Testbed:

Motherboard:
EVGA 680i SLI (Provided by EVGA)

Processor:
Intel Core 2 Duo 6800 Extreme edition (Provided by Intel)

Memory:
OCZ FlexXLC PC2 9200 5-5-5-18  (Provided by OCZ)
        during testing CL5-5-5-15-CR2T 1066MHz at 2.2V

PSU:
OCZ Silencer 750 Quad Black (Provided by OCZ)

Hard disk:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 80GB SATA (Provided by Seagate)

CPU-Cooler:
Freezer 7 Pro (Provided by Artic Cooling)

Case Fans:
Artic Cooling - Artic Fan 12 PWM
Artic Cooling - Artic Fan 8 PWM

Vista 32 SP1



Futuremarks

Geforce 9600 GSO scored somewhere between 9500 GT and 9600 GT cards. If you own an 8800 GS you can now compare how your card compares to 9600 GT. We already mentioned that 9600 GSO is nothing but a renamed 8800 GS with enough muscle to enable playing any title you choose, but at lower resolutions and lower detail settings. If lack of antialiasing doesn’t concern you, or you’re not particularly fond of bombastic high-res effects, then 9600 GSO is sure to be your faithful companion.



Inno3D Geforce 9600 GSO is an overclocked card running at 610MHz and its speeds are enough to tackle the tasks ahead. It almost runs on par with 9600 GT, a card that runs at 650MHz.




We overclocked Inno3D to 680MHz and the memory at 1000MHz (2000MHz effectively) and it outperformed the reference Geforce 9600 GT card.


Gaming







Just like we expected, the card performs quite well compared to 9600 GT, but 9600 GSO loses when filters are turned on. Still, the results are such that all three tested games were playable but with lower graphics settings.

 

Conclusion

Inno3D sent us their Geforce 9600 GSO graphics card and this card comes with an excellent Xstriker3 cooler which is sure to provide some nice overclocking potential. The cooler doesn’t get louder than 28.5dB, which is acceptable, and it looks really good. This card packs 768MB of GDDR3 memory and it comes with a 192bit memory interface. Under the cooler you’ll find a 65nm G92 core with 96 Unified Shaders and 12 ROPs. For those who don’t want to trouble themselves with overclocking, Inno3D already did it for them - the card runs at 610MHz, which is a 60MHz overclock.

To make things more interesting, Inno3D included a gift game – Ghost Recon 2. With an overclocked core, memory at 900MHz (1800MHz effectively) and some lower resolutions, this card will let you play all the popular games.

This is a DX 10.0 card with PhysX and CUDA support, something all Nvidia’s 8th and 9th Geforce generation cards feature.

Although Inno3D went the extra mile and gold-coated TV and DVI outs , we still think that lack of SPDIF connector on the card is a mistake. This way HDMI is usable, but you’ll have to route the sound separately.

Inno3D Geforce 9600 GSO Xstriker3 (C9600GSO3-K5LTCD) is a good card if you want to play games and you don’t want to splash out more than €75-80, which is the price of this card. The downside is that a couple of extra euros can buy you a 9600 GT, but don’t forget that you get Ghost Recon 2 as a gift. All in all, we sincerely recommend it, especially if you were planning on buying a 9500 GT, since this card will provide much better gaming experience.