Thread: 9600GT graphics card

Picking a graphics card that offers the best bang for the buck can be as tricky as choosing a good motherboard, even though you don't have to look out for as many features! Let's say you want to pick the best graphics card that falls within a budget of Rs 6,500. The GeForce 9600 GT is an easy guess, but confusion will set in as soon as you take a look at the various options available on store shelves. You'll find the same card offered by numerous manufacturers and each one offering three to five variants. The standard version of the 9600 GT features 512 MB DDR3 memory and costs the least. Then you'll find factory-overclocked editions of the same card in 512 MB and 1 GB options. Shift your sight to another shelf and you'll find a 2 GB variant for a slightly higher price than the standard version. There are even more variants available, more than 20 variants in all of 9600 GT to choose from. And one of these 20 variants will be the smartest choice! Here we have taken the case of only one GPU. No matter what GPU you've opted for, keep these points in mind while buying a graphics card and you'll surely end up with a golden pick.

Before you go to shop for your graphics card, do this little homework. Prepare a list of the various models available if; the market. Out of these, strike out the ones that have DDR2 memory instead of the standard DDR3 memory. If your GPU is entry-level and comes with only DDR2 memory, look out for DDR3 variants and mark it as the first preference. DDR2 memory is slower and impacts frame rates significantly. The next step is to strike out the ones that have twice the amount of memory than the standard variant. For example, eliminate any 9600 GT graphics card with 1 GB
memory, even if it's factory overclocked.



Higher amounts of memory mean higher price and it hardly makes a difference in performance. Surprised? But yes, it's true! Finally, what you'll have left in your list will be standard and factory overclocked variants by various brands. Half of your dilemma is solved at this stage. Now comes the time to make a smart choice. Find out the average price of the standard variant and see if you're getting a factory-overclocked edition or something with a good custom cooler for a slightly higher price (not more than a few hundred rupees).

After your choice has narrowed down to three to five cards, examine the quality of the PCB and components used in construction. Cards with all-solid capacitors have a longer lifespan. Also note the warranty period offered by the manufacturer. If some brand is offering three year warranty for a slightly higher price than some other brand that's offering only a year's warranty, don't hesitate to pay the premium. In most cases you'll end up with a good factory-overclocked graphics card for an attractive price. If factory-overclocked graphics cards are priced much higher than the standard variants, then settle for the latter. The difference in performance won:t justify the premium you'll have to shell out. If you're loyal to a particular brand, you may be hesitant to follow this guide. But we suggest you see what other brands have to offer-you might end up with something better. Also, don't be lured by fancy packaging and figures mentioned on them.

We tested graphics cards with different memory sizes (512 MB and 1 GB), memory types (DDR2 and DDR3), and factory-overclocked versions. You will be stunned by the results!