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NVIDIA has unveiled the first of its next generation GeForce 9 series of graphics processing units, where the company touts this latest offering to deliver the largest single-generation performance jump in the entire history of NVIDIA. The GPU in question is the GeForce 9600 GT that pumps out 116% more performance than its predecessor, without having a price tag that breaks the $199 mark. Will this make you rush out and purchase the 9600 GT, or are you rather upset that you just picked up an 8600 GT from the store? Excerpts from the press release are available right after the jump.

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — NVIDIA(R)
Corporation, the world leader in visual computing technologies, has
unveiled the first graphics processing unit (GPU) of its next-generation
GeForce(R) 9 Series that may offer the largest single-generation
performance jump in the Company’s history. Introduced today, the NVIDIA
GeForce 9600 GT GPU delivers up to 116%(1) more performance than its
predecessor at a price below $199.

“After going to all the GeForce LANs and seeing the rigs that gamers
play on, we wanted to kick off the GeForce 9 with the perfect GPU for
gamers,” said Ujesh Desai, general manager of GeForce desktop GPUs at
NVIDIA. “The first product to be introduced in the GeForce 9 family gives
gamers the horsepower to play cutting-edge DirectX 10 games at a price they
will love and can afford.”

A point has been reached in PC gaming where the graphics horsepower
requirements to play popular games such as Call of Duty 4 and Unreal
Tournament 3 at high-definition resolutions such as 1900×1200 and above,
with high-image-quality features enabled, may have outpaced a lot of the
installed hardware. Until now, graphics processors capable of delivering
playable frame rates at those stressful settings have cost in excess of
$400. With the GeForce 9600 GT GPU, immersive gaming with incredible
graphics is now within the reach and budget of PC gamers for less than
$199.

“NVIDIA continues to innovate in hardware technology so that game
enthusiasts and consumers can fully experience the incredible graphics
offerings in Microsoft’s operating systems, including Windows Vista,” said
Kevin Unangst, senior global director of Games for Windows, Microsoft. “The
new GeForce 9600 GT GPU further extends NVIDIA’s ability to deliver
improved DirectX 10 performance on Windows Vista at an affordable price
point, so that anyone and everyone can have an amazing gaming experience.”

The new GeForce 9600 GT GPU shows an improved performance-per-watt
ratio compared to its predecessor as well as improved compression
efficiency. In addition to 64 stream processors-each individually clocked
at a blazing-fast 1625 MHz-and a 256-bit memory interface running at 900
MHz, the GeForce 9600 GT GPU is designed for the new PCIe 2.0 bus standard
and features backwards compatibility with the original PCIe standard.

The GeForce 9600 GT GPU also improves high-definition video playback on
everyday PCs by leveraging NVIDIA PureVideo(R) HD technology to deliver
high-quality playback of HD DVD and Blu-ray movies. The new programmable
video-processing engine takes on all of the high-definition H.264 video
decoding, freeing the CPU to perform other tasks, while significantly
reducing power consumption, heat, and noise. Spectacular picture clarity
and vibrant color is achieved with advanced video processing technology.

GeForce 9600 GT-based graphics cards are available now from leading
add-in card manufacturers, retailers, and system builders. For information
on where to buy GeForce 9600 GT-based graphics cards, please visit
http://www.nvidia.com/wheretobuy.

Source: Nvidia Reveals One of the Largest Generational Performance Leaps in Company History