Testbed

Motherboard: EVGA 790i FTW Digital ( Provided by: EVGA );
Processor: Intel Core 2 QX9770 Extreme edition ( Provided by: Intel );
Memory: OCZ3RPR16004GK 1600MHz 7-7-7-24 ( Provided by: OCZ );
HDD: WD VelociRaptor 300G 10,000RPM ( Provided by: SmoothCreation );



Futuremarks





The first two tests show just that XFX is clearly superior compared to 9600 GSO cards. It seems like 9600 GSO 680M XXX is better than 9600 GT, but we’ll wait on the gaming tests before we say anything with certainty.



Gaming









XFX’s high speeds enable it to get really close to 9600 GT’s results. World in Conflict needs more memory when antialiasing is on, so XFX with 384MB loses to 9600 GT that packs 512MB of memory. 






Conclusion

XFX 9600 GSO 680M XXX is a very fast 9600 GSO graphics card, and probably the fastest one in its series. It runs 130MHz faster than reference 9600 GSO and such a difference clearly had an impact on results. We see that XFX’s card is much faster than the reference 9600 GSO, and it even performs close to 9600 GT. If you’re planning on buying a gaming card, and your budget is limited, this is a card that you must consider.

It is an alternative to 9600GT, especially as XFX 9600 GSO is highly overclocked, and it clearly stands against non-overclocked card. ATI Radeon 4830 ends up faster in most of the time but it is a bit more expensive. It is a tough call to find the right card in under 100 € but one thing is clear: XFX overclocked 9600 GSO 680MHz XXX will be enough to play most of the games, but the choice is as always yours.