The iChiLL is one series of cards that we have really liked from the word go. Inno3D's attention to detail by using only the best quality coolers and a good line-up of cards make this series really stand out when compared to what's on offer from other companies. Even so, the latest entry into the iChiLL series did carry with it a bit of a surprise upon opening up the box. What was that surprise? Well, there's only one way to figure that out, and that is to check it out. Let's have a quick look at the box before we dive deeper and find out why the Inno3D GeForce 9600 GT had us working a little harder than usual to get the card up and running, though offering a very nice user choice configuration. - TweakTown

Inno3D GeForce 9600 GT iChiLL Version Card Review

The box is the standard iChiLL design that we have seen for a while now. It's black with lots of holes that have clear plastic. The left of the box shows the Inno3D logo in the top corner and below that we have a bunch of information on the card such as the core speed, memory speed, model, cooler and other important information. Heading towards the bottom of the box, we have mention that the card is part of the iChiLL series and we also see that a full version of Ghost Recon 2 Advanced Warfighter is included within the package. Turning the box over, we have a run down on the card in a number of languages.

Upon pulling the card out of the box, you are greeted by a very naked GeForce 9600 GT. It's weird just how light graphics cards are when there isn't a cooler attached to them. We've heard of passive cooling before, but this really takes it to the next level. If you continue to dive into the box, you're greeted by a cooler separately along with some screws and some instructions. What you actually do is install the cooler yourself in a configuration that you want. If that be completely silent with the fan removed or actively cooled with the fan attached and the shroud covering it. And, you don't actually need a screw driver to set the card up.

With the cooler now attached and up and running, having a quick look around the card we're greeted with the single PCI Express power connector at the back of the card and a single SLI connector at the top. The whole do it yourself nature of the cooler, does seem kind of pointless. The cooler isn't exactly large and there doesn't seem to be any real reason why the card couldn't ship with it already attached. It also seems like something that people could just stuff up. While it's not difficult, anything could happen and it just seems to add a pointless step to the setup of your graphics card. It really is excellent quality and it is fun to do.

With the ability to have the card running passively, we thought that it would have carried with it stock clocks Surprisingly not, as the core has been bumped to 720MHz while the 512MB of GDDR3 on the card has been bumped to 1940MHz effective. We have always been a bit of a fan of the iChiLL series from Inno3D. They've always offered coolers that we don't really see on other cards. The GeForce 9600 GT we have today is no different, but we do have to wonder about this whole build it yourself process. While the experience was kind of cool and a bit fun, it's not something that we would want to get used too.

The design behind the cooler is also very good in that you can have it run silently while still keeping the overclocked speeds, making it an excellent choice for people who want a silent GeForce 9600 GT that comes overclocked out of the box. On the topic of the overclock, the speeds that Inno3D offer out of the box, while not being the fastest we've seen to date, are definitely above the standard overclock that we get from a lot of companies. There isn't an iChiLL product we haven't been impressed with, and we can't see that changing any time soon. These iChiLL products will always be something special offered by Inno3D.

We've got some good, fast cards on the market from them which have unique coolers that help them stand out from the pack. Availability on the card is good and the price isn't something we would complain about. There's no reason to be wary of installing the cooler as it's an absolute breeze with no tools needed. So if you're looking for a GeForce 9600 GT that's a little different, this could be one that's worth buying.