Every time a new generation of products is released, the assumption is that the latest and greatest has to perform at least better than the last generation to be considered a success. Generally this rings true. As the replacement for the GeForce 8600 series, the GeForce 9600 series of cards should offer increased performance. Just how much of a gain is the million dollar question. In today's world of upwards spiraling energy and consumer goods costs, what level of performance are the average computer users willing to pay for and won't kill the household budget? For many, the mid-range is right on the money, while the enthusiasts throws caution in the quest for performance. - Overclockers Club

Foxconn GeForce 9600 GT 512MB Video Card Review

The Foxconn GeForce 9600 GT 512MB video card should help answer some of these questions. Featuring a core clock speed of 655MHz, memory clock speed of 1820MHz, a shader clock speed of 1625MHz and 512MB of GDDR3 memory, it has the tools to wage that mid-range war. The Foxconn GeForce 9600 GT comes in a flashy box with a Warrior Queen on the front panel. Flashy not just as in colorful, but also sporting a pearlescent sheen. The front panel identifies the GeForce 9600 GT as the standard overclock model listing few of the features and really highlighting the awards Foxconn has garnered over the past six months.

The Foxconn GeForce 9600 GT OC edition is a PCI Express 2.0 compliant video card. The cooling for this card appears to be the reference design single slot cooling solution. There are two in total DVI ports as well as an S-video port for connectivity options. Power for the GeForce 9600 GT is provided through the tail end of the card via a 6-pin PCI Express connector. The GeForce 9600 GT is SLI capable with another matching card. The bridge connector is in the standard location on top of the PCB. The cooling solution used on the Foxconn GeForce 9600 GT is a reference design, a hybrid cooling device using heatpipes.

The performance generated by the Foxconn GeForce 9600 GT when overclocked is a substantial increase over the stock numbers. In the benchmark testing, the Foxconn GeForce 9600 GT beat the Radeon HD 3870 in exactly half of the benchmarks. The overclocking headroom provided by NVIDIA and its partners is phenomenal. No voltage modifications, no extreme cooling, just increase the clock speeds and go game to your heart's content. It really could not be easier. What this card offers is affordable performance. With the latest price drops by NVIDIA, the Foxconn GeForce 9600 GT model can be had for $165.

If you game at resolutions less than mid-range widescreen, then this card should suffice at the settings we use for our benchmarks. Albeit some settings can be reduced for better performance. As the replacement for the GeForce 8600 series of video cards, the performance expectations are not really that high, but the GeForce 9600 series definitely performs a cut above the cards it replaces. If you don't want or cannot afford the latest and greatest video cards out on the market, the GeForce 9600 GT from Foxconn would be a great choice as a graphics card that can keep up in today's games and the actual benchmark suites.

When you need that extra bit of performance, the overclocking headroom is available to get it, either through the included Foxware utility or any of the other utilities available for use. We really could find no faults with the Foxconn GeForce 9600 GT. It was cool running, performed well against its direct competition and did everything it's supposed to do. If the mid range is where you play, the Foxconn GeForce 9600 GT has you covered.