The 9600 GT adopts a 65nm process and is manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). The GPU sees an increase in processing units, 64, and memory bus width, 256-bit, over previous 8600 GTS cards, 32 and 128-bit. The GPU's performance should see an increase of over 40% compared to the 8600 GTS, said the sources.DigiTimes also writes the GeForce 9800 GX2 has been delayed to the end of February or early March.
The new GPU also introduces Dual-Streaming Decode technology which allows two high-definition image decoding processes to be performed at the same time and provides picture in picture (PIP) functionality.
GeForce 9600 GT graphics cards will be priced at around US$169-189, with GeForce 8600 GTS pricing expected to be adjusted to the US$139-149 range, revealed the sources.
However, some graphics card makers are expected to delay their GeForce 9600 shipments by 2-3 weeks due the recent discovery of a bug in the initial 9600 chips relating to power supply. Although Nvidia has already corrected the issue, makers will still need time to rework on their designs.
Some GeForce 9600 GT cards delayed by 2-3 weeks
Posted on Tuesday, February 19 2008 @ 15:00 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck