Introduction

Last week NVIDIA launched their first GeForce 9 Series card. It is based on the new G94 core which uses the same architecture as G92, it actually is G92 with less shaders inside the die. The actual number of shaders is 64, versus 128 on G92. This helps bring down the transistor count and die size, resulting in a manufacturing cost reduction.

The Biostar GeForce 9600 GT V9603GT52 we have on the testbench today follows the NVIDIA reference design to the letter. It even uses the NVIDIA silver-stripe reference cooler design. Other manufacturers put their own stickers on the cooler. I expect Biostar to do the same soon, once they have a bit of time while selling the first batch.

For reference please also consider reading our Zotac 9600 GT AMP! Edition review.

Packaging & Contents

A sexy Elf like girl poses on the front of the package. The shiny metal-like print looks extremely nice and much better than the packaging that we saw on the Biostar 8600 GTS. On the back you find a basic run down of the major specs and features but nothing as detailed as clock speeds.



You will receive:

• Graphics card
• Instruction Manual + Driver CD
• DVI Adapter
• TV out cable
• PCI-E power cable

The Card

Just like the NVIDIA reference design, Biostar uses a single slot cooling solution. The only change is the Biostar sticker sitting on the fan hub.


The card features two DVI outputs which can be used with digital flat panels for resolutions up to 2560x1600. In case you still have an old analog display you can use the included DVI adapter. HDMI+HDCP+Audio is also supported, but an HDMI adapter is not included. In order to transmit audio you also have to connect your motherboard's/sound card's SPDIF-out to the card using a cable which is not included in the package. The GPU has also support for DisplayPort, board manufacturers can choose whether they want to replace one DVI port with a DisplayPort.


Here are the front and the back of the card, high-res versions are also available (front, back). If you choose to use these images for voltmods etc, please include a link back to this site.