9600GSO or 9600GT ?????

[mlight13]

Hey all, I am far from a hardcore gamer, but I do play every so often. I would like to buy a budget midrange card such as the 9600GSO or 9600GT. One question. The GSO has more stream processors, but the GT has better memory with more bandwidth. I like to play games close to my 22" LCD native resolution (1680x1050). Which one should I choose and why? I will buy one of these contrary to people who may try to convince me to get an 8800GT. In my opinion, that is too much card for me! Thank you all in advance.

Mark

 

[dagger]

Hey all, I am far from a hardcore gamer, but I do play every so often. I would like to buy a budget midrange card such as the 9600GSO or 9600GT. One question. The GSO has more stream processors, but the GT has better memory with more bandwidth. I like to play games close to my 22" LCD native resolution (1680x1050). Which one should I choose and why? I will buy one of these contrary to people who may try to convince me to get an 8800GT. In my opinion, that is too much card for me! Thank you all in advance.

Mark

Nvidia rebranded the 8800gs as 9600gso. They're exactly the same thing. In benchmarks the 8800gs/9600gso is slightly slower than 9600gt, but has a bit more room for overclocking. Basically, they're about the same. Choose whatever you can get for cheaper.

As for 8800gt, I won't tell you to pay more, but keep in mind, for newer games, neither 8800gs/9600gso or 9600gt will be able to cut it at that resolution. See benchmarks. This particular bench compares actual frames per second instead of scores, so it will give you a better idea where things stand.
http://www.guru3d.com/category/vga_2/
There is no 1680x1050, so just compare it to the slightly larger 1600x1200. At that resolution, 9600gt runs at 35fps in Call of Duty 4, and 28fps in Crysis at medium quality setting. Keep in mind those are average fps, which means 28fps would be something like 38fps at some places but 18fps at others.

If that is acceptable to you, go for it. Or just tune down the resolution so it runs smoothly.

 

[mlight13]

Thanks dagger! I will definately do more research after looking at those charts. One additional question, what benefits are there from higher stream processors and higher memorey bits? Basically fill in in the blanks:

More stream processors = __________
Higher memory bits (bandwidth) = __________

Thank you all...I am very picky when I buy computer parts!

 

[1971Rhino]

Take the 9600 GT. The memory will make the difference between these two cards.

 

[shoota]

maybe give us a dollar amount you are looking to spend. the 8800 gt's have come down alot and would be great for your resolution. this is by far the best deal i've seen in a while. notice it has 1gb frame buffer which will help alot at 1680X1050:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814261012

 

[mlight13]

That Palit card looks like a good deal. I am looking for the cheapest possible price/performance, but realistically I was trying to stay under $150 including tax+shipping. I live in California so I pay tax through Newegg! I am a very casual gamer...maybe 2-4 hours per week, but I want the games to not look like my 8500GT...don't laugh!

 

[shoota]

haha no problem. well i gave you the best 8800gt option $150, here's the best 9600gso option: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121251&Tpk=asus%2b9600gso

and here's another amazing deal for a 8800gts: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134037

obviously you won't be spending alot on graphics cards very often so i would recommend the 8800's first simply for longevity's sake. hope this helped a little bit

edit: oops i didn't read your full post about not wanting an 8800 series card. if you REALLY don't want one get the 9600gt. i love mine and it will last you a good while. you have some options on the EGG for these cards, just take a look. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=40000048%204017&Description=9600gt&page=1&bop=And

 

[dagger]

Thanks dagger! I will definately do more research after looking at those charts. One additional question, what benefits are there from higher stream processors and higher memorey bits? Basically fill in in the blanks:

More stream processors = __________
Higher memory bits (bandwidth) = __________

Thank you all...I am very picky when I buy computer parts!

More stream processors means more processing power. Although it also depends on the speed they run at. 9600gt has fewer sp than 8800gs, but they run at higher clock rate. So bottomline performance comes out to be about the same.

Higher memory bandwidth means better scaling at higher resolution and aa level. Basically, cards with higher memory bandwidth experience a smaller fps drop when you increase resolution or turn on antialiasing.

 

[rwayne]

The 8800GS / 9600GSO were never popular cards to begin with. The sales of the 9600GT are probably higher than the 8800GS and 9600GSO combined. I think the 9600GSO is going to have a very short lifespan.
Both are good cards especially for your usage plans but I would think you would have to go with the 9600GT. The price difference is so minor.

However which ever way you go I think I would wait a few more weeks until after ATI's 4850 and 4870 cards are released. Not to get those cards but the fact those cards will be on the market in a few weeks will likely force Nvidia or etailers to drop the prices on the 9600GT and GSOs even further.

 

[customisbetter]

I would recommend the gso if your res was lower. but, at your res, you need the extra memory. good luck!

 

[grizz86]

Mine using 1440x900 resolution. Which is the best bang for buck? 9600gso? 9600gt?

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

Or see what you other guys think, what if the op looks at say an overclocked 8800gs? Like right now, newegg has the 8800 gs superclocked for about 110ish. I think the EVGA version is 650 mhz on the core, and the XFX is 680 mhz core clock. However, I think the evga has faster memory.

 

[marvelous211]

Nvidia rebranded the 8800gs as 9600gso. They're exactly the same thing. In benchmarks the 8800gs/9600gso is slightly slower than 9600gt, but has a bit more room for overclocking. Basically, they're about the same. Choose whatever you can get for cheaper.

As for 8800gt, I won't tell you to pay more, but keep in mind, for newer games, neither 8800gs/9600gso or 9600gt will be able to cut it at that resolution. See benchmarks. This particular bench compares actual frames per second instead of scores, so it will give you a better idea where things stand.
http://www.guru3d.com/category/vga_2/
There is no 1680x1050, so just compare it to the slightly larger 1600x1200. At that resolution, 9600gt runs at 35fps in Call of Duty 4, and 28fps in Crysis at medium quality setting. Keep in mind those are average fps, which means 28fps would be something like 38fps at some places but 18fps at others.

If that is acceptable to you, go for it. Or just tune down the resolution so it runs smoothly.

I wouldn't trust that benchmark by guru 3d with a 10' pole.

Medium 28 fps in Crysis? 35 fps in COD4? Not quite.

 

[marvelous211]

More stream processors means more processing power. Although it also depends on the speed they run at. 9600gt has fewer sp than 8800gs, but they run at higher clock rate. So bottomline performance comes out to be about the same.

Higher memory bandwidth means better scaling at higher resolution and aa level. Basically, cards with higher memory bandwidth experience a smaller fps drop when you increase resolution or turn on antialiasing.

Performance in processing power or game performance? In processing power 9600gso/8800gs wins. In reality it's the texture throughput that makes it just as good as 9600gt with less memory bandwidth and less rop not SP in majority of the games out today.

 

[marvelous211]

That Palit card looks like a good deal. I am looking for the cheapest possible price/performance, but realistically I was trying to stay under $150 including tax+shipping. I live in California so I pay tax through Newegg! I am a very casual gamer...maybe 2-4 hours per week, but I want the games to not look like my 8500GT...don't laugh!

There's 8800gt to be had for that price. Cheaper with MIR.

 

[mlight13]

Hey all...sorry to dig up my post from a moth ago, but I will let you all know that I decided to get a 9800GTX. I saved up a bit more cash as I figued if I am going to upgrade, I better get something I can live with for a while. I got the XFX 9800GTX XXX Edition. I only got it for $209 on NewEgg a couple weeks ago and now it is up to around $250. Looks like I scored a good deal! Thank you everyone for your input.

 

[rwayne]

I was about to say that it would had been better and cheaper to get an HD4850, however considering that you got the XFX Triple X edition that really gives it a good performance boost over a standard 9800GTX. So considering it was a few weeks ago I would was good deal at the time.