I'm having a hard time figuring out why they would even offer this product.  The 9600GSO is only a few pennies more and has the same (sometimes better) performance.  I'm all about consumer choice, but the $80~$100 range is getting a bit over-crowded.

1nteljunki3:

 I'm having a hard time figuring out why they would even offer this product.  The 9600GSO is only a few pennies more and has the same (sometimes better) performance.  I'm all about consumer choice, but the $80~$100 range is getting a bit over-crowded.

Crowded indeed. I am assuming that's because this segment is where thay are making most of their money. A GTX 280 creates a lot of hype and sells cards but I'm willing to bet that for each 280 sold they sell a great deal more lower end cards. It's all about the numbers. I guess they are shooting for the consumer who is looking for the lowest price no matter what.

Edit: I'll have to look at the reviews for the GSO. I can't see how it could be faster. It has less memory (Usually), smaller pipes and slower clocks. All things considered the GSO should be slower. The GSO is also less than the GT, not more.

Great article by the way. Not everyone can afford the latest and greatest and having reviews like this help a lot of people with their buying decisions. Not to mention helps the guys like me who get questions about this stuff.

Well written. I was glad to see you mentioned power and noise. I get a lot of questions about noise these days and it's good to be able to tell the customers something.

Because there are people who can't aford the $110 (Newegg's curresnt cheapest price) for a 9600GT. The 9500GT is for the sub $80 market.