Nvidia GeForce 9600 GT, still almost on par with ATI's HD 4670

What a difference a year makes. In our last graphics cards Labs, the 9600 GT was the knight in shining armour, a last-minute intervention to steal the award and the glory away from the best ATI had to offer. But in present company, it struggles against Nvidia's own cluttered line-up as much as the opposition.

With 64 stream processors, a 650MHz core clock and 512MB of memory at 900MHz, it's now more of a budget card than the mid-range gamer it once was.

In our tests, it couldn't quite manage Crysis at high settings, averaging an almost but not really playable 24fps, but it does pack just enough power to play Far Cry 2 at the same high level - a score of 33fps should have you playing smoothly at all but the most graphically intensive moments. Call of Juarez was beyond its reach at all but low settings, but Call of Duty 4 - a far easier game to run - was playable at all levels.

At $147, the 9600 GT has to compete with ATI's $150 HD 4670 (we'll discount the GSO from serious consideration). In Crysis and Call of Duty 4 the GT has the beating of the ATI card, although the roles are reversed in Far Cry 2.

The argument between the two is over a mere $3, and it could go either way, but it's put into perspective by the next cards up in the price order. If you want to game smoothly, a mere $44 extra will get you the more powerful HD 4830, and the performance boost that gives - similar to that of the $259 9800 GT as well - is certainly worth stretching your budget that little bit further for.

• 
  Nvidia GeForce 9800 GX2
• 
  ATI Radeon HD 4650
• 
  ATI Radeon HD 4670
• 
  ATI Radeon HD 4870, why it's our new A-List graphics card
• - Recommended -
  ATI Radeon HD 4850, superb performance without the HD 4870's price tag
• 
  ATI Radeon HD 4830, can't match the 4870 but it's significantly cheaper
• 
  Nvidia GeForce 9800 GT, toe-to-toe with ATI's HD 4830
• 
  Nvidia GeForce 9800 GTX
• 
  Nvidia GeForce GTX 260+ (core 216)
• 
  Nvidia GeForce GTX 260
• 
  ATI Radeon HD 4850 X2
• 
  Nvidia GeForce 9800 GX2
• 
  Nvidia GeForce GTX 280
• 
  ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2
• 
  Nvidia GeForce GTX 295
• 
  Nvidia GeForce GTX 285
• 
  Nvidia GeForce 9600 GSO
• 
  Nvidia GeForce 9500 GT
• 
  ATI Radeon 4550
• 
  Nvidia GeForce 9400 GT
• - Best Value -
  ATI Radeon HD 4350, best value graphics card at budget prices