overclocking video cards 9600gt

[Bman123]

With all the options available from evga and xfx there is a $50 difference from the standard model to the top OC card.
Would it be smart to buy the best card or get the entry card and OC it?
I am trying to get the best bang for the buck since I am gonna be going sli in the future on a 22in lcd WS @1650x1050.
What would you do and why?

 

[masterosok]

From my experience the best way is to do a little research and see how well each card you are considering performs at stock, how well they overclock and the peformance difference. How comfortable are you with overclocking your card? If you don't feel good about it then get one that is pre-overclocked and you should be fine, however even some of the pre-overclocked cards can be overclocked even more.


here are a few links to a some reviews for the 9600 GT cards:

http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTQ3NywxLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==
[URL="http://www.thetechlounge.com/news/12439/Review+Roundup+GeForce+9600+GT+Edition/"]http://www.bjorn3d.com/read.php?cID=1257&pageID=4713[/URL]

However if you decided to go with one of the higher clocked cards I would recommend you giving this card a look:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125088

At $159 AR its really quite a good deal. You won't get the same warranty with this card that you get with a XFX or EVGA but its a good price and a solid card. I plan on getting one myself and using my 9600 for my HTPC.

I am not sure exactly what prices you have found for the XFX and EVGA cards so I'm not sure, but going off of newegg prices I would grab the 8800GT 512meg.

I am currently having trouble getting my 9600 GT o/c well, but I think that is primarily due to my impatience.