Conclusion
You've seen the graphs, you've seen what the card I can't name can do, what's fastest? You decide. For all intents and purposes, just like last time when FX5600 Ultra v2 and 9600 Pro showed up, the mid range sector is full of boards that perform in the real world within a margin of error of each other.Both do just fine at < DX9.0 class tests, both make a fine stab at DX9.0 tests themselves. 9600XT has in inherent DX9 advantage in its design, giving ATI's driver writers a better platform from which to extract performance, whereas NVIDIA will have to work harder on that side of things.
It's all down to price after that, given good IQ and performance all round from everything.
I got word this morning that the majority of partner 9600XT's will sit around the £150 mark, if not £15 or so either side, depending on software bundle and manufacturer. It's long been an accepted price point for cards in this sector, so no change there. 9600 Pro and FX5600 Ultra are merely a little slower, maybe pick those up at a bargain price from your favourite retailer if you are buying a stopgap card before the next gen in Q1/Q2 2004?
TSMC's process enhancements have basically handed ATI a fall refresh on a plate, and combined with the new drivers, it almost feels like a totally different product to 9600 Pro.
Lots of core overclocking headroom (please please put better memory modules on retail boards if ATI's partners are listening), a decent price and very competitive performance. You can't ask for more than that.
Overclocked NV36 is a different matter, that thing does even sillier speeds (how does 595/1050 stable sound?) and the memory bandwidth advantage is huge, but at stock clocks 9600XT is a good buy and a recommended no fuss midrange board. Hopefully we'll see partner boards shortly.
Pros
DX9 performanceOverclocking headroom due to BD process swap
Quiet
Great driver (VPU recover and SmartShader effects especially)
Should be cheap and makes 9600 Pro cheaper
Cons
Overclocked rival opens up a slight gap for similar money (review soon)Editors Note:
We do understand that most of the population buys systems which are running WHQL drivers, however a lot of system builders such as Evesham, Mesh and the like will use non WHQL drivers to get a competitive advantage within reviews. The 52.16 drivers are WHQL certified and will be launched next week.
The NV36 and 9600XT both appears to be superb cards, remember both of the cards we are running are reference cards showing the technology off. We are using a series of benchmarks we have built up over the years - we are not going to make a direct shift to DX9 yet. Since at the end of the day you guys are using both DX8 and DX9 apps now. So we have to test how you will be running them.
At the end of the day the next 6 months is going to be an exciting time - the NV36 looks very promising and coupled with a board partner such as Gainward, I suspect we will seen some obscene speeds.
So, let's bring it on - I suspect we have just seen a new fight start.... Lets see what the partners produce.