9600GT vs 4670

Whats his budget? cpu? psu? ram?

the 9600GT is the better card and can handle most games at 1280 x 1024

can you show reviews that 9600gt is better? thanks

what you don't trust me??!!  

its recommended by Tom's over the 4670 as the better buy in July 09 best cards for the money, its listed higher on the hierarchy chart, and if you search Tom's chart they will show you it outperforms the 4670. You can also google 4670 & 9600GT reviews.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-graphics-card,...

Or you can just check the THG charts - did you bother looking at them?

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/gaming-graphics-char...

I suggest you next at least google a few reviews of the 9600GT before asking which card is best.

9600GT Is indeed better, Although if you would plan on getting a 4670 dont get the 1gig model. A waste of money

His bugdet is around $70
PSU - --------- Quantum 400Watt
CPU ----------- Intel Pentium Dual Core E2160 @ 1.8 ghz
Ram ----------- 1 GB Kingston value series

while looking around at different reviews of 4670 with 512 gigs of ram
so if beefed up by 1 gig it will help in games using larger frame buffer like Farcry 2 or GTA IV
as well as HAWX
so they might be on equal in footing
reply soon

Alright the choice is made on 9600gt but
there are two version
one is of zotac 9600gt eco version
and xfx 9600gt standard version
which is better in performance
reply soon

They wont really benifit from 1 gig, 4670 just isnt as strong as a 9600gt, but then again its not to compete with that card (thus its cheaper) its meant go against the 9500gt/9600gso

imo buy the 4670, and buy some more ram, seeing as your psu looks rather generic.
And the 4670 requires very little juice

the 4670 is too slow to use 1GB of ram (as is the 9600GT)

it seems your heart is set on the 4670 so you may as well get it but the fact is the card is just plain slower then the 9600GT (with or without 1GB)

It does use less power. Last time I looked, around 10% slower

First thing you need to do before getting a new card. Try to overclock your cpu a little bit and upgrade ram to at least 2gig. As for the graphic card the cheapest 4670 and 9600gt are:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... (4670)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... (9600GT)

Both are about in the same performance level. 9600gt i believe is a tad faster, but since ati 4xxx series is known to handle aa better with max settings there about the same. At your resolution 1gig video ram is overkill. To tell you the truth i like this deal.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Between those 2 cards, get the 4670. The reason I say it is because the PSU you listed seems generic and may run the 4670. If you grab the 9600gt, you may end up spending more on a new PSU. Plus if a PSU goes you risk taking out other components, maybe the shiny new video card, or mobo, etc.

Well this 9800gt EE doesnt require a pcie connector. Heard people running it with 250-300w psu.
Its slightly above your budget though.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

that card would be my personal choice for the OP PC

i would first suggest you a PSU upgrade(If its generic).
For playing new games at that reso. you will have to overclock that CPU.And that seems risky with that PSU of yours.

And get more ram for sure.Every game takes at least 1.5Gigs (with XP).

If you are on very tight budget and not willing to buy PSU then get the 4670 .

If your friend wishes to maximize the gaming performance out of spending approximately $70, purchasing the 9600GT is CLEARLY the way to go.

If his PSU is operating properly, it will handle that card - some manufacturers list the minimum power requirement as 400w while others only require 350w. It would be nice to get a new PSU, but clearly not in his budget and not the way to spend his budget to maximize game play.

The 9800GT is a faster card - but about $25 more, and more than your stated budget, plus it requires more power. I don't understand people recommending the 4670 over 9600GT for power reasons as the former uses more power. See this link.

http://archive.atomicmpc.com.au/forums.asp?s=2&c=7&t=93...

Increasing RAM would also be nice and a second choice - and if he has open slots another 1GB of value RAM should not be too expensive - but it should only be second choice after getting the faster graphics card.

OC might be a good, no cost option, to speed up game play a little as well as other activities, if his system and mobo support it - but you have told us nothing about it so I don't know. If they do, I recommend getting (borrowing if possible) a Watt Killer or similar device to first measure his actual consumption before starting since this too requires more power. Adding the video card should not be a problem, but I suggest checking actual usuage before then afterwards also OC.

You might also run his complete system with a power calculator also to check:

http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.js...

I just did, and extreme outervision shows a 4670 uses 11 less watts than a 9600

Asus P5N-MX with nvidia chipset 610i

I have overclocked the cpu from 1.8 ghz to 2.7ghz at stock settings with more headroom still there

Alright the choice is made on 9600gt but
there are two version
one is of zotac 9600gt eco version
and xfx 9600gt standard version
which is better in performance
reply soon

The standard 9600GT would be better in performance(i.e xfx one)
But if you are held back by your PSU then the eco edition is the way to go.

I am myself running the Zotac 9800GT eco and it plays all games at high @ 1280X960(max my monitor can support).Eco versions don't need 6 pin connector which are unavailable on majority of generic PSU.

get the 9600gt. enough said. ur psu will handle it. dont listen to these overhyped/overrated psu concerns.