The following table contains selected benchmark results when the Inno3D GeForce 9600 GT was paired with the EVGA GeForce 9600 GT SSC. Note that this type of configuration is possible with motherboards that utilize NVIDIA's SLI chipset.
The results document the average and minimum frame rate in single and SLI modes along with the percentage increase or decrease between the two. The resolutions tested include 1920x1200 and 2560x1600.
SLI Scaling - Single vs. SLI and % Increase
The benefit of using a second graphics card will vary from game to game, but SLI provided an average increase of 67% in the average frame rate and 65% in the minimum frame rate. More importantly, the number of observations with a minimum frame rate less than 30 fps (indicated in red) dropped from 10 to 2 when SLI was used.
HD VIDEO PLAYBACK
Playing back NVIDIA’s 1080p high-definition demo video via nStant Media resulted in an average CPU utilization of 8.8%. The demo is interesting to watch as it provides real-time side-by-side comparisons of standard definition and high definition content. The video can be downloaded at nZone.
CPU Utilization - 1080p Playback
NVIDIA SD vs. HD Demo - 1080p
CONCLUSION
The Inno3D GeForce 9600 GT iChiLL Hurricane performed without incident during the course of this review. As we have stated previously, Inno3D continues to distinguish their graphics cards from most other NVIDIA add-in manufacturers by offering custom cooling solutions from Artic Cooling, Zalman, and ZeroTherm. In closed case testing, our model idled at 36° C and reached a peak temperature of 51° C.
The Inno3D GeForce 9600 GT iChiLL Hurricane performed optimally at the resolution of 1680x1050 and depending on the game and settings used, has the capability to power the 1920x1200 and even the 2560x1600 resolutions. However, it is recommended that an SLI configuration or a more powerful GPU be used at the higher resolutions.
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