We've had ATI CrossFireX running the past couple days and while the drivers are not public yet, things are looking very good from what we have seen. Since we are still waiting on another Radeon HD 3870 X2 to be delivered by FedEx, we slapped together a Radeon HD 3870 X2 with a Radeon HD 3870, which in turn creates a Triple CrossFireX platform with just two 16x PCI Express slots. In March, ATI will be releasing the Catalyst 8.3 drivers, which now offer support for CrossFireX in both DirectX 9.0c and DirectX 10 applications. Down the road, once the drivers are official and out for the public, we will have Quad numbers for you, but for now, let's see what made this possible. - Legit Reviews
Now for the last fifteen months the GeForce 8800 GTX has represented the most powerful graphics card that sane people were willing to buy. Sure, the GeForce 8800 Ultra is slightly faster but at a cost of over $600 it is reserved for those with gross amounts of disposable income. From the start, we were able to run SLI with the GTX and get incredible performance. Nowadays the GTX is starting to become long in the tooth as far as graphics cards go, 15 months is a very long time with nothing faster to come along. The latest games are certainly pushing even a pair of GTX's to unplayable levels at higher resolutions. Enter 3-Way SLI, a fully functional sorted extension of last years Quad SLI. - Legit Reviews
Leadtek honored us today to check out a brand new, just released, GeForce 9 series card, more specifically the WinFast PX9600 GT Extreme. One thought popped into our mind when we heard we were going to be looking at this, why are they releasing a GeForce 9600 series card first and not a GeForce 9800 series like all the previous releases, as in the GeForce 8800? Our opinion is that they have there eyes set and ears open to the people out there that aren't enthusiasts but are instead weekend gamers that can't afford the enthusiast cards or don't want to pull multiple one hundred dollar bills out of there wallets, or purses. Join me as we take a closer look at the brand new card from Leadtek. - Bjorn3D
The tendency to increase the presence of models with the G92 chip on the market is quite logical in the chain of events. Although they are still outnumbered on the market, the new GeForce 8800 GT and GTS cards are very good and asked for. And as we couldn't find a single GeForce 8800 GTS with 512MB of memory so far, we decided to plunder a little, and dug out an XFX model. This particular version frpom XFX is actually their standard version, whereas XFX also has some special pre-overclocked editions which offer better performance but going for a little more money. So if you can afford a bit more it might be wise to also check out the tweaked version, before making up your mind. - InsideHW
It is a good time to be in the market for a video card, especially if you want to spend around $200. Both ATI's Radeon HD 3870 and NVIDIA's GeForce 8800 GT have been around for a few months now, and prices have reached new lows. Even just six months ago, getting the level of performance that can be had with a Radeon HD 3870 or a GeForce 8800 GT for around $200 would have been hard to believe. And just last week, things got even more interesting with the introduction of NVIDIA's first GeForce 9th series video card, the GeForce 9600 GT edition. Currently selling for around $180, the GeForce 9600 GT graphics card proved to be speedy card, despite having only 64 stream processors. - NeoSeeker
Without question, the hot GPU of the moment is NVIDIA's GeForce 8800 GT. We are a fan because it offers superb performance for a great price, which is why we use one in our machine. The fact that it packs such a punch and still retains a single slot cooler is another benefit, in our opinion. Since most GeForce 8800 GT cards begin out at $200, and it almost makes no sense to go lower for most people, unless you are looking to pick up a budget model, such as the GeForce 8600 series. Even at the $150 mark, you could acquire ATI's Radeon HD 3850, but as we'll see in the benchmarks, the performance differences are rather large, making that extra $50 a worthwhile investment. - Techgage
Traditionally, when NVIDIA launches a new family of GeForce cards, they start with the top end, grabbing first spot in all performance benchmarks. They have deviated from this plan with the GeForce 9 series, as we're introducing the GeForce 9600 GT, a mid-range video card from the new GeForce 9 family. A somehow questionable act many have thought, due to the current situation in the mainstream market we're offered a wide choice in high performance and/or price rated 3D adapters, but once you try to fit the pieces together everything suddenly seems to make perfect sense. Let's us first have a look at the top of the art technology NVIDIA added to this new family. - Madshrimps
Whether you like it or not, all gamers have to upgrade to Windows Vista sooner or later to enjoy DirectX 10 titles like BioShock or Crysis. For this, you need a DirectX 10 compliant graphics card, and it doesn't hurt if it's HDCP compliant and natively supports HDMI output, Shader Model 4.0 and of course all manner of High Definition content. Enter a new GPU contender board from Palit, namely the GeForce 9600 GT 512MB Sonic graphics card. This NVIDIA G94 based GeForce 9600 GT class video card comes conveniently pre-overclocked from the factory floor with 512MB of GDDR3 memory. So a reference version, but dressed up to the Palit standards according to the Sonic family edition. - PCStats
Well first came the GeForce 8800 GTS, along comes the GeForce 8800 GT, and then the again the GTS? Welcome to NVIDIA's latest naming scheme. With the original GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB and 640MB build around the 90nm G80 core, the latest wave of GeForce 8800 series cards include the 65nm G92 chip typically distinguished by its nominal memory configuration of 512MB on board. The NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT was quite a margin faster than the original G80 based GeForce 8800 GTS, with some pre-overclocked versions even being faster. But how does this refresh G92 based GeForce 8800 GTS perform and is it able to replace some of its more expensive older brothers? - APH Networks
Last week NVIDIA launched their first GeForce 9 series card. It is based on the new G94 core which uses the same architecture as the G92, it actually is a G92 with less shaders inside the die. The actual number of shaders is 64, versus 128 on the G92. This helps bring down the transistor count and die size, resulting in a manufacturing cost reduction. The Biostar GeForce 9600 GT we have in our hands today follows the NVIDIA reference design to the letter. It even uses the NVIDIA silver stripe reference cooler design. Other manufacturers put their own stickers on the cooler. We expect Biostar to do the same soon, once they have a bit of time while selling the first batch. - techPowerUp!
When NVIDIA launched the GeForce 8800 GT late last year, an instant winner was born. It offered the perfect combination of performance and pricing and quickly became the choice for enthusiasts all over. Pair two in SLI and you have a truly powerful graphics system capable of handling the most demanding games at the highest resolutions supported today. Some wondered that the launch of NVIDIA's new GeForce 9600 GT would unseat the previous champion, but as found out throughout numerous articles last week, the GeForce 8800 GT has nothing to worry about. The fact is, this card is a fantastic performer and is priced right, some even as low as $200 which is not a bad deal. - Techgage
SLI has been around for a few years and NVIDIA have pretty much been the driving force behind multi-GPU solutions since the inception of their SLI solution. Last year they tried to ramp it up a notch with Quad SLI, but this failed to impress enthusiasts, websites and pretty much the whole industry. Now they've brought in another crazy solution, namely Triple SLI or also called 3-Way SLI as technology. And well SLI is the marketing name for a way of using two or more graphics processors in parallel at the time. Using both the PCI Express bus and the proprietary SLI connector made by NVIDIA, the graphics cards communicate using dedicated scaling logic in each GPU. - Overclock3D
It might not be a surprise for our long time visitors that sometimes we go for a little bit different once in a while and that is also what we are doing today. Since we have looked in the past to some damn nice green lighting, well actually better known as lasers we are going once again to explorer an exciting product in this category. These lasers are popping up and around LAN parties and huge gaming events all over the world these days and are becoming more popular with gaming communities and special events. So we are looking once again at some laser technology and did partner with Dragon Lasers this time who actually contacted us to show their product and give it a run for its money.
The NVIDIA rumours have abounded and been promising something new for a little while now. Instead of going straight in at the top end, NVIDIA have decided that they will beef up their mid-range, which is obviously the highest selling of their add in cards. This makes sense, especially after ATI released a couple of stonking cards in this price range, like the Radeon HD 3850 and the Radeon HD 3870 series video cards. We've got an ASUS card in the labs for some serious testing, and by that we mean a GeForce 9600 GT which is following the ASUS traditions oon layout and features. And before we start to dig deeper into the technology behind, let's look at what we've got. - Overclock3D
We've been so concentrated on the release of new GeForce 8800 series cards and more recently the release of the GeForce 9600 GT that we've somewhat forgotten about the new mid-range and low-end cards from AMD carrying the Radeon HD 3450 and Radeon HD 3650 naming scheme. We sometimes forget that not everyone has the money or the need to use these higher end cards. So today, we're going to look after the people on the other side of the fence. So we've got two cards, the low-end Radeon HD 3450 which is supposed to replace the Radeon HD 2400 series of cards, and the new Radeon HD 3650 which is supposed to replace the Radeon HD 2600 series of cards. - TweakTown
We have has just released a new version of NVIDIA BIOS Editor (NiBiTor) software. NiBiTor is the original and definitive BIOS tweaker that supports the latest NVIDIA graphics cards, and which is updated on a regular basis. NiBiTor allows graphics card enthusiasts, or the hardcore overclockers to have full control over some advanced features and functionality found on firmware of supporting cards. Doing so users gain some extra performance, enable certain hidden features, tweak memory latencies, provide extensive information, adapt bootup settings, change fan speed options and/or get extra stability on the NVIDIA based graphics accelerators.
In our opinion, the new chip is definitely a success. It's an excellent product. But let's not put the cart before the horse. Much time has passed since the launch of mid-end NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS. Unlike the top solution, it had very few ALU's and TMU's, and this product failed to provide the expected performance level. The performance gap between the GeForce 8800 GTX and the GeForce 8600 GTS was too wide. And now NVIDIA announces the G94 chip, based on the overhauled G9x unified architecture. The GeForce 9600 GT based on this GPU pushes the GeForce 8600 GTS down in the price line. This version should narrow the current gap between the high-end and mid-range segment. - Digit-Life
We learned that the new G92 based card will be branded as GeForce 9800 GTX. From what we know it is a card similar to the GeForce 8800 GTS, but it has two SLI connectors. Finally, there will be a card to replace the retired GeForce 8800 GTX. We don't know how many people will go out and buy three high-end cards, but you never know. The GeForce 9800 GX2, a dual-chip card, will work with Quad SLI, while Tri-SLI works with three single chip cards with two connectors. It will be fun to compare the performance of three GeForce 9800 GTX cards against two GeForce 9800 GX2 cards. So in that aspect NVIDIA is still going ahead with the 3-Way SLI and their nForce 780i technology. - FudZilla
Zotac really seem to be on top of the graphics card releases. We only started seeing their products last year but they seemed to get the hang of making a good graphics card pretty fast. As with most companies they have their standard reference design card but they also have their funky overclocked models. Sure there are plenty of other manufacturers with oeverclocked models such as ASUS who have the TOP line-up of cards, while Palit have their Sonic line-up. But what makes Zotac stand out so much with their AMP! line-up is that the clocks they tend to put on these cards are very aggressive and really make it stand out from the competition with very stable operation. - TweakTown
The ninth generation of NVIDIA's GeForce series is now here. It's amazing how fast GPU technology develops. Time marches on, and video card technology races into the future. The difference between the state of the gaming art in 2008, and the state of the gaming art in 2004, is downright incredible. What future games will look like will be even harder to believe and today, we are one small step closer to this future, as the 8th generation of NVIDIA's GeForce passes into the 9th. The GeForce 9600 GT series is aimed to dominate the mid-range of graphics card options, and we are going to check out in depth. And we also have some SLI numbers to look at, so hang on to your hats. - NeoSeeker
So today we have some news to share as NVIDIA is launching its first graphics processing unit based on the GeForce 9 series, namely the GeForce 9600 GT. Building on the success of the unified architecture present on the GeForce 8 series, the GeForce 9 series features enhanced compression technology, which reduces the amount of data that passes through the memory bus. Graphics cards with the GeForce 9600 GT are targeted at the mainstream segment with a suggested price between $169 and $189. NVIDIA has traditionally debuted new GPU's with a high-end offering, but there are quite a number of reasons why they chose to launch a new product line with a mid-range GPU. - nV News
If the blockbuster successes of games like World of Warcraft and Counter-Strike, compared to the lack luster reception of ultra high end titles like Crysis, have taught us anything, it is that the vast majority of PC gamers are not running games which are incredibly graphics intensive. As low cost gaming consoles continue to steal many of these casual gamers away from the PC, component manufacturers for the PC platform are starting to think differently about how to approach the gaming market. As of late, we're seeing a significant and refreshing shift towards lower cost components for the mainstream market. Getting more performance for your dollar is now more exciting. - HotHardware
Well some guys have managed to score a screenshot of the upcoming GeForce 9800 GX2 graphics card. This is nothing new from the design side as the card features the same reference design with a partner's sticker covering the half of the top cooler cover. The card's clocks are way higher than 600/2000MHz as was reported earlier. NVIDIA has an interesting idea on how to price its upcoming GeForce 9800 GX2 at over €500. The current price of the GeForce 9800 GX2 without value added tax is about €440 and we are talking about a GeForce 9800 GX2 with 1GB of GDDR3 memory. This would sound quite expensive although you don't forget that you get two G92's in one package. - FudZilla
As it stands today, AMD's latest generation of graphics cards are the Radeon HD 3000 series, namely the Radeon HD 3850 and the Radeon HD 3870. Based on these cards, HIS has engineered their own special versions using the IceQ3 brand name. The card we check out today is based on the ATI Radeon HD 3850 reference design but uses the IceQ3 cooler, some additional GDDR3 memory and higher clocks of 735MHz on the core and 1960MHz on the memory which should bring the performance very close to the Radeon HD 3870. All this makes this a very interesting version, designed for great performance, with improved slient cooling but still keeping the price as low as possible. - techPowerUp!
After looking at the new GeForce 9600 GT just the other day, it became clear to us that the Radeon HD 3870 really does still have some life in it. It's not dying off anytime soon thanks to the aggressive pricing that has been implemented recently. What we found was that the Radeon HD 3870 stock clocked card faired quite well against the GeForce 9600 GT which came with an increased core and memory clock. It did get us thinking though with an MSI Radeon HD 3870 OC edition sitting around doing nothing, it was time to see what would happen when we put overclocked part up against overclocked part. It's coming down to how well the Radeon HD 3870 is using the higher clock speeds. - TweakTown
If we look at the main character of today's article from the viewpoint of the speed characteristics, there is nothing new, or almost nothing about it. Because the Sparkle GeForce 8800 GT is of the reference design with the only difference in color. On the other hand, the cooling system has proved to be the major trump of the new product, but at first glance it may scare some potential buyers away. The thing is that absolutely all modern video cards offer quite high heat emission and therefore heat up immensely. Certainly, all becomes known through actual comparison, so in various reviews we can come across comments like the chip has proved to be quite cool, but that doesn't at all mean it is cold. - Digital-Daily
Unika 8800GTS PCIe 512MB - Rev 01
We have has just released a new version of NVIDIA BIOS Editor (NiBiTor) software. NiBiTor is the original and definitive BIOS tweaker that supports the latest NVIDIA graphics cards, and which is updated on a regular basis. NiBiTor allows graphics card enthusiasts, or the hardcore overclockers to have full control over some advanced features and functionality found on firmware of supporting cards. Doing so users gain some extra performance, enable certain hidden features, tweak memory latencies, provide extensive information, adapt bootup settings, change fan speed options and/or get extra stability on the NVIDIA based graphics accelerators.
