GeForce 9600 GT 512MB

[kevin2000]

Can someone tell me if this card will be able to run some of the newer games, like Call of Duty 5 or Far Cry 2. Also how much better performance would I get if I ran dual 9600's. The pc has a Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600, 4 gigs memory and running vista 64 bit.

 

[Midknyte]

9600s would probably work for the lower settings of the new games.

Instead of running SLI, you should get ONE higher end card.

THG does monthly "Bang for the Buck" roundups. Check it out:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-graphics-card,2118.html

You can compare performance here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/graphics-cards,1.html

 

[kevin2000]

Thanks Midknyte- That's what I usually do, but I am going to buy a rig that comes with this card. I wasn't sure if 2 Geforce 9600 would work well enough to play at the higher resolutions. I haven't bought a vga card in a few years, so I am a little lost.

 

[Midknyte]

Even 2 9600s aren't going to be enough to handle the newest games at high resolutions. It's not like 9600 SLI is 2x faster than a single 9600. You'd be better off selling the 9600 and putting it towards a GTX260 216 or something.

You can see how the high end cards struggle at top resolutions:
http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-295-review-bfg/12

 

[kevin2000]

I am surprised the high end cards struggle, but after looking at those charts a 9600 seems like a waste of money. That GTX260 looks pretty sweet. I appreciate the info.

 

[Midknyte]

The Guru3d review had the settings turned all the way up. If you tried running the games at minimal levels and lowest resolution, it may work on a 9600. The key words I saw in your question were "high resolutions". When you increase resolution, that significantly affects video performance.