PC component buyers are a fickle group. Not only do they have to have products matching up to their budgets, they also need to match up their specific needs to specific features of the same products. Regardless, manufacturers are happy to oblige, and thus today we have a virtual smorgasbord of models, sub-models, special variations and overclocked versions of videocards in the market. Out of all of the dross, we pluck out a unique card coming out from the Manli camp: the Manli 9600OC 512MB.

I was initially puzzled as to what type of videocard the 9600OC is; as Manli uses the OC nomenclature for overclocked versions of their cards, I assumed I was looking at an older G92-based 9600 GSO that Manli somehow managed to get up to 9600 GT core and memory speeds. Upon examination with diagnostic software however it was revealed to be a G94 based 9600, with the requisite 256-bit memory bus width of this type of card. As the G94 based 9600 has standard core and memory speeds of 650 and 900 (1800MHz effective) for core and memory respectively, I’m now unsure on what the “OC” in its name is referring to.

                                             Rear connectivity holds no surprises with 2 DVI and a single S-Video connector.

Since the GSO versions of the 9600 has a standard memory allocations of 384MB and sport a 192-bit memory bus, it should be safe to assume that the 256-bit bus width, 512MB Manli 9600OC is not based on the GSO, but rather on the 9600GT – which means carries 64 Stream Processors, or shaders, along with the aforementioned specifications.

                                             PCI-E x16 connector for the 9600 series.

Regardless of nomenclature, we can be sure that this combination of specs that resemble a 9600GT card’s will be able to deliver more than satisfactory performance with its 512MB of GDDR3 memory serviced by the aforementioned 256-bit bus, nominal bandwidth of 57.6 GB/s (same as a 9800 GT), and a very attractive price point, as the 9600GT, meant to take on the mid-range and introduced late February of this year, has long had a constantly shrinking list price. Even with this constantly shrinking price, the features inherent to the 9600 series remain – HDCP readiness, support for OpenGL 2.1, DX10, and SM 4.0, and SLI.

                                            Fan shroud encloses the whole heatsink for proper airflow.

Satisfactory turns out to be the operative word – comparing performance to Manli’s own 9600GT OC card turned out lower numbers across the board – except for 1280 x 1024 no AA no AF in 3DMark 05, the 9600OC grabbing a 1100 point lead with 15649 3DMarks to the 9600GT – OC’s  14692 3DMarks. Tables are turned at 1600 x 1200 with 4x AA and 8x AF, with the 9600OC getting a 10395 3DMark score while the 9600GT OC got an 11705 score. 3DMark 06 gave similar deltas, which leads us to posit that this videocard may be a special, modified version produced by Manli – since the GPU-Z readout was missing a couple of fields, and the scores are near enough to the original 9600 GT scores. We will be reporting to you in this space once we get specifics from the manufacturer or our local distributor – stay tuned.

                                             Bundled items are standard mid-range fare.

What about the card itself? As with all mid-range Manli products, this card uses an Arctic-Cooling sourced heatsink and fan combination that is designed to “shroud” the heat producing portions of the videocard and quickly whisk the heat away from the core. Dual DVI connectors are joined by a single S-video connector at the rear of the card, while a single SLI golden finger stands proud on the top left portion. This videocard requires a 6-pin power connector and is a single slot solution. Bundled items is par for the course and includes a thick S-video out cable, an TV-out to triple RGB + S-video in cable, a 6-pin power to molex power connector, and a DVI to VGA converter.

                                             Note the blank fields - this card seems like some kind of modeified 9600 videocard.

The OC nomenclature is a bit confusing, but the Manli 9600OC is a presentable videocard performer by itself, and with its low price and increasing availability in the local market, combined with Manli’s multitude of videocard models covering all points of the graphics card market, this particular model will surely be able to catch the attention of many a budget-minded consumer with above-average graphical performance needs.