GeForce 9500 GT - graphics card: specifications, review and reviews

Many experts in the field of IT technologies do not cease to amaze users who prefer integrated solutions, rather than at a minimum cost to purchase a separate entry-level device. In this article we will talk about the GeForce 9500 GT video adapter, which is often overlooked by customers in the computer market. Features, review and feedback will provide more detailed information to users about this noteworthy video card.

There is not much RAM

The user will be interested to know that all the additional functionality on the motherboard, including the video adapter and sound card, is powered by the basic resources of the computer, in particular the processor and RAM. The video card takes from the personal computer about 30% of RAM (we are talking about 32-bit platforms), so it is logical to assume that the independent device nVidia GeForce 9500 GT will allow the system to be more productive.

It is quite possible to dispute the fans of games, which as an argument can lead to evidence that integrated graphics can work at higher frequencies. However, all myths are broken when testing devices using real applications and games, which for the full-featured work of the graphics core frequency is not enough.

Specifications

GeForce 9500 GT video card is built using a 65-nm technical process and has its own graphic core with G96 marking. This approach of the manufacturer clearly pleased all potential buyers, judging by their feedback. It's always nice to buy a full-fledged video adapter, rather than a simplified modification of the older generation with locked modules.

The graphic core of the video card is considered by many owners as a weak link, because the frequencies of 550 MHz are not enough for many game applications. The majority of users do not have questions about RAM of the graphics accelerator. In a budget class GDDR3, a bus having a 128-bit architecture is the norm. Pleased owners and the amount of memory - 1024 MB is enough for the operation of any resource-intensive programs and many entry-level games. It should be noted that the effective frequency of memory modules is 1800 MHz. These parameters are enough for the work of graphic editors and encoding video files.

Advantages of a budget video adapter

The main criterion for most buyers who paid attention to the graphics accelerator nVidia GeForce 9500 GT is the price. The video card can be purchased on the market no more than 2000 rubles, and if you take into account the secondary market, the restriction in the price will not exceed 500 rubles. Drawing an analogy with integrated solutions, it can be noted that the graphics core implemented on the motherboard will cost two times cheaper. But the products on the new platform, where the graphics are built into the CPU, will cost the buyer 2 times more expensive than the representative of nVidia.

The inexpensive video adapter GeForce 9500 GT supports SLI mode and is able to work in pairs. True, the regime is limited to only two video cards, but this is enough to compete in not resource-intensive games with many representatives of the budget segment in the market. At the hardware level, the device supports the acceleration of PhysX, but many experts are greatly confused by the implementation of this feature. After all, efficiency is only observed when working in SLI mode.

Disadvantages of GeForce 9500 GT graphics accelerator

In addition to the advantages, all video cards tend to have negative qualities. Naturally, the main one is the low performance of the graphics platform. As noted earlier, the whole problem of nVidia GeForce 9500 GT is in a weak graphics core. To run more or less productive games, you need to solve the issue with increasing the frequency of the graphics accelerator.

The second problem is relevant for all owners of modern LCD panels - there is no HDMI interface. Negative can be eliminated by a converter, but it must be bought independently. Many owners have questions and to heat the graphics core - in the regular mode, the crystal is quite hot, which means that many users who wish to install a silent cooling system may have problems.

Graphics card in the factory version

As it is supposed to all budget representatives, the nVidia GeForce 9500 GT video adapter, whose price does not exceed 2500 rubles, has a compact size and is designed for installation in one slot of the system unit. With a visual inspection of the PCB, the owner will discover not only a cheap cooling system with low blowing efficiency, but also a lot of batteries that are scattered throughout the chip.

This approach of the manufacturer to the production of printed circuit boards tells many potential customers that the product of the company nVidia is unfinished and should expect the appearance of video adapters on the GeForce 9500 GT chip, released under other brands. One thing is not clear: what can the world manufacturers of video game adapters be able to surprise their fans, if in the factory version the graphics accelerator is not able to show decent performance in its price category.

Favorite Toy Overlocks

Since the potential in games determines the frequency of the graphics core, it is not difficult to guess that all manufacturers will certainly resort to overclocking. As tests of independent laboratories show, only a few brands are able to boast decent performance in games among budget representatives of video cards on the domestic market. The first place legally belongs to the graphics accelerator Zotac GeForce 9500 GT. The company's technologists managed to raise the work of the graphics core to 700 MHz (25% increase).

As expected, the reverse effect of increased productivity (we are talking about heat generation) was eliminated by the proprietary cooling system. Technologists of the company did not economize on aluminum radiators and created a very effective cooler, which not only has small dimensions, but also can effectively cool the GeForce 9500 GT with components located on it.

Finally

A budget representative in an inexpensive segment, of course, has a future. At least in the next few years, while integrated solutions manufacturers will not provide their own amount of RAM. Inexpensive, noiseless and small-sized video adapter will appeal to all users who need a computer for work and leisure. The graphics accelerator GeForce 9500 GT 512 is quite suitable for multimedia work and will draw most of the games created for working with DirectX 10 libraries. But for fans of productive toys, it's better to switch to a more expensive segment.