Nvidia is planning to launch its first GeForce 9 series graphics chip, the GeForce 9600 GT (G94), for the mid-range market on February 21, according to sources at graphics card makers. The 9600 GT adopts a 65nm process and is manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). The GPU sees an increase in processing units, 64, and memory bus width, 256-bit, over previous 8600 GTS cards, 32 and 128-bit. The GPU"s performance should see an increase of over 40% compared to the 8600 GTS, said the sources.
The new GPU also introduces Dual-Streaming Decode technology which allows two high-definition image decoding processes to be performed at the same time and provides picture in picture (PIP) functionality.