otHardware reviews Asus EN9600GT, eVGA GeForce 9600 GT SSC, and Palit GeForce 9600 GT Sonic videoc ards
If the blockbuster successes of games like World of Warcraft and Counterstrike, compared to the lack-luster reception of ultra-high-end titles like Crysis, have taught us anything, it is that the vast majority of PC gamers are not running games which are incredibly graphics intensive. As low-cost gaming consoles continue to steal many of these casual gamers away from the PC, component manufacturers for the PC platform are starting to think differently about how to approach the gaming market. As of late, we're seeing a significant and refreshing shift towards lower-cost components for the mainstream market. Getting more performance for your dollar is now more exciting than getting the largest amount of raw performance, no matter what the cost.
This isn't an entirely new concept, as CPU and GPU makers realize that their high-end components only make up a fraction of the total available market (TAM), and that the real money is made in large volume OEM deals for mid-range components. However, they've continued to push their high-end components in the same formula before, releasing high-end products first than letting the technology trickle down to varying price points over time. For this launch, something in the air might be changing, and NVIDIA feels there's no bigger showcase of this change than the card we're looking at today, the new GeForce 9600 GT...
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