GeForce 8600 GT vs 9500 GT
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in performance ranking | not rated | not rated |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Architecture | Tesla (2006−2010) | Tesla (2006−2010) |
| GPU code name | G96 | G84 |
| Market segment | Desktop | Desktop |
| Release date | 29 July 2008 (15 years ago) | 17 April 2007 (17 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $85.99 | $159 |
| Current price | $153 (1.8x MSRP) | $182 (1.1x MSRP) |
Detailed specifications
General performance parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. These parameters indirectly speak of performance, but for precise assessment you have to consider their benchmark and gaming test results. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.
| Pipelines / CUDA cores | 32 | 32 |
| CUDA cores | 32 | no data |
| Core clock speed | 550 MHz | 540 MHz |
| Number of transistors | 314 million | 289 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 65 nm | 80 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 50 Watt | 47 Watt |
| Maximum GPU temperature | 105 °C | no data |
| Texture fill rate | 8.8 billion/sec | 8.6 billion/sec |
| Floating-point performance | 89.6 gflops | 76.16 gflops |
Form factor & compatibility
Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).
| Interface | PCIe 2.0 x16 | PCIe 1.0 x16 |
| Length | 6.875" (17.5 cm) | 170 mm |
| Height | 4.376" (11.1 cm) | no data |
| Width | 1-slot | 1-slot |
| Supplementary power connectors | None | None |
| SLI options | + | + |
| Memory type | GDDR3 | GDDR3 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 1 GB | 512 MB |
| Standard memory config per GPU | no data | 256 MB |
| Memory bus width | 128 Bit | 128 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 800 (GDDR3) and 500 (DDR2) MHz | 700 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 25.6 (GDDR3) and 16.0 (DDR2) | 22.4 GB/s |
Connectivity and outputs
Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.
| Display Connectors | Dual Link DVISingle Link DVI | 2x DVI, 1x S-Video |
| Multi monitor support | + | no data |
| HDMI | + | no data |
| Maximum VGA resolution | 2048x1536 | no data |
| Audio input for HDMI | S/PDIF | no data |
API compatibility
List of supported graphics and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 11.1 (10_0) | 11.1 (10_0) |
| Shader Model | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| OpenGL | 2.1 | 2.1 |
| OpenCL | 1.1 | 1.1 |
| Vulkan | N/A | N/A |
| CUDA | + | 1.1 |
Synthetic benchmark performance
Non-gaming benchmark performance comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.
Passmark
This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark, part of Passmark PerformanceTest suite. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.
Benchmark coverage: 25%
9500 GT outperforms 8600 GT by 30% in Passmark.
Pros & cons summary
| Recency | 29 July 2008 | 17 April 2007 |
| Cost | $85.99 | $159 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 1 GB | 512 MB |
| Chip lithography | 65 nm | 80 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 50 Watt | 47 Watt |
We couldn't decide between GeForce 9500 GT and GeForce 8600 GT. We've got no test results to judge.
Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
Comparisons with similar GPUs
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