Introduction
Triplex REDai Radeon 9600 Pro 128MB
Perhaps ATI's best move in recent times was in recruiting a number of partners for its range of graphics cards. ATi, inevitably, has a reference board based on each VPU it designs. A number of partners, say, Crucial and Sapphire are happy to use the basic design, add in sparse bundle, and sell on via a minimal cost approach. Other partners, though, take time out to look at the reference and see how it can be improved and modified to offer a distinctive look and, perhaps, improved performance.
One such manufacturer is Triplex. Triplex's aim, it seems, is to offer cards that excel in both the aesthetic and performance departments. Hercules and Tyan showed that one could have a fine-looking card that packed a benchmarking punch, so it's now the turn of a lesser known Taiwanese manufacturer to show that it can compete with the big boys of the graphics world.
As always, we covered the reference card in some detail. Head over here if you're in dire need of some technological refreshment. The 9600 Pro sits half-way in ATI's current DX9 range, and it's usually cards priced at around £120 - £150 that provide a reasonable chunk of a company's earnings. Make no mistake about it, the 9600 Pro is an important card for ATI and its partners. Let's now see how Triplex differs from most.
