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[Solved] How to upgrade from Ge9600 GT OC

Forum Graphic & Displays : Graphics Cards - [Solved] How to upgrade from Ge9600 GT OC

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Best answer from enayet_redeemer.

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gwalschl   10-08-2009 at 11:10:43 AM

I'm building a new gaming computer for my son. His computer contains a Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD4 P55 mobo, INTEL CORE I5 750 2.66G CPU & aftermarket cooler, 4 GB (2x2GB) of Mushkin DDR3 1600 RAM, Zumax ZU650W power supply and a single BFG GeForce 9600 GT OC for graphics.

So, I am wondering what's the best way to upgrade his graphics...in terms of cost, performance and re-usability of the 9600 card in another computer. My son is getting frame rates with his current single 9600 based system of around 75 to 80 FPS steady in Call of Duty 4, whereas my gaming computer can often get a steady 125 to 200 FPS in COD4 using two GTX 275 OC's SLI'd together in a system housing a 1000W PSU.

I've got a few questions pertaining to this situation...

1) Which is better performance wise...adding a second BFG GeForce 9600 GT OC and using SLI to combine them or replacing the 9600 altogether with a single EVGA GTX 275 OC? How much is the difference in real throughput? I know the difference in money to me is about $140 for an additional 9600 GT OC versus $260 for a GTX 275 OC.

2) I'm pretty sure the 650W power supply on my son's computer is more than adequate for a single GTX 275 OC, but if I were to go with a second 9600 instead, would his power supply handle this second graphics card adequately with the CPU he's using?

3) If I did replace the 9600 altogether with a GTX 275 OC, I'd like to put the 9600 in a Pentium 4 based Dell Dimension that has a 305W power supply and use it as a cheap gaming server that basically just needs enough graphics to run programs, but not run them at top speed. Would that power supply, although likely undersized, handle the 9600's load in addition to a single hard drive?

4) If the best choice is to replace my son's 9600 with a GTX 275, could I add the 9600 as a physics GPU in my computer, thus having (2) GTX 275's and a singel 9600? Would my 1000w Corsair PSU handle it? I assume the configuration would be the two 275s SLI'd together and the 9600 would sit in a standalone slot?

Any thoughts/suggestions greatly appreciated!

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Best answer from enayet_redeemer

I am trying to answer your queries one after another.

1) Which is better performance wise...adding a second BFG GeForce 9600 GT OC and using SLI to combine them or replacing the 9600 altogether with a single EVGA GTX 275 OC? How much is the difference in real throughput? I know the difference in money to me is about $140 for an additional 9600 GT OC versus $260 for a GTX 275 OC.

A: A single GTX 275 will definitely give better performace in comparison to Geforce 9600GT SLI. It will give about ~22% boost in performance. You can see some benchmarks:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews [...] 0/13.html#
http://www.guru3d.com/article/gefo [...] ew-test/10

If you want to spend $120 more then go for GTX275.

2) I'm pretty sure the 650W power supply on my son's computer is more than adequate for a single GTX 275 OC, but if I were to go with a second 9600 instead, would his power supply handle this second graphics card adequately with the CPU he's using?

A: Yes, 650Watt power supply would be adequate for 2x9600GT. Is you PSU has 80+ rating? If you know the approximate wattage for your system PSU then this is the link:
http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=power

3) If I did replace the 9600 altogether with a GTX 275 OC, I'd like to put the 9600 in a Pentium 4 based Dell Dimension that has a 305W power supply and use it as a cheap gaming server that basically just needs enough graphics to run programs, but not run them at top speed. Would that power supply, although likely undersized, handle the 9600's load in addition to a single hard drive?

A: The recommended PSU for a 9600GT is 400Watt. I think it will choke the current PSU of Dell Dimension system. And I don't think 305Watt PSU could not give more than 70% throughput.

4) If the best choice is to replace my son's 9600 with a GTX 275, could I add the 9600 as a physics GPU in my computer, thus having (2) GTX 275's and a singel 9600? Would my 1000w Corsair PSU handle it? I assume the configuration would be the two 275s SLI'd together and the 9600 would sit in a standalone slot?

A: I would suggest to go to the link for the Wattage of the PSU:

http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=power

Could you please provide your System Configuration?

Hope this will help.


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sirkillalot   10-08-2009 at 11:27:00 AM

75 to 80 FPS or even 125 to 200 is more than enough i dont see the reason to upgrade but if u have to ....
personaly i find its better to upgrade with 1 strong card than two weak ones. new tech is always better for a number off reasons.
the 305w is pushing it plus how old is it?
the 650 and the 1000w is fine
check out the 5850 ati cards they use little power and are very strong, it may kill 2 birds with one stone.


Message edited by sirkillalot on 10-08-2009 at 11:30:08 AM
------------------------------ AMD P2955X4 ATI 5870 DX11 [:boudy:2]
24" dell 1900x1200 2x74 wraptor hd's1 X-FI pro gamer sounds
2G ram log.Z5500 speakers 650w toughpower G15kb dvd....ITS A MEAN GREEN GAMING MACHINE
 Reply to sirkillalot
enayet_redeemer   10-08-2009 at 12:45:16 PM
Best answer


I am trying to answer your queries one after another.

1) Which is better performance wise...adding a second BFG GeForce 9600 GT OC and using SLI to combine them or replacing the 9600 altogether with a single EVGA GTX 275 OC? How much is the difference in real throughput? I know the difference in money to me is about $140 for an additional 9600 GT OC versus $260 for a GTX 275 OC.

A: A single GTX 275 will definitely give better performace in comparison to Geforce 9600GT SLI. It will give about ~22% boost in performance. You can see some benchmarks:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews [...] 0/13.html#
http://www.guru3d.com/article/gefo [...] ew-test/10

If you want to spend $120 more then go for GTX275.

2) I'm pretty sure the 650W power supply on my son's computer is more than adequate for a single GTX 275 OC, but if I were to go with a second 9600 instead, would his power supply handle this second graphics card adequately with the CPU he's using?

A: Yes, 650Watt power supply would be adequate for 2x9600GT. Is you PSU has 80+ rating? If you know the approximate wattage for your system PSU then this is the link:
http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=power

3) If I did replace the 9600 altogether with a GTX 275 OC, I'd like to put the 9600 in a Pentium 4 based Dell Dimension that has a 305W power supply and use it as a cheap gaming server that basically just needs enough graphics to run programs, but not run them at top speed. Would that power supply, although likely undersized, handle the 9600's load in addition to a single hard drive?

A: The recommended PSU for a 9600GT is 400Watt. I think it will choke the current PSU of Dell Dimension system. And I don't think 305Watt PSU could not give more than 70% throughput.

4) If the best choice is to replace my son's 9600 with a GTX 275, could I add the 9600 as a physics GPU in my computer, thus having (2) GTX 275's and a singel 9600? Would my 1000w Corsair PSU handle it? I assume the configuration would be the two 275s SLI'd together and the 9600 would sit in a standalone slot?

A: I would suggest to go to the link for the Wattage of the PSU:

http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=power

Could you please provide your System Configuration?

Hope this will help.


Reply to enayet_redeemer
enayet_redeemer   10-08-2009 at 01:52:16 PM


Sorry, I missed one thing. You can use 9600GT as a Physx card. Just you have to enable it as a physx card from nVIDIA control Panel.

Correction: I don't think 305 Watt PSU could give more than 70% throughput.

Reply to enayet_redeemer
Bronze Graphics badge shadow187   10-08-2009 at 02:02:41 PM

Best card for you is a 5850. Go for it.

Reply to shadow187
gwalschl   10-08-2009 at 04:43:21 PM

Hi Enayet,

Great answer! It's pretty much what I expected. The single GTX 275 will probably beat the two 9600s SLI'd together by even more than 22% because I hear that using SLI has some loss (i.e. it's not 2x of one of the cards in performance).

Also, I used the calculator to see if my Dell Pentium 4 machine could handle the 9600 and it's just inadequate. The calculations suggest around 325w and I have 305w...and it's an older PSU. So, maybe it'll run, but just not well?

I hate to get another power supply just to give a salvage machine a chance to use the 9600 to run as a games server, but maybe it's worth just getting a "cheap-o" PSU new for that purpose. I'll look into what that costs. Most likely the best outcome would be to get a GTX275 for my son, get a cheap 400w or so PSU to put in the Pentium 4, toss the 9600 in the Pentium 4 machine and use that as a game server.

Thanks very much for the thorough response!

Message quoted 1 times
Reply to gwalschl
enayet_redeemer   10-08-2009 at 07:04:23 PM

gwalschl wrote :

Hi Enayet,

Great answer! It's pretty much what I expected. The single GTX 275 will probably beat the two 9600s SLI'd together by even more than 22% because I hear that using SLI has some loss (i.e. it's not 2x of one of the cards in performance).

Also, I used the calculator to see if my Dell Pentium 4 machine could handle the 9600 and it's just inadequate. The calculations suggest around 325w and I have 305w...and it's an older PSU. So, maybe it'll run, but just not well?

I hate to get another power supply just to give a salvage machine a chance to use the 9600 to run as a games server, but maybe it's worth just getting a "cheap-o" PSU new for that purpose. I'll look into what that costs. Most likely the best outcome would be to get a GTX275 for my son, get a cheap 400w or so PSU to put in the Pentium 4, toss the 9600 in the Pentium 4 machine and use that as a game server.

Thanks very much for the thorough response!



It was my pleasure to help you.

Reply to enayet_redeemer
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