Final Words and Conclusion

Gigabyte 9600 GT
The Gigabyte 9600 GT is a great card which offers the user competitive performance in some of the latest titles, is supplied with great aftermarket cooling and delivers a wide range of connectivity.

The on-board HDMI will please many enthusiasts while VGA will ensure that people with old technology don’t miss out. I keep saying that HDMI is something I’d rather see than a video out port so it is always a welcome design decision.

The card doesn’t disappoint in regards to performance either. While it can’t reach the heights of some of the more expensive cards currently available it does more than enough to keep its dignity at 1920x1200 in some of the most popular titles on the current market.

Available from IT-BITS - £86.19

PNY 9400GT

The 9400GT is a low budget card which can fulfil light gaming needs or serve well in a HTPC rig.

With the majority of settings turned down it can achieve acceptable framerates in some of the latest games and even manages to achieve that at some impressive resolutions. It also is supplied with a game bundled, Company of Heroes with the first expansion pack included. How often do you see bundled games these days? Bonus points there.

As far as HTPC needs go this card may be the perfect little animal for some people but at the moment ATI have a trump card with 7.1 HDMI surround sound capabilities and generally the ATI cards at this price range can take a greater load off the CPU for HD video decoding when compared to their Nvidia counterparts.

Regardless, the 9400GT is a good option if you’re in the market for a budget card and this specific model has enhanced value with the updated cooler and bundled game.
 

Available from Play - £39.99 - This is not the game bundle version

Available from NewEgg - $44.99 - This is not the game bundle version