What kind of performance boost should I expect from a second 9600 GSO?

[JeffK91]

Hey all, I recently upgraded my dual 7800GTs in SLI to a 9600 GSO 768mb, and the performance boost has been quite frankly amazing. I can finally crank up the settings in some games on full resolution, but more importantly my computer is QUIET now. So now I'm thinking about picking a second one up, but I was wondering what kind of performance boost I can expect? What card are two 9600 GSOs comparable to? And will my computer get louder with the second card?

And I have a question about PNY's rebate. I bought my first 9600 from Fry's with a $40 rebate and just sent that rebate form in. Now Amazon has a similar deal with the same rebate from PNY, so can I buy it from there and still get the second rebate? I believe it says one per household, but I was wondering if it could be possible since I'm buying it from another retailer.

Thanks in advance.

edit: I found an OC'd version of the same card. Here it is:
Amazon.com: PNY Verto GeForce 9600 GSO 768MB Overclocked Video Card: Electronics and this is the original first one I bought Amazon.com: PNY VCG96GSO7XPB Verto GeForce 9600 GSO 768MB Video Card: Electronics

Is the OC'd one worth the extra $20? How could I OC the original one to the same speed as the OC'd one?

 

[meat_helmet]

Well, its a bit hard to say how much performance increase you will see. The 9600s were great in SLI - sometimes getting ~80-90% more which is really good for SLI. The thing is, your cpu is getting pretty old now and may hold you back in alor of games. But since you are gaming at a high res then the increase should still be very good, maybe 70% (as i said its hard to say...) 2x 9600 GSOs in SLI would IMO equal about a HD4850 or slightly better on your machine. Although it would not be up to a GTX260 speed i think.

As for how quite it will be, adding another should create very little noticable increase - it definately will not be twice as loud as you might think.

The OCes one is probably not worth it, they usually arent as you can download RivaTuner or something similar and overclock the cards anyway.

 

[veg1992]

Hey all, I recently upgraded my dual 7800GTs in SLI to a 9600 GSO 768mb, and the performance boost has been quite frankly amazing. I can finally crank up the settings in some games on full resolution, but more importantly my computer is QUIET now. So now I'm thinking about picking a second one up, but I was wondering what kind of performance boost I can expect? What card are two 9600 GSOs comparable to? And will my computer get louder with the second card?

And I have a question about PNY's rebate. I bought my first 9600 from Fry's with a $40 rebate and just sent that rebate form in. Now Amazon has a similar deal with the same rebate from PNY, so can I buy it from there and still get the second rebate? I believe it says one per household, but I was wondering if it could be possible since I'm buying it from another retailer.

Thanks in advance.

edit: I found an OC'd version of the same card. Here it is:
Amazon.com: PNY Verto GeForce 9600 GSO 768MB Overclocked Video Card: Electronics and this is the original first one I bought Amazon.com: PNY VCG96GSO7XPB Verto GeForce 9600 GSO 768MB Video Card: Electronics

Is the OC'd one worth the extra $20? How could I OC the original one to the same speed as the OC'd one?

Stick with the cheaper one, as its quite easy to overclock a few mhz with RivaTuner or ATiTool (both freeware programs)

 

[kobe24]

just sell your 9600gso and get a 4850 or gtx 260 less heat and just as powerful as two cards. what size is your monitor?

 

[meat_helmet]

just sell your 9600gso and get a 4850 or gtx 260 less heat and just as powerful as two cards. what size is your monitor?

I think he just bought it. But Kobe has a point, if you are looking for even more power it might be worthwhile trying to return it and just get a HD4850 or 4870.

 

[kobe24]

hey meat helmet i remember you, i just come back to tf been gone for couple of months. you got a nice rig now.

 

[meat_helmet]

Yeh mate, good to see ya back, you and baron are bros right?? Where have ya been? Im still lurking around here, lol, and yeh finally spent the cash for a nice rig.

 

[kobe24]

lol yeah me and baron5 are bros. been busy man had to work two jobs for awhile, but im back now missed it. we are gettin a new rig soon to, thinkin something like yours but wc this time for major oc. ill be up in sydney with ya soon goin to the army hopefully.

 

[meat_helmet]

The army, nice, almost did the same a few years ago. Yeh im thinking water will be a good idea for next summer - these i7s get bloody hot, its currently replacing a heater in my room, lol.

 

[JeffK91]

What's the cheapest price for a 4870 these days? But anyway, I cut off the UPC code off the box so I don't think it's returnable anymore to Fry's.

Would you guys say I'm performing above my computer's level if I can max out everything on TF2 (Full HDR, 16XQ CSAA, 16X AF, etc.) on full resolution and still play relatively smoothly?