introduces CHAINTECH GSE96GT

Walton Chaintech, the world’s renowned graphics card and memory module manufacturer, introduces its first GeForce 9 series graphics card - the? CHAINTECH GSE96GT. The new 9600GT offers an even more updated core code named G94. GeForce 9600GT graphics card is NVIDIA’s first performance product running on a 256-bit bus; moreover, it supports HDMI which brings not only cutting-edge DirectX 10 gaming experience but also HD video enjoyment.

The all new CHAINTECH GSE96GT runs a core clock rate of 650MHz and 1800MHz memory clock. The card comes with 512MB of GDDR3 memory running on a 256-bit bus. To keep pace of cutting-edge technology, CHAINTECH GSE96GT graphics card is equipped with a DVI to HDMI adapter and SPDIF IN on board. Along with this simple connectivity, the audio/video signals on PC will be correspondingly transmitted to LCD for users to watch the latest HD DVD or Blu-ray video on HDTV.

For more realistic gaming effect, CHAINTECH GSE88GT not only comes with PCI Express 2.0 interface to facilitate high transfer rates but also utilizing DirectX 10 to achieve the best vivid image quality.

The SLI technology definitely brings out the superiority of CHAINTECH GSE96GT graphics card. It is said that the performance of two GeForce 9600GT using SLI technology is much better than GeForce 8800GT and 8800GTS 512MB graphics cards. In short, CHAINTECH GSE96GT graphics card could be the next generation card to own. It is really a good chance for performance users to finally jump to a substantial DirectX 10 card that is actually capable of running DirectX 10 games at a playable frame rate.

MSI Unveils the NX9600GT-T2D1G

2X performance of former generation, easy on the wallet

MSI N9600GT Series, most affordable SLI HD gaming graphics card


MSI, proudly unveils its latest MSI N9600GT Series graphics card, base on NVIDIA GeForce 9600GT Series GPU. After rising both of the memory bandwidth and number of stream processors inside GPU core, MSI N9600GT Series can achieve even better benchmark result or real application performance than its predecessor, NX8600 Series.

Fully adopting latest graphics technologies for mainstream

Comparing with last generation GeForce 8600 Series, the latest GeForce 9600GT Series come with advanced technology such as PCI-Express 2.0 interface, 65nm chip manufacturing and also double the quantity of stream processors from 32 to 64 units, memory bandwidth from 128 to 256-bit. This huge leap let GPU create more horsepower and also takes use of higher bandwidth of on-board memory lanes and the newer data path of PCI-Express 2.0. All these stunning specifications let MSI N9600GT Series easily surpass performance of GeForce 8800 series by applying NVIDIA SLI technology. Even the performance of single N9600GT is twice of NX8600GTS series, basing on real DirectX 10 game titles.

Most appealing thermal design in graphics card history

With momentum of keeping innovation, MSI enhances the thermal parts deeply with two branding new design, special "Seaweed-blade Fan" and "BatMobile thermal shielding." Seaweed-blade Fan applies hydromechanics that makes the most powerful air-flow and highest air-pressure real at the same time. Comparing to fan-cooling with normal blade, MSI Seaweed-blade Fan gives you less noise and lower temperature at once. BatMobile thermal shielding is another enhancement of traditional 2-Slot fan design, which extends the hood as close as to the bracket, decrease turbulence cause by the unnecessary blank zone. The native streamline shape also makes the air friction as low as possible, providing less noise production.

"The PC component products are not merely component anymore" comments by Vincent Lai, director of MSI’s Global Marketing Group. "Consumers now looking for best performance and shining, eye-catching parts, especially high-end PC gaming enthusiasts. So MSI N9600GT Series gives at mainstream market a compelling performance and fascinating look at very affordable price!"

Supports next era HD TV-out at 1080i/1080p

MSI N9600GT Series support NVIDIA second generation PureVideo HD Hardware Decode Acceleration, provides ultra-smooth playback of H.264, VC-1, WMV and MPEG-2 HD and SD movies. Besides, MSI N9600GT Series also supports World-class TV-out functionality via Composite, SVideo, Component or DVI connections at resolutions up to 1080i/1080p.

GeForce 9600 Showdown Cont

XFX GeForce 9600 GT 512MB XXX

XFX has a few version of the GeForce 9600 GT on its website but the one we received is the overclocked XXX edition. The overclock is quite decent at 700MHz for the core and 2000MHz for the memory but inferior to the Zotac. It is in fact equal to the clocks on the Palit. The board itself is the reference design, with the XFX decal the only distinguishing factor. Included in the package is Company of Heroes, which is not exactly a new game. There are however plentiful accessories and cables, though the S$319 retail price is one of the higher ones for its specifications.





Driver CD
Installation guide
Company of Heroes (full game)
2 x DVI-to-VGA adaptors
DVI-to-HDMI adaptor
6-pin Molex power connector
S-Video extension cable
7-pin mini-DIN to Component dongle
S/PDIF cable




XpertVision GeForce 9600GT Sonic

As we mentioned earlier, Palit's 9600GT Sonic is available locally in the form of the XpertVision GeForce 9600GT Sonic. Both are the same hardware, meaning you'll find the same future proof set of outputs and the redesigned PCB and cooler but with a different decal and box packaging. The contents of the bundle are also similar. This time around, we do have a local retail price and this XpertVision Sonic goes for S$309, a very competitive price for what it has.


Driver CD
Installation guide
Tomb Raider Anniversary (full game)
DVI-to-VGA adaptor
6-pin Molex power connector
Optical audio cable
S/PDIF cable

Zotac GeForce 9600 GT AMP! Edition

The last contender in our roundup is Zotac, which made a splash in our last GeForce 8800 GT shootout with its overclocked AMP! version. The same AMP! branding is retained for this GeForce 9600 GT, implying another overclocked attempt and at 725/2000MHz, this Zotac is on paper the fastest GeForce 9600 GT among our cards. Zotac has gone with the standard board however, though an audio cable is included for audio integration and output via the HDMI adapter. The bundle is devoid of any games or applications besides the drivers and together, this package goes for around US$208 from online retailers.

Driver CD
Installation guide
DVI-to-VGA adaptor
DVI-to-HDMI adaptor
6-pin Molex power connector
7-pin mini-DIN to Component/S-Video dongle
S/PDIF cable

GeForce 9600 GT Showdown

Introduction

After the mostly disappointing GeForce 8600 series last year, it was about time that NVIDIA returned to form in the mid-range segment and the new GeForce 9600 GT promises to do just that and revive the glory days of the GeForce 6 and 7 mid-range series. Based on the G94 core and hence belonging to the same successful pedigree as the GeForce 8800 GT, NVIDIA's new mid-range card threatens to spoil ATI's party by competing against the latter's Radeon HD 3800 series. With ATI responding with a round of price cuts to preserve its advantage, it seems like an excellent time for bargain hunting.

However, we won't get into the merits of going with ATI or NVIDIA today. Instead, the well-oiled NVIDIA machine and its many board partners have arranged to send us a bunch of shiny new GeForce 9600 GT cards and there are as many variations as there are brands. Which of course means that we have rounded them up in our usual shootout format. Who will be the champ of the new mid-range GeForce 9?

An important feature on these boards that we should mention first is that many vendors have utilized the audio input headers (S/PDIF) on the GeForce 9600 GT to splice the audio stream (from your motherboard or soundcard) to the video stream within the graphics card, thereby allowing these cards to output audio and video through a single HDMI cable. These cards then either have a HDMI port or include a DVI-to-HDMI adapter. From what we saw, not every vendor has bundled the necessary cables but consumers should be able to source the cables and adapters and enable this audio integration themselves if required.


ASUS EN9600 GT

ASUS' Glaciator cooler makes another appearance here and having known its quiet and cool performance, it was no surprise that it was superior to the reference design The catch as usual is that this cooler will take up more space than the single slot reference design but we doubt consumers will be too concerned with this. The clock speeds on this card however are the standard 650MHz for the core and 1800MHz for the GDDR3, as is the board design.



The ASUS Glaciator heatsink is the standout factor for this ordinary GeForce 9600 GT.

Quiet and cool, there is nothing much to dislike about the Glaciator. Conversely, it doesn't seem to be a unique cooler and similar designs can be seen from other brands.

The included package is quite decent despite lacking any frills like games or applications. At least all the expected accessories and cables are present. ASUS has quoted a standard retail price of S$299, which is in line with quite a few reference boards from other brands despite its third party cooler. Here's what we found:
- Driver CD
- Installation guide
- User manual (on CD)
- DVI-to-VGA adaptor
- DVI-to-HDMI adaptor
- 6-pin Molex power connector
- 7-pin mini-DIN to Component dongle
- S/PDIF cable

Gigabyte GV-NX96T512H-B

Not every vendor has custom designs so close to launch day and Gigabyte is one of the many who only have the standard NVIDIA based board at the moment. That means standard clock and memory speeds and somewhat disappointingly, there is also no bundled game (like the company's recent favorite, Neverwinter Nights 2). Perhaps this lack of extras reflects the mainstream nature of this product, though at a local retail price of S$299, it's not exactly the cheapest option found.

The accessories and cables are also on the thin side and are listed below:
- Driver CD
- Installation guide
- DVI-to-VGA adaptor
- 6-pin Molex power connector
- 7-pin mini-DIN to Component/S-Video dongle

Leadtek WinFast PX9600 GT Extreme

Leadtek has gone with the standard board design and cooler but as the Extreme name declares, this is an overclocked GeForce 9600 GT. The core has been increased to 720MHz, a very decent improvement, though memory remains the same at 1800MHz DDR. A rather decent game, Overlord is also included along in the package, together with the items listed below. Given its above average performance, Leadtek is unsurprisingly asking for a premium here, albeit a slight one, as this Extreme is priced at S$309.

- Driver CD
- Installation guide
- Overlord (full game)
- DVI-to-VGA adaptor
- DVI-to-HDMI adaptor
- 6-pin Molex power connector
- 7-pin mini-DIN to Component/S-Video dongle
- S/PDIF cable

Palit GeForce 9600GT

SonicWe have always looked forward to the non-standard NVIDIA boards that Palit have released over the years but the company has probably outdid itself with its GeForce 9600 GT Sonic. Firstly, the redesigned PCB comes with a three-phase power design instead of the two-phase version found on the reference that may lead to higher overclocks and better stability. The card itself is overclocked, though with a 700MHz core and 2000MHz DDR memory, it doesn't seem that extreme. The dual slot cooler is also not that unusual as we have seen similar designs from the vendor before.

While we have reviewed Palit's products often, they are not usually found for sale under that brand in this part of the world.

What took our breath away is the presence of a DisplayPort together with a HDMI output at the back. As some of you should know, DisplayPort is still a relatively new interface standard that's driven by VESA and competes against the HDMI interface favored by consumer electronics. However, big companies like ATI and Intel have pledged support for this new standard and notably, new monitors from Dell include this new connector. Whether it will take off ultimately is uncertain at this early stage but Palit has ensured that this Sonic will be a future proof card with its three different forms of output. Additionally, there's even an optical S/PDIF output.

Our first sight of DisplayPort is courtesy of this Palit GeForce 9600 GT, which has definitely locked down all video output options.

Redesigning the reference board has become something of a Palit/XpertVision trademark.

Finally, Palit has included a decent bundle, with a Tomb Raider game and the necessary cables like optical and S/PDIF audio cables. At US$210, it is more expensive than the standard GeForce 9600 GT but that is expected given its capabilities. As Palit is generally not available in the Asia-Pacific region, consumers should be looking out for the XpertVision brand for the equivalent product (which is also included in this article).

- Driver CD
- Installation guide
- Tomb Raider Anniversary (full game)
- DVI-to-VGA adaptor
- 6-pin Molex power connector
- Optical audio cable
- S/PDIF cable

Sparkle GeForce 9600 GT 512MB

The sole card in our roundup to come with passive cooling, Sparkle's GeForce 9600 GT is another rare specimen that might be a little hard to come by in certain regions. Like the Palit before, the Sparkle has a slightly redesigned PCB and a mixture of solid and non-solid capacitors. What most consumers should be interested in is its heat pipe based passive cooler, which is actually quite conventional. The radiator with its array of aluminum fins are placed on the other side of the card, with enough clearance to avoid bumping into any motherboard components. Given its passive cooler, we weren't expecting any overclocking but Sparkle did bump up the core clock to 660MHz, but this 10MHz increment probably has little effect. Finally, a SRP of US$249 is quite the premium to pay for a GeForce 9600 GT, as you can probably get a GeForce 8800 GT for that.

As Sparkle demonstrates here, passive cooling is very feasible with the G94.
The massive heatsink for the Sparkle GeForce 9600 GT is located on the flip side of the card.

Sparkle has also made some changes to the PCB of the GeForce 9600 GT.

- Driver CD
- Installation guide
- DVI-to-VGA adaptor
- S-Video extension cable
- 7-pin mini-DIN to Component dongle