GeForce 9600 GS vs Radeon HD 7470 Performance Spectrum
About G3D Mark
G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.
GeForce 9600 GS vs Radeon HD 7470 FPS Benchmarks
Predicted gaming performance across popular games. Tested paired with Ryzen 7 9800X3D to isolate GPU performance.
Search any supported game below to compare 1080p FPS for both components.
Path of Exile 2
Counter-Strike 2
League of Legends
Valorant
Among Us
Apex Legends
ARC Raiders
Baldur's Gate 3
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
GeForce 9600 GS vs Radeon HD 7470: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict
See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.
GeForce 9600 GS
2008Why buy it
- ✅Draws 150W instead of 250W, a 100W reduction.
Trade-offs
- ❌Lower average FPS than Radeon HD 7470 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
- ❌Less VRAM, with 768 MB vs 1 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
- ❌2008 hardware with 768 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
- ❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 5.8 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $50 MSRP).
- ❌36.3% longer card at 229mm vs 168mm.
Radeon HD 7470
2012Why buy it
- ✅18.2% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
- ✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 5.8 vs 0 G3D/$ ($50 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
- ✅33.3% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (1 GB vs 768 MB).
- ✅Measures 168mm instead of 229mm, a 61mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.
Trade-offs
- ❌2012 hardware with 1 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
- ❌66.7% higher power demand at 250W vs 150W.
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GeForce 9600 GS vs Radeon HD 7470 Technical Specifications
Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.
GeForce 9600 GS
The GeForce 9600 GS is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in July 15 2008. It features the G9x architecture. The core clock speed is 500 MHz. It has 224 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 150W. Manufactured using 65 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 282 points.
Radeon HD 7470
The Radeon HD 7470 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 9 2012. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The boost clock speed is 925 MHz. It has 2048 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 250W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 289 points. Launch price was $549.
Graphics Performance
The GeForce 9600 GS scores 282 and the Radeon HD 7470 reaches 289 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.5% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce 9600 GS is built on G9x while the Radeon HD 7470 uses GCN 1.0, both on 65 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 224 (GeForce 9600 GS) vs 2,048 (Radeon HD 7470).
| Feature | GeForce 9600 GS | Radeon HD 7470 |
|---|---|---|
| G3D Mark Score | 282 | 289+2% |
| Architecture | G9x | GCN 1.0 |
| Process Node | 65 nm | 28 nm |
| Shading Units | 224 | 2048+814% |
Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)
The GeForce 9600 GS gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon HD 7470 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.
| Feature | GeForce 9600 GS | Radeon HD 7470 |
|---|---|---|
| Upscaling Tech | Upscaling support | FSR Upscaling / FSR 4 |
| Frame Generation | Not Supported | Not Supported |
| Ray Reconstruction | No | No |
| Low Latency | NVIDIA Reflex | AMD Anti-Lag |
Video Memory (VRAM)
The GeForce 9600 GS has 768 MB of VRAM, while the Radeon HD 7470 carries 1 GB. Radeon HD 7470 gives you 33.3% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bus width is 64-bit on the GeForce 9600 GS and 128-bit on the Radeon HD 7470.
| Feature | GeForce 9600 GS | Radeon HD 7470 |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM Capacity | 0.75 GB | 1 GB+33% |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
| Memory Bandwidth | Unknown | Unknown |
| Bus Width | 64-bit | 128-bit+100% |
Display & API Support
DirectX support: 11.1 (10_0) (GeForce 9600 GS) vs 11.2 (11_0) (Radeon HD 7470). Vulkan: N/A vs N/A. OpenGL: 3.3 vs 4.4. Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 2.
| Feature | GeForce 9600 GS | Radeon HD 7470 |
|---|---|---|
| DirectX | 11.1 (10_0) | 11.2 (11_0) |
| Vulkan | N/A | N/A |
| OpenGL | 3.3 | 4.4+33% |
| Max Displays | 2 | 2 |
Media & Encoding
Hardware encoder: None (GeForce 9600 GS) vs None (Radeon HD 7470). Decoder: VP2 vs UVD 3.1. Supported codecs: H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1 (GeForce 9600 GS) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4 (Radeon HD 7470).
| Feature | GeForce 9600 GS | Radeon HD 7470 |
|---|---|---|
| Encoder | None | None |
| Decoder | VP2 | UVD 3.1 |
| Codecs | H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1 | H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4 |
Power & Dimensions
The GeForce 9600 GS draws 150W versus the Radeon HD 7470's 250W — a 50% difference. The GeForce 9600 GS is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce 9600 GS) vs 350W (Radeon HD 7470). Power connectors: Legacy vs 1x 6-pin. Card length: 229mm vs 168mm, occupying 1 vs 1 slots. Typical load temperature: 90 vs 70.
| Feature | GeForce 9600 GS | Radeon HD 7470 |
|---|---|---|
| TDP | 150W-40% | 250W |
| Recommended PSU | 350W | 350W |
| Power Connector | Legacy | 1x 6-pin |
| Length | 229mm | 168mm |
| Height | 111mm | 69mm |
| Slots | 1 | 1 |
| Temp (Load) | 90 | 70-22% |
| Perf/Watt | 1.9+58% | 1.2 |
Value Analysis
At launch, the GeForce 9600 GS came in at $0, while the Radeon HD 7470 launched at $50. On MSRP, GeForce 9600 GS was 100+% cheaper ($50 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): Infinity (GeForce 9600 GS) vs 5.8 (Radeon HD 7470) — the GeForce 9600 GS offers Infinity% better value. The newer card here is Radeon HD 7470 (2012 vs 2008).
| Feature | GeForce 9600 GS | Radeon HD 7470 |
|---|---|---|
| MSRP | $0-100% | $50 |
| Performance per Dollar | Infinity | 5.8 |
| Codename | NB9E-GTX | Tahiti |
| Release | July 15 2008 | January 9 2012 |
| Ranking | #825 | #431 |
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