PCSTATS     
[X]   Directory of
Guides & Reviews

Beginners Guides
Motherboards by Brand
Weekly Newsletter
Archived Newsletters

ASUS EN9600GT DI/512MD3/A Geforce 9600GT Rev.B Videocard Review
ASUS EN9600GT DI/512MD3/A Geforce 9600GT Rev.B Videocard Review - PCSTATS
The Radeon HD 4770 has been widely praised for its lower power consumption, in no small part due to its die-shrink to 40nm. Will NVIDIA's new steppings allow the Geforce 9600GT to compete in terms of power efficiency?
 72% Rating:   
Filed under: Video Cards Published:  Author: 
External Mfg. Website: ASUS Jun 03 2009   J. Apong  
Home > Reviews > Video Cards > ASUS EN9600GT DI/512MD3/A

Power Draw, Overclocking, Test System Specs

Here's how the ASUS EN9600GT DI/512MD3/A videocard stacks up in real life. We have no way of directly measuring motherboard power draw, so PCSTATS measures total system power draw and compares that in CPU-loaded (max value recorded in 3DMark) and idle states (at Windows Vista desktop). An Extech 380803 AC Power Analyzer and A-PFC compliant PC Power and Cooling 750W power supply were used for these tests.

PCSTATS Benchmark ReportVideocard Power Consumption (Total System Power Draw)
Idle at Desktop Watts Ranking
Palit HD4870 X2 2GB 177
Asus EAH3870 X2 1GB TOP/G/3DHTI/1G/A 153
Asus EAH3870 X2 1GB TOP/G/3DHTI/1G/A (Crossfire) 222
MSI R3870X2-T2D1G-OC 165
Asus EAH4890 HTDI/1GD5/A 137
Asus EAH4850 HTDI/512M 120
MSI R4830 T2D512-OC (Radeon 4830) 108
Gigabyte GV-R477D5-512HB 135
Gigabyte GV-R477D5-512HB Crossfire 180
Asus EAH4770 HTDI/512MD5/A 101
Diamond Viper Radeon HD 2900XT CrossFire 195
Asus EAX1900XTX 2DHTV/512M/A 160
Asus EAX1950PRO/HTDP/256M/A 150
ASUS ENGTX260 MT/HTDI/896MD3-A 135
Gigabyte GV-N26OC896H-GA 112
Sparkle GTX260 Core 216 140
ASUS ENGTS250 DK 120
ASUS ENGTS250 DK in SLI 170
ASUS EN9600GT DI/512MD3/A 86
Gigabyte GV-N96TSL-1GI 96
nVidia Geforce 9600GTs in SLI 166
Asus EN9600GT Top/HTDI/512M 152
Palit Geforce 9600GT 512 151
MSI NX8800GTX-T2D768E 196
MSI NX7950GX2-T2D1GE 183
MSI NX7900GTX-T2D512E 165
Gigabyte GV-NX76T256D-RH 140
3D Loaded: Watts Ranking
Palit HD4870 X2 2GB 421
Asus EAH3870 X2 1GB TOP/G/3DHTI/1G/A 390
Asus EAH3870 X2 1GB TOP/G/3DHTI/1G/A (Crossfire) 610
MSI R3870X2-T2D1G-OC 330
Asus EAH4890 HTDI/1GD5/A 225
Asus EAH4850 HTDI/512M 202
MSI R4830 T2D512-OC (Radeon 4830) 177
Gigabyte GV-R477D5-512HB 186
Gigabyte GV-R477D5-512HB Crossfire 279
Asus EAH4770 HTDI/512MD5/A 153.3
Diamond Viper Radeon HD 2900XT CrossFire 549
Asus EAX1900XTX 2DHTV/512M/A 333
Asus EAX1950PRO/HTDP/256M/A 252
ASUS ENGTX260 MT/HTDI/896MD3-A 277
Gigabyte GV-N26OC896H-GA 215
Sparkle GTX260 Core 216 262
ASUS ENGTS250 DK 214
ASUS ENGTS250 DK in SLI 316
ASUS EN9600GT DI/512MD3/A 148
Gigabyte GV-N96TSL-1GI 160
nVidia Geforce 9600GTs in SLI 313
Asus EN9600GT Top/HTDI/512M 220
Palit Geforce 9600GT 512 221
MSI NX8800GTX-T2D768E 345
MSI NX7950GX2-T2D1GE 315
MSI NX7900GTX-T2D512E 277
Gigabyte GV-NX76T256D-RH 213

The Asus EN9600GT draws less wattage under load than the Radeon HD 4770. Its idle performance is even better, with the entire PC test system drawing a paltry 86W. Given that this videocard also doesn't need an extra PCI Express power adapter, and this videocard is an ideal upgrade for those stuck with older, less powerful power supplies.

Overclocking Report and Test System Specs

Overclocking Results:
stock overclocked
gpu (core) speed: 600 mhz 726 mhz
memory speed: (900mhz) 1800mhz (944mhz) 1888mhz ddr
if you're new to Overclocking and not sure what to do, check out these two excellent Guides for some pointers:
Overclocking the CPU and Memory
Overclocking the Videocard

The ASUS EN9600GT DI/512MD3/A videocard is unique among the 55nm Geforce 9600GT videocards because it doesn't require an additional power connector. As overclocking tends to increase power demands from the videocard, it will be interesting to see if this ASUS EN9600GT videocard is up to the task.

As usual, overclocking was done through nVidia's nTune utility which unlocks GPU and memory clock speed. PCSTATS started with the GPU first, pausing to test the results with a quick 3D benchmark before continuing.

The Geforce 9600GT core is clocked by default at 600MHz. Starting with the GPU first, the speed was quickly overclocked to 656MHz, then 679MHz and 694MHz. Finally we went for the gusto with a 726MHz core clock!

PCSTATS then turned its attention to the 512MB of GDDR3 memory clocked by default at 900MHz (dual-pumped to yield a Double Data Rate operating speed of 1800MHz). The ASUS EN9600GT DI/512MD3/A was overclocked aggressively with nTune to a speed of 1888MHz, which remained stable through our overclocking tests.

Ultimately, PCSTATS saw mixed overclocking results from the ASUS EN9600GT DI/512MD3/A videocard. The videocard overclocked to a mediocre 726MHz GPU / 1888MHz memory. Good, but not nearly has fast as the previous 55nm Geforce 9600GT videocard PCSTATS tested from Gigabyte (the GV-N96TSL-1GI achieved 811MHz GPU / 2100MHz memory).

In this instance, ASUS has built an affordable videocard with HDMI onboard, not an overclocker-friendly Geforce 9600GT.

Prelude to Benchmarks

The details of how the ASUS EN9600GT DI/512MD3/A videocard was configured for benchmarking; the specific hardware, software drivers, operating system and benchmark versions are indicated below. All benchmarks for the videocard were run in Windows Vista Ultimate, the reference video cards were tested in both Windows XP and Vista for the DX10 benchmarks.

PCSTATS is in the process of making the transition to a Windows Vista and Intel CPU test platform, so keep this in mind as you scan the benchmark results. In the second column are the general specs for the reference cards this Geforce 9600GT videocard is to be compared against. Please take a moment to look over PCSTATS test system configurations before moving on to the individual benchmark results on the next page.

PCSTATS Test System Configurations
test system reference system #1 reference system #2
processor: intel Core 2 Duo E8400 (775) Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 (775) AMD Athlon64 FX-62 (AM2)
Clock Speed:

15 x 200MHz = 3.0GHz

14 x 200MHz = 2.6GHz 14 x 200MHz = 2.8GHz
Motherboards:

ASUS P5E3 Premiun (Intel X48 Express)
ASUS Striker II NSE (nF 790i SLI)*
MSI X48 Platinum (Intel X48 Express)

MSI X48 Platinum (Intel X48 Express)

Foxconn C51XEM2 (NF 590 SLI)
Videocard:

ASUS EN9600GT DI/512MD3/A
Gigabyte GV-N26OC896H-GA
ASUS ENGTX260 MT/HTDI/896MD3
Sparkle GTX260 Core 216
ASUS ENGTS250 DK (SLI)*
ASUS EAH4890 HTDI/1GD5/A
Gigabyte GV-N96TSL-1GI

Palit Radeon HD 4870X2
ASUS Radeon EAH4850/HTDI/512MA
MSI Radeon R3870X2-T2D1G-OC
ASUS Radeon EAH3870X2 1G
Diamond HD 3650 Pe 512
MSI R4830-T2D512-OC

ASUS EAX1900XTX/2DHTV/512M/A
ASUS EAX1950PRO/HTDP/256M/A
MSI NX8800GTX-T2D768E-HD
Foxconn FV-N88SMCD2-ONOC
MSI NX8800GTS-T2D320E-HD-OC
nVidia GeForce 8600GTS SLI
Foxconn
8600GTS-256
MSI NX8600GT-T2D256E-OC
MSI NX8600GTS-T2D256E-OC
Gigabyte GV-NX85T256H SLI
Gigabyte GV-NX85T256H
MSI NX7950GX2-T2D1GE
MSI NX7900GTX-T2D512E
Gigabyte GV-NX76GT256D-RH
Biostar Sigma-Gate GeForce 7600GS
Albatron 8600GT-256
MSI NX8800GT-T2D512E-OC
ASUS EN8800GT TOP/G/HTDP/512M/A
Palit 9600GT Sonic
Biostar V903GT52-NV1AN *

Memory:

Corsair DOMINATOR Twin2X2048-1800C7D (DDR3)

Corsair Twin2X2048-6400C3 (DDR2)

Hard Drive:

74GB Western Digital Raptor WD740

CDROM:

ASUS BC-1205PT-BD Blu-Ray Drive

Monitor (1080p):

ASUS MK241 24" HD LCD

Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling TurboCool 750W
Heatsink: Intel E8400 Reference Intel E6750 Reference Athlon64 FX-62 Reference Heatsink
Test System Setup:

Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit
Intel INF 9.0.0.1008
Catalyst 9.3
Forceware 185.85
nVidia 15.23

Microsoft Windows XP Pro SP2
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit*

Benchmarks:

3DMark06
3DMark Vantage
Far Cry 2
STALKER Clear Sky
FEAR
Crysis
Call of Juarez
Lost Planet

Benchmark results are organized by GPU manufacturer first (AMD/ATI or nVidia), then by GPU generation, and then by GPU class (high end, mainstream, value). This approach provides a clearer view of how performance can differ from generation to generation, and class to previous generation. The product being tested is marked with the red colour bar.

< Previous Page © 2023 PCSTATS.com Next Page >

 

Contents of Article: ASUS EN9600GT DI/512MD3/A
 Pg 1.  ASUS EN9600GT DI/512MD3/A Geforce 9600GT Rev.B Videocard Review
 Pg 2.  — Power Draw, Overclocking, Test System Specs
 Pg 3.  Videocard Benchmarks: 3DMark06
 Pg 4.  DX10 Videocard Benchmarks: 3DMark Vantage, STALKER, Crysis
 Pg 5.  DX10 Videocard Benchmarks: STALKER, Crysis
 Pg 6.  DX10 Videocard Benchmarks: Call of Juarez
 Pg 7.  DX10 Videocard Benchmarks: Lost Planet
 Pg 8.  Videocard Benchmarks: FEAR
 Pg 9.  AA/AF Videocard Benchmarks: FarCry 2, Crysis
 Pg 10.  Asus EN9600GT - yesterday's card today

 
Hardware Sections 


 
PCSTATS Network Features Information About Us Contact
FrostyTech
PCSTATS Newsletter
Tech Glossary
Technology WebSite Listings
News Archives
(Review RSS Feed)
Site Map
PCstats Wallpaper
About Us
Privacy Policy
Advertise on PCSTATS

How's Our Driving?
© Copyright 1999-2023 www.pcstats.com All rights reserved. Privacy policy and Terms of Use.