Hardware Zotac GeForce 8600 GT ZONE Edition

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2007/09/26/zotac_geforce_8600_gt_zone_edition/1

After a promising start, Zotac is back with its first market differentiator - the ZONE series. This is a series of silently-cooled mid-range and entry level graphics cards designed for home theatre PCs. Join us as we enter the ZONE with an 8600 GT...

 

I actually really like the look of this card. It's got some subtle design features that really make it that much better somehow, such as the "PCI slot cover" extending over the sockets/etc... on the PCB. Not only that, but the heatsink looks rather aesthetic when compared to other seemingly ugly heatsinks.

+1 imo.

 

QFT

 

Yeah, it's a nice card but it's just not outstanding in any one area given its price. I'd get a silent 2600 XT GDDR3 if I was building a home theatre system (around £70), an X1950 Pro if I wanted an out-and-out performer if I wasn't bothered about DX10 and I'd stretch to a bottom-end 8600 GTS (~£110) if I was after DX10 capabilities too.

 

its got to be either a 2400 or a 2900 for home theater depending on if you want to game or not. i dont really see the benefit of this card

 

Unless your running freevo or mythTV in which case you really need an nvidia card, AMD are getting better but they've not earned it yet.

 

Yeah, I'm always a sucker for design over performance.

 

I take a passively cooled graphics card over a fan ditto any day. Zero noise pollution is a blessing; once you’ve gone passively you never go back to the hair fan ever again. Granted...performance wise this card might not be the best one out there, but frankly; you don’t purchase a passively cooled graphics card in the first place if you seek maximum performance eh? silencium is the key here. oh, and nice review by the way.

 

no temperature graphs? thats what i wanted to see .

 

What is the most powerful passive card at the moment? is it still the XFX7950gt? Obviously it doesn't do DX10, but its not like mid end cards do it that well either.

 

Yeah, I believe the XFX 7950 GT would be somewhere right up with the fastest. I know that there are passive coolers out there for the GeForce 8800 GTS (not sure if it fits the GTX and Ultra) from Thermalright if you're willing to install a third party heatsink and potentially void your warranty (dependent on which manufacturer you buy from).