XFX GeForce 9600GT XXX Edition Video Card Review

Bundle and Layout

The XFX 9600GT XXX Alpha Dog Edition came in a themed box that wasn’t too garish or disturbing. Video cards and motherboards are notorious for having terrible box art, XFX didn’t go too far with their box and it fits in with the theme of it being an Alpha Dog card. The card itself was safely stored in a anti-static bag and secured within a form-fitted foam mount within the box. Underneath the card there was a slew of goodies from XFX including a copy of Call of Duty 4. The bundle included all the connectivity you would need to connect two monitors and a television.

The card itself features a custom single-slot cooler featuring a solid copper plate and fin assembly. Because of all the copper the card is quite hefty, hopefully a good sign. Sitting underneath the cooler is the G92 core and 512MB of GDDR3. A quick glance over the card shows a single SLI connector at the top of the card and a decal on the stock cooler that matches the box art.

The card features two HDCP compliant DVI ports and a S-Video port. If you need analog ports XFX has included two DVI to analog converters for your convenience.

The PWM end of the card shows a two-phase core PWM and single-phase GDDR3 circuit. The card requires a 6-pin PCIe connector for additional board power with a powersupply rated at 400w and 26 amps on the 12v rail. The PWM area is cooled by the exhaust for the cooler and while the air blowing over it can get to be a bit warm it is all well within spec for these components.