BFG 8800GT OCX & 9600GT OCX Thermointelligence Video Card Review

Manufacturer Product Page: www.thermointelligence.com
Product Number:
9600GT OCX: BFGE96512GTOCXE
8800GT OCX: BFGE88512GTOCXFE
Availability: Now
Warranty: Lifetime
Price: Click Here to Compare Prices for 9600GT OCX
Click Here to Compare Prices for 8800GT OCX



In the battle for market supremacy, many times the little guys are forgotten with minimal refreshes to mid-range video cards. That was the way it used to be but these days it seems like it is the high-end (think $500+) that is suffering as both Nvidia and ATI reshuffle their decks in order to broaden appeal in a lackluster market environment. Due to this current economic situation we are all living in, the $100 to $300 price range has seen a massive influx of cards which are either new to the market or are the recipients of price cuts. Cards like the HD3870 have dropped to below the $150 mark while some 8800GT’s have been lowered to $160 without any help of the oh-so-famous mail in rebates. In the end, it is the consumers who reap the benefits since we are now able to play most games at mid to high level settings on a card which costs less than $200.

While it may seem like we have had our fill of mid-range cards here at Hardware Canucks, companies continue to innovate and release new products. Our interest was recently piqued by BFG’s release of two new cards straight into the lucrative mid-end market: the 8800GT 512MB OCX and the 9600GT OCX. Both of these cards are part of BFG’s vaunted Thermointelligence lineup which used to consist of only 8600-series products but are not quite at the forefront of graphics card performance these days. With both the 8800GT and 9600GT going under the OCX microscope, it looks like BFG has added some much-needed flair to their Thermointelligence lineup.

BFG targets their OCX line of video cards at the people out there who want some of the fastest pre-overclocked cards on the market and in this case they have also equipped the 8800GT OCX and 9600GT OCX with aftermarket coolers (hence the Thermointelligence name). This provides a great jump in performance over stock-clocked cards while staying within the bounds of BFG’s Lifetime warranty. This means that users can feel confident that their cards are some of the highest-clocked out there without having to resort to possible warranty-voiding overclocking and aftermarket cooler installation.

At this time finding stock of the 8800GT OCX and 9600GT OCX is not easy but depending on where you look they are priced around $220 and $200 respectively. You also get access to BFG’s lifetime warranty and exclusive trade-up program but more on that later.

This review will be a little different from some of the past GPU reviews we have been doing here on Hardware Canucks. Since both the 8800GT and 9600GT have been around for quite some time, we will be foregoing the usual technology overview and jumping into the benchmarks as soon as possible. So, sit back and enjoy the show.