64 Shader Processors: NVIDIA Geforce 9600GTHappy Ending
The G94 Outlook
As a graphics acceleration chipset, the G94 has done much to take over the lower end of the market segment that has for the past month, been dominated by G92 graphics accelerators like the 8800GTS and 8800GT. Despite the lower number of Shader Processors, the G94 does a fair job with rendering, easily matching up to the G92 GTS and trouncing the midend of ATi's lineup. Performance deserves a thumbs up as NVIDIA puts out another value winner. The solemn sounding die-shrink is the rosy answer to higher (potential) clockspeeds at lower power consumptions. A job well done? You bet!
Implementation
The design of the P545 remains puzzling to us, and unlike the performance, isn't something we'd like to praise. The graphics industry, it appears, has been covering more grounds than it can cope. More often than not, this issue affects overclockers the most, as they ponder over the gradual decrease of overclocking headroom on the graphics buffer.
Recommended memory voltage is 1.9V, as read from Samsung's datasheet for the K4J52324QE-BJ1A.
As with the past few generations of gDDR3 graphics accelerators, NVIDIA's P545 reference design has been subjecting memory ICs to voltages higher than that recommended by the memory manufacturers themselves. Running a memory IC at higher than specified voltages improves stability for a given clockspeed, saving costs of implementing a higher specification part. This offers more performance per dollar in most instances, but preys upon the unsuspecting consumer. A moral dilemma for NVIDIA engineers juggling the two 'B's; Budget, and Bandwidth.
Allowing for meter-error, default 9600GT memory voltage still falls beyond Samsung recommendations.
Inno3D 9600GT
The Inno3D 9600GT, as the epitome of the plain-Jane, vanilla edition 9600GT, forms the most value-for-money option for a unique bunch of users: those who either don't believe in factory-overclocks, or those who know what to do to get the most out of the G94, all by themselves. The package may be simple, but remains startingly effective and reasonably attractive. The masked motif may elicit terrorism alerts in some parts of the world, but you can't go wrong with this choice. The fact that it clocked the highest, and scored the best in our overclocking roudup only goes to show how marketing precedes actual speedbinning in the real world.
Inno3D 9600GT "Overclock"
Another offering from the same enthusiastic manufacturer, the "Overclock" is a higher clocked edition of the reference design. Unfortunately, after their half-hearted tweaks, performance still falls a little below the two "X" brand offerings. If you do not intend to separately overclock the graphics accelerator, you'd get better performance from the remaining two overclocked candidates. In the meantime, hold your horses and watch for much more promising iChill editions. For the price, the Inno3D "Overclock" remains a winner.
XFX 9600GT XXX Edition
Branding has always been a strength of XFX, with the 9600GT XXX Edition being a case in point. Packaging is unique, with an almost-demonic "9" forming the theme for it's box and overlay. Amongst the bunch, it has one of the best out-of-the-box performance. The bundle is pretty cool too, with relevant accessories for the g33ks. PETA need not worry, for no Alpha Dogs were hurt in this review.
9600GT Sonic
The only non-reference design in the bunch, the Sonic is one of the best performers, on par with the XFX. The dual-slot heatsink design proves effective in keeping heat down, but at the expense of an expansion slot. The extra phase of GPU power may prove useful in voltage modifications, but the less advanced design sacrifices some efficiency. A simple but effectively speedy package. Choosing between the XFX and the XpertVision can become the most difficult decision of your life.
Private Moments
As usual with pre-release material, a lot of going-ons behind the scenes are less-than-perfect. Here's some bloopers for you readers, as we end off the review.
Extra speed for the colour blind, taken during one of our overclocking attempts.
The first ever prototype NVIDIA chipset? Maybe we've dug up undocumented history. =P
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