While the GeForce GTX 280 might be out, the price doesn't exactly scream value for money for a lot of people. The high price tag is simply going to be out of reach for most. The GeForce 9600 GT based off the G92 core continues to offer excellent value for money along with even better availability. You'd think we would have looked at all GeForce 9600 GT cards on the market, but we can guarantee there are more out there. The particular one we're looking at today comes from ASUS and carries with it a silent cooler. We've seen Gigabyte offer the GeForce 9600 GT in silent form, sporting both 512MB and 1GB of GDDR3 memory. MSI also has a card where the fan only spins when the card needs it. - TweakTown

ASUS Extreme N9600 GT Silent Edition Board Review

Silent cards are becoming quite the rage and everyone wants good performance without any noise. In the past, the design used to be reserved for low-end cards, but these days we seem to be able to get a good performing card that outputs not a single dB. In the highly competitive market that is the GeForce 9600 GT, we will today see if ASUS are able to do anything that helps them stand out from the pack and if it's a card worth looking at. We continue to see ASUS use the larger box design, even for the mid-range GeForce 9600 GT card. We haven't been a fan of the huge box and it seems like even more of a waste.

The front of the box gives us the normal details like the brand across the top and model across the bottom. As you can see, ASUS mentions it is silent and we also see the HDMI logo displayed. Above the model we have some of the main features mentioned like 512MB of GDDR3 memory, PCI Express 2.0 and some other programs. We also have in the middle of the box to the left a picture of the cooler along with some of the main features it offers. Turning the box over, we have some information on the exclusive software included in the package. With the package down, it's time to check out the graphics card.

You can see that the heatsink takes up a massive amount of space on the card. All we can see is a bit of PCB running across the bottom. We are able to see multiple sets of fins with some located at the back of the card, some in the middle and some at the very beginning. The whole design is pretty hard core and feels excellent. We can see one of the heatpipes run up the center, but if we have a quick peek at the top of the card we can see more heatpipes running throughout the card along with some more fins which are increasing the area that can be used as cooling. Like most silent cards, it does require an extra slot.

The ASUS Extreme N9600 GT Silent as far as performance goes isn't something we haven't seen before, and it performs like it should. What was surprising though was just how efficient the silent cooler is when compared to the stock active cooling solution. The design ASUS has opted for is nothing short of excellent. While the card doesn't come with a huge bundle, we get a HDMI convertor along with the loop back cable and all other standard cables and paperwork provided. The card is a good option for people who are looking for an extremely efficient silently cooled graphics card.

If you're looking for a stock clocked card that doesn't heat up massively with a passive heatsink, the ASUS Extreme N9600 GT Silent could well be the card for you. In the end this is one of the best silent cards we've had the pleasure of testing.