Gigabyte GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB Boston MA

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Originally published at Internet.com

Introduction

NVIDIA offered up the first true DirectX 10 card in November of 2006, but after the GeForce 8800 Series laid claim to the overall performance crown, a mainstream follow-up was a long time coming. That certainly changed in a hurry, and not only did NVIDIA unleash their GeForce 8400, 8500 and 8600 series, but AMD/ATI also followed with a set of Radeon HD 2600-based mainstream cards. This makes for a very interesting market at the $100-$200 price range, with many potential DirectX 10 cards at a wide range of budgets. The GeForce 8600 GTS is one of the more appealing models, as it is the most powerful NVIDIA option in this range, and offers a very nice combination of price, performance and features.

The GeForce 8600 GTS

The GeForce 8600 series is comprised of the GeForce 8600 GT and GTS, and both use the 80nm G84 graphics processor, which features 32 Stream processors, clocked at 1.19 GHz for the GeForce 8600 GT and 1.45 GHz on the GeForce 8600 GTS. These two models also differ in terms of core and memory clock speeds, running at 540 MHz/1.4 GHz for the GeForce 8600 GT and 675 MHz/2.0 GHz on the GeForce 8600 GTS. The GeForce 8600 series follows the 8800 line by offering a unified shader architecture that supports the DirectX 10/SM4.0 feature set. The GeForce 8600 GT and GTS include 256MB of GDDR3 by default, and supports features such as NVIDIA Lumenex, Pure Video HD, nView, and SLI technologies.

The core architecture of the GeForce 8600 GTS includes 8 texture address units, 16 texture filtering units, and 8 ROPs, making it similar to the GeForce 7600 GT, albeit a super-charged edition. The only potential issue with the architecture is the decision to use a 128-bit memory interface. This is a big step down from the 256-bit memory link featured on last-generation high-end video cards, not even mentioning the 384-bit memory link on the GeForce 8800 GTX and Ultra. To get around this limitation, NVIDIA has set the clock speed at 2.0 GHz, but this doesn't clear up all the issues. We expect some concessions for a mainstream graphics card, but the 10.8 GT/s fillrate and 32 GB/s of memory bandwidth are still respectable numbers.

The Gigabyte GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB Card

The Gigabyte edition of the GeForce 8600 GTS does not deviate from the base specifications, and runs at the standard clock speeds of 675 MHz core, 1.45 GHz shaders, and 2.0 GHz memory. The physical design is the exact opposite, and Gigabyte has gone the passive cooling route with a Silent-Pipe 3 design. This incorporates a large heatsink, which connects to a back-mounted heatsink/cooling device using dual heat pipes. This pulls cool air into the chassis, which flows over the GPU and heatsink, exiting the case through an internal fan or PSU. This does make the Gigabyte card a bit heavier than a base GeForce 8600 GTS card, which weighs in at 325-375g compared to approximately 570g for the Gigabyte model.

The overall design is expansive, but much slimmer than previous generation formats from competitors, and we had no problem installing it in our test rigs. The card does take up two motherboard slots, but the top/back of the PCB is flush, and the entire heatsink faces down in a standard tower case. Another change is the absence of a PCI Express power connector, and with no fan to power, Gigabyte has managed to get all the juice from the PCIe connector. This is a huge plus for SFF system designers, as not needing to use a power cord just simplifies the overall construction. Stability is not impacted in the least, and the Giggabyte GeForce 8600 GTS was rock solid throughout all our testing.

The remainder of the Gigabyte design list is standard GeForce 8600 GTS. The card's backplate features two dual-link DVI ports that support resolutions of up to 2560x1600, along with a single HDTV/S-video out port. As with all GeForce 8 Series models, the Gigabyte GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB is HDCP capable and offers SLI support right out of the box.

When it comes to retail bundles, Gigabyte is one of our favorite companies, and their GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB certainly does not disappoint. In terms of standard options, Gigabyte provides all the basics needed to get up and running. This includes a pair of DVI-to-VGA dongles, a Molex-to-PCI Express power cord, and an HDTV break-out box. The detailed Installation Guide was a very nice surprise, and the ubiquitous driver CD was present and accounted for. The big surprise was not only finding a bundled game, but also the fact that it is a very good one to boot. Supreme Commander is a relatively new game, and still very popular, and Gigabyte has even bundled the DVD edition. Gigabyte also offers a 3-year warranty on their VGA cards.

As this is a new architecture, it's very difficult to compare the GeForce 8 Series in terms of "pipelines" and other common terms of the previous GPU generations. Instead, we have assembled a set of specifications and performance metrics that should illustrate exactly where the Gigabyte GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB fits in: Graphics Processor Core Clock (MHz) Fill Rate (MT/s) Memory Clock (MHz) Memory Bandwidth Memory Bus Radeon X1650 Pro 600 2400 1400 22.4 GB/s 128-bit GeForce 7600 GS 400 4800 800 12.8 GB/s 128-bit Radeon X1650 Pro

Test Setup

The Gigabyte GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB card is the top mainstream option in the NVIDIA GeForce 8 Series and is designed to replace the GeForce 7600 GT, while offering performance that rivals many higher-end GeForce 7 and Radeon X1000-based video cards. In this review, our standard system configuration consists of a high-end Intel platform, featuring a 2.93 GHz Core 2 Extreme X6800 processor, 2x1GB of CAS4 DDR2-800, and an Intel 975X motherboard, This represents a very serious high-end platform for performance video card benchmarking, and ensures that our system configuration will not be the limiting factor.

The competition in our video card benchmarking comes from both the mainstream and entry high-end areas, and includes the GeForce 7600 GT 256MB, GeForce 7900 GS 256MB, GeForce 7900 GT 256MB, and GeForce 7950 GT 512MB from NVIDIA and the Radeon X1650 XT 256MB and Radeon X1950 Pro 256MB from the ATI side. Since this is a DirectX 10 card, we have naturally upgraded our operating system to Windows Vista Home Premium, the most popular and prevalent of the Vista flavors.

Our benchmark selection is a series of high-end game tests such as Lost Planet (DirectX 9 & 10), Supreme Commander, Company of Heroes, F.E.A.R., 3DMark06 Advanced, Quake 4, DOOM 3, and FarCry. This represents a combination of many different game engines and feature sets, and all have proven stable and usable under Windows Vista.

Initial testing is performed using standard 1280x1024 and 1600x1200 32-bit settings, and then we move to the widescreen arena with high-end 4X anti-aliasing and 16X anisotropic filtering results at 1680x1050 and 1920x1200 (or similar, depending on game support) resolutions . With widescreen gaming becoming so popular, this represents an area that high-end gamers will need covered.

* Please note that unless otherwise stated, all performance graph results equate to the standard "higher is better" format.

Test System

General Settings:
Desktop Resolution: 1920x1200
Color Depth: 32-bit
V-Sync: Disabled

Intel Core 2 Reference System:
Processors: Core 2 Extreme X6800 (2.93 GHz)
Memory: 2 x 1GB Ultra DDDR2-800 (CAS4)
Motherboard: Intel D975XBX2
Motherboard chip set: Intel 975X
NVIDIA reference drivers: ForceWare 158.24
ATI reference drivers: Catalyst 7.6
Hard-Drive: Seagate Barracuda 750GB
IDE Interface: Serial ATA 3.0 Gb/s
CD/DVD: Samsung DVD-R SH-S162
Power Supply: Enermax EG651P-VE-24P 550W EPS12V
Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium
Monitor: Dell 2407WFP 24" LCD

Video Cards:

Gigabyte GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB
Radeon X1650 XT 256MB
GeForce 7600 GT 256MB
GeForce 7900 GS 256MB
GeForce 7900 GT 256MB
Radeon X1950 Pro 256MB
GeForce 7950 GT

DOOM 3 Performance

DOOM 3 is a game that needs no introduction, and continues in a long line of id Software Quake and DOOM first-person shooters. This latest installment is one serious 3D game test, including some of the highest-end graphics yet seen on the PC. It is also a different type of game benchmark, especially compared to Quake 3, and it has an almost total reliance on the 3D video card for high-end framerate results. This limits its use in certain system or CPU testing, but makes DOOM 3 a very good 3D video card benchmark.

DOOM 3 is more of an old school graphics benchmark these days, and this is obvious in some of the results. The Gigabyte GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB posts very impressive scores for its class, easily outpacing the Radeon X1650 XT, GeForce 7600 GT and Radeon X1950 Pro 256MB cards at both resolutions. Once we move higher on the list to the GeForce 7900 GS and GT 256MB, the Gigabyte board simply cannot keep up, but does extremely well for a mainstream video card.

DOOM 3 AA and AF Widescreen Performance

The performance rankings do shift a bit once we move the Gigabyte GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB card to our higher resolution widescreen settings. The upgrade to 4X AA and 16X AF detail options is both good and bad news for the Gigabyte card, as it does close the gap considerably to the higher-end NVIDIA cards, but the Radeon X1950 Pro 256MB slides just ahead of it in the standings.

Quake 4 Performance

Quake 4 is the latest in 3D first-person shooters from id Software and Raven, and while the actual storyline is pretty standard fare and the game itself is based on the DOOM 3 engine, the graphics are exceptional and it is an improvement over previous games. The lighting and shadow effects are excellent, and the overall level design and architecture are a real treat. The overall load on the graphics card can be extreme, which is both a blessing and a curse, depending on the actual hardware you are testing. For this review, we've updated to the latest patch, and use a custom netdemo for testing.

The Gigabyte GeForce 8600 GTS card does extremely well in our initial Quake 4 benchmarking, easily outperforming the other mainstream video cards, and even speeding by the Radeon X1950 Pro. It also comes extremely close to the GeForce 7900 GT, while outpacing the GeForce 7900 GS at 1280x1024.

Quake 4 AA and AF Widescreen Performance

As with DOOM 3, the Gigabyte GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB does fall back a bit once the higher-end widescreen resolutions with 4X AA/16X AF detail settings enabled. It's still the fastest mainstream card in the pack, but the Gigabyte card just doesn't quite have enough to match the Radeon X1950 Pro and GeForce 7900 GS.

FarCry Performance

FarCry is a hot first-person shooter that takes in-game graphics to the next level, although in a different direction than DOOM 3. Instead of darkness and confined spaces, FarCry can place you outdoors, on bright sandy beaches, jungles or even on the water itself. This game gives our video cards a different kind of a stress test, and rest assured that FarCry ranks up there with the very toughest 3D game benchmarks. FarCry is an interesting benchmark, as it combines old school performance requirements with hot new features such as support for SM 3.0. For this test, we are using the full retail version updated to version 1.4, along with a new custom demo file.

The updated patches enable SM3.0 support for FarCry, and this makes it another good test of gaming feature sets and performance. The ATI-based cards tend to perform higher than in FarCry than on some other benchmarks, and here both the Radeon X1650 XT and GeForce 7600 GT really push the Gigabyte GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB. There is a significant division between the framerates of the mainstream and higher-end models, with the Radeon X1950 Pro and GeForce 7900 GS 256MB cards posting noticeably higher scores.

FarCry AA and AF Widescreen Performance

When we shift to the widescreen resolutions and enable 4X AA and 16X AF settings, the Gigabyte GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB posts excellent scores against the mainstream competition, but simply cannot run with the GeForce 7900 GS and Radeon X1950 Pro crowd.

Supreme Commander Performance

Supreme Commander is a high-end real-time strategy game, similar to a next-gen Total Annihilation, which combines killer graphics with top-level AI. The in-game visuals are incredible, and when there are multiple armored mechs in the same area, it can take a real toll on even high-end system configurations. This makes it a great benchmark for our high-end graphic cards, and while the in-game benchmarking program offers several different performance ratings (including FPS), we prefer the overall Render score, which is more dependant on the graphics component.

As Supreme Commander is bundled with the Gigabyte GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB card, it's a very appropriate high-end game benchmark. The scores are very favorable to the Gigabyte video card, and it outpaces the GeForce 7900 GS, Radeon X1950 Pro and GeForce 7900 GT cards, only falling slightly behind the still-powerful GeForce 7950 GT 512MB.

Supreme Commander AA and AF Widescreen Performance

Once we enable anisotropic filtering and anti-aliasing settings and jack the widescreen resolutions, the Gigabyte GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB does drop back slightly, but it still posts higher scores than the GeForce 7900 GS, while giving the GeForce 7900 GT a good run for it.

F.E.A.R. Performance

F.E.A.R. (or First Encounter Assault Recon) is a one of the newer entrants to our game benchmark suite, and it features jaw-dropping graphics, a killer Matrix-like "reflex time" feature, and a physics engine that can bring any system to its knees. This Monolith production includes a wide selection of System and Video settings, along with an in-game testing module to keep things 100% comparable between different graphics cards. In this case, as we are dealing with video card performance, so we have racked the computer and graphics settings to high (max only increases AF and AA) and then testing at the different resolutions.

F.E.A.R. is one of the most demanding game benchmarks in our entire suite, and its overall design rewards both pure graphics performance and an SM 2.0/3.0 feature set. This is another game that shows the Gigabyte GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB in an extremely good light, at it finishes ahead of the GeForce 7900 GS, Radeon X1950 Pro and GeForce 7900 GT cards. F.E.A.R. is a very demanding benchmark, even at standard resolutions and details, and the Gigabyte GeForce 8600 GTS showed excellent performance levels.

F.E.A.R. AA and AF Widescreen Performance

The transition to 4X AA and 8X AF widescreen settings isn't quite as kind, as it puts a real strain on all the cards, especially in the area of memory bandwidth. This can be seen in the benchmark results, and the clear delineation between the mainstream and higher-end models.

Company of Heroes Performance

Company of Heroes is yet another new addition to our game benchmark suite, and as a newly-released product, it offers one of the most demanding benchmark environments ever. CoH is a WW2 real-time strategy game, which again provides us with a nice change of pace from the usual FPS benchmark. To give the video cards an even tougher time, we have enabled SM3.0, and set every available graphics option to High.

Company of Heroes is another very demanding part of our game benchmarking suite, and one that the ATI Radeon cards seem very adept at running. The benchmark chart illustrates this, and in terms of a purely NVIDIA-specific analysis, the Gigabyte GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB rules the mainstream class, while almost chasing the GeForce 7900 GS 256MB down.

Company of Heroes AA and AF Widescreen Performance

The higher resolution widescreen results are very tough on the NVIDIA contingent, and all the GeForce-based cards take a big hit at these settings. Still, the Gigabyte GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB put in a good performance against the GeForce 7900 GS 256MB.

Lost Planet DirectX 9/10 Widescreen Performance

Since we are evaluating a DirectX 10 video card, the use of Windows Vista is a definite requirement, but we also need some updated DirectX 10 game benchmarks as well. One of the best is the Lost Planet performance test, which comes in both DirectX 9 and 10 flavors, which allow across-the-board comparisons against last-generation graphics cards. The benchmark is also extremely tough on the hardware, and the resultant scores can be quite hard on the mainstream graphics cards, showing unplayable framerates in many cases. Since this is a high-end DirectX 9/10 game benchmark, we've utilized widescreen resolutions from the start, choosing 1600x1000 and 1920x1200.

To say that Lost Planet is a demanding game benchmark would be the understatement of the year, as you can almost hear the system grinding as it completes the testing. Our first test is the Cave demo, and once again, the Gigabyte GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB posted higher scores in the DirectX 9 environment. It does extremely well here, blowing by the GeForce 7900 GS, and outpacing both the GeForce 7900 GT and Radeon X1950 Pro 256MB cards. These are excellent results, and don't worry about the higher scores in DirectX 9 compared to DirectX 10, as it is the same story with higher-end GeForce 8800-based cards as well.

The Cave portion of the Lost Planet benchmark is even tougher on our video cards, and drops the framerates even lower. The ATI cards put in a better relative showing, but the Gigabyte GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB is very impressive, posting scores on par with, or even better than, the GeForce 7950 GT 512MB.

Lost Planet DirectX 9/10 AA and AF Widescreen Performance

Upgrading the already tough benchmark to 4X anti-aliasing and 16X anisotropic filtering results in a brutal gaming environment, and it's no surprise the Gigabyte GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB has a performance drop-off. It still manages to post higher scores than the GeForce 7900 GS and GT at both resolutions, and even the Radeon X1950 Pro at 1600x1000, but can't match the GeForce 7950 GT 512MB.

The Snow portion of the Lost Planet benchmark is quite a bit tougher demo, and now the Gigabyte GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB starts to fall back, while still posting respectable scores. We feel that this extreme gaming environment simply overloads the 128-bit memory interface of the GeForce 8600 GTS.

3DMark06 Advanced Performance

3DMark06 Advanced is the latest version of this popular 3DMark series of gaming benchmarks from Futuremark, and is the first to showcase new HDR/SM3.0 and SM2.0 graphics tests, as well as offering multi-core tailored CPU tests. The Feature tests have also been enhanced for the newest 3D support, and helps provide reliable measurements for game hardware of today and tomorrow. This is one very serious performance test, which punishes cards that do not fully support HDR/SM3.0 or SM2.0, and really puts video hardware to the next-generation test. In this review, we will be concentrating on the individual benchmark tests covering fill rate, vertex and pixel shading, SM2.0/SM3.0 results, and the individual Shader Particles and Perlin Noise SM3.0 tests.

3DMark06 Advanced Fill Rate Performance

The first part of our 3DMark06 Advanced testing utilizes the Feature Test portion of the benchmark (at the standard 1280x1024 resolution), and concentrates on the Fill Rate performance. This chart shows the cards ranked by Fill Rate performance, with the number displayed representing MTexels/second.

The Fill Rate benchmark tests show the Gigabyte GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB posting scores that fall in the middle of the pack. Sure, the GeForce 8600 GTS rules the mainstream crowd, and it outperforms the Radeon X1950 Pro in the multi-texturing section, but the high-end GeForce 7 Series cards are significantly faster in these tests, owing to their more robust pipeline architecture.

3DMark06 Advanced Vertex and Pixel Shader Performance

The 3DMark06 Advanced Pixel and Vertex Shader benchmark is another area that the advanced SM4.0 architecture of the Gigabyte GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB really starts to pay dividends. The Pixel Shader scores are certainly very good for the class, but the Vertex Shader results are off the hook.

3DMark06 Advanced SM2.0 & SM3.0/HDR Performance

The SM2.0 & SM3.0/HDR benchmark tests are both in the wheelhouse of the Gigabyte GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB, and the card knocks them out of the park. The SM2.0 scores are tops in the chart, while only the powerful GeForce 7950 GT 512MB posts a higher score in the HDR/SM3.0 test.

3DMark06 Advanced Shader Particles & Perlin Noise SM3.0 Performance

The last 3DMark section includes the Shader Particles and Perlin Noise benchmarks, which are both SM3.0 shader tests. The Gigabyte GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB posts a respectable score in the Perlin Noise test, but absolutely smokes the field in the Shader particles benchmark. Please note that the ATI Radeon X1000 cards cannot complete the Shader particles testing.

Benchmark Analysis

The overall benchmark performance of the Gigabyte GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB is very good for a mainstream video card. In some games, it can compete with higher-end video cards, while dropping back to mainstream levels in others. The Gigabyte GeForce 8600 GTS competes extremely well at standard resolutions and detail levels, often outperforming the GeForce 7900 GS and GT cards, but once we hit extreme levels like 1920x1200 with anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering enabled, the scores dip considerably. This is understandable for what is supposed to be a mainstream graphics card, and it doesn't tarnish the fact that the GeForce 8600 GTS still rules the mainstream roost. As price levels on high-end, last-generation DirectX 9 cards continue to drop, it does bring up some potential conflicts with the GeForce 7900 GS/GT and Radeon X1950 Pro video cards.

Value

The Gigabyte GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB currently sells in the $170-$190 range, which isn't much more expensive than the $160-$175 range of a bare bones GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB card, and about on par with a top name brand model. This is a great value, when you consider the Gigabyte model features a silent cooling fan design and an excellent retail bundle. It also compares well against other mid-range and high-end cards like the GeForce 7600 GT 256MB ($90-$110), Radeon X1650 XT 256MB ($105-$115), Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB ($105-$120), GeForce 8600 GT 256MB ($110-$125), Radeon X1950 Pro 256MB ($135-$150), and GeForce 7900 GS 256MB ($140-$160). For a mainstream, DirectX 10 card, the Gigabyte GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB offers an excellent value, especially for those building low-noise systems. The Radeon X1950 Pro 256MB is another very competitive video card, and recent price drops have only closed the gap.

* Please note that online prices reflect Retail models when possible, only OEM where noted. Prices are taken at the time of review, and are not intended to reflect long-term trends.

Conclusion

The wave of mainstream DirectX 10 cards walk a very fine line between performance on current games, and cutting edge support for upcoming ones. Some of the lower-end DirectX 10 models have not hit the right mix, but the more powerful GeForce 8600 GTS has achieved a nice balance. The Gigabyte GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB offers exceptional performance for a mainstream card, and while the 128-bit memory interface does limit the card when it comes to ultra high-end widescreen resolutions and anti-aliasing support, the card is powerful enough to make use of its DirectX 10/SM4.0 feature set. The Silent-Pipe heatsink also gets the Gigabyte GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB high marks, as does it rock solid design and excellent retail bundle.

Pros: * DirectX 10/SM4.0 Support * Silent-Pipe Cooling Design * Nice Performance for the Class * Free Supreme Commander DVD

Cons: * Takes up Two Slots * 128-bit Memory Interface

Ratings: