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

EVGA e-GeForce 9600 GT SSC Version Board Review

The GeForce 9600 GT version also represents the first mainstream GPU from NVIDIA that launched with a 256-bit memory bus. Although the mainstream GeForce 7900 GT launched with a 256-bit memory bus, which is key factor in overall 3D graphics performance, that GPU was near the end of a product cycle. In support of today's launch EVGA provided us with their e-GeForce 9600 GT SSC edition graphics card for evaluation. The product and accessories are packaged in an eye-catching orange colored box that features a gold ribbon touting EVGA as the number one seller of NVIDIA based products in the US.

The reference specifications of the new GeForce 9600 GT consist of a core clock speed of 650MHz, with a 1625MHz shader clock and the memory clocked at 1800MHz effective. The GPU itself has 64 stream processors that interface with 512MB of GDDR3 memory across a 256-bit memory bus. When looking at the EVGA e-GeForce 9600 GT SSC card, we find that the core is overclocked at 740MHz, while the shader and memory are moderately overclocked at 1835MHz and 1950MHz respectively. The GeForce 9600 GT is a single slot solution that employs a metal faceplate enclosure to assist in cooling the GPU and memory.

The GeForce 9600 GT builds upon a successful architecture and comes close to the performance of the GeForce 8800 GT in many cases at a lower price. That in the end will certainly be the strong point with the new G94 graphics core which is powering the GeForce 9600 GT edition, and does allow for a great amount of overclocking. In the end with the lower price range in mind, we do expect to the GeForce 9600 series will become popular amongst the budget minded gamers.