Concluding thoughts
The Triplex REDai Radeon 9600 Pro 128MB card is an interested product that bucks the industry's trend in a couple of ways. Firstly, through the liberal use of a silver PCB, much in the same vein as SOYO's motherboards, the card stands out from the majority of the competition's offerings. Triplex claim that the silver look has more to do with performance than pure aesthetics. The card did seem to feel cool to the touch, but so did other 9600 Pros.
What pleases us the most, though, is the 'overclocked' speed of the card. Running 20MHz above stock core speeds is no major achievement, as most 9600 Pros, based on the advanced 0.13-micron fabrication process, can hit 450MHz core with ease. However, running a full 80MHz above a normal 9600 Pro's memory speed is something to make one sit up and take notice. 680MHz memory speed is facilitated by the use of some high-quality Samsung TinyBGA memory, the same kind found on a number of 9800 Pros. We fully expected this card to benchmark faster than any other 9600 Pro, and it obliged by setting the fastest 'stock' 9600 Pro scores to date.
A word or two about the cooler. It's generally quiet and does a reasonable job in cooling the VPU, however our sample's wasn't best applied to the core. We sincerely hope that this is an isolated incident and not one that's going to cause users unnecessary problems. A variable speed fan, as found on the Tyan model, would have been a nice bonus.
Triplex has been brave enough to launch a card that goes beyond ATi's specifications, and for that they must be applauded. The current drawback for Triplex is its relatively unknown name. We scoured a number of big-name e-tailers and found it difficult to track down this card in quantity. Further, the sparse bundle will perhaps force potential buyers to think again. Other firms literally supply the kitchen sink with their model, so we feel that Triplex needs to address this facet of the REDai design.
Overall, though, a decent card that stands out from the general 9600 Pro melee in both looks and performance. U.K pricing is unconfirmed as yet, but we expect it to retail at just over £150.
