Hardware Nvidia GeForce 8600 GTS

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by Tim S, 17 Apr 2007.

  1. Tim S

    Tim S OG

    Joined:
    8 Nov 2001
    Posts:
    18,882
    Likes Received:
    89
  2. MiNiMaL_FuSS

    MiNiMaL_FuSS ƬӇЄƦЄ ƁЄ ƇƠƜƧ ӇЄƦЄ.

    Joined:
    24 Dec 2003
    Posts:
    6,731
    Likes Received:
    192
    bit disapointed really, expected these as next gen cards to be up there with the likes of the 7900's....8800 320mb still seems the best way to go if you must have DX10...plus they can be got for around £160 now.
     
  3. DougEdey

    DougEdey I pwn all your storage

    Joined:
    5 Jul 2005
    Posts:
    13,933
    Likes Received:
    33
    Maybe it's just me, but since Graphics cards used to have between 128MB and 256MB of RAM on them and they ran fine, why is it that a 320MB card which is replacing the equivalent 128MB card has difficulties with textures?
     
  4. Bluephoenix

    Bluephoenix Spoon? What spoon?

    Joined:
    3 Dec 2006
    Posts:
    968
    Likes Received:
    1
    one thing this does tell us is where NVidia may be going with the supposed 'Ultra' model or the 8900.

    It will probably be a G80 scale or larger in terms of sp clusters, but have the increased texture address sections and the new VP.

    as far as the article itself it looks like gamers will go for the 8800GTS models and the 8600 will be the baby of the HTPC guys. (especially with the HDMI, new VP, and HDCP/Vista Media support)
     
  5. atanum141

    atanum141 I fapped to your post!

    Joined:
    22 Jul 2004
    Posts:
    7,986
    Likes Received:
    19
    Awesome Review as usual Tim tho i have a few questions:
    1)In terms of an older system( 939 x4200,2gig ram...etc) Would this be a viable upgrade to play future games at averagely decent settings? E.G. Crysis?

    2)Ive got a 7800GTX and would it be worth the upgrade? or would i just be wasting my money on Dx10? Or should i at lest wait for ATi based stuffs?

    Ive seen the various GTS on sale @ Ebuyer for under £130/40 and add to the fact that you can get £10 off the purchase makes sense to me.
     
  6. wafflesomd

    wafflesomd What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    22 Oct 2005
    Posts:
    1,719
    Likes Received:
    23
    Why can't someone just make a card that clocks at like, 5ghz, has like, 1024 pipelines, and 2 gigs of ram.

    Is it it me, or are cards just not progressing as much as they used to.

    I remember back in the day, of th FX series, and my old ati 9700pro, that thing ran anything, and can still hold its own in game that use the source engine, as well as others.
     
  7. z3rb

    z3rb +4 str +4 stam

    Joined:
    6 Nov 2006
    Posts:
    299
    Likes Received:
    0
    I'm disapointed. I think i'm gonna need an 8800 GTS 320Mb instead D:
     
  8. pendragon

    pendragon I pickle they

    Joined:
    14 May 2004
    Posts:
    717
    Likes Received:
    0
    at the price point it's at.. the 8600 is just not worth it when 8800gts 320 gives you so much more for a tad more money :-/ .....well, unless you're a hardcore video editor
     
  9. DXR_13KE

    DXR_13KE BananaModder

    Joined:
    14 Sep 2005
    Posts:
    9,139
    Likes Received:
    382
    a hint: FOR THE SAKE OF F*** ATI/AMD LAUNCH THAT GRAPHIC CARD ALREADY!!!!!
    sorry.
     
  10. Mathmarauder

    Mathmarauder What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    14 Jan 2007
    Posts:
    369
    Likes Received:
    0
    No bit-tech seal or ranking out of 10, I'm a little disappointed and I guess I will wait to see the offering from ATI in may.
     
  11. ikra

    ikra What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    2 Oct 2006
    Posts:
    183
    Likes Received:
    0
    heh... waiting game this is... for the prices, drivers, and the competitor i.e. ati(obviously)

    8600 aint worth teh money
     
  12. LabRat1

    LabRat1 What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    23 Jun 2004
    Posts:
    246
    Likes Received:
    0
    No agp version at this price point?

    I find that strange
     
  13. Tulatin

    Tulatin The Froggy Poster

    Joined:
    16 Oct 2003
    Posts:
    3,161
    Likes Received:
    7
    Does nvidia make chipsets, or support motherboards that use AGP in our Vista era? Nope.

    As to the performance, i guess it was to be expected. It's about right (midrange now = top end then) but i was expecting at least a 10 frame gain...
     
  14. Muunsyr

    Muunsyr What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    22 May 2005
    Posts:
    53
    Likes Received:
    1
    Glad to see my 7900GTX is holding up to the next gen cards. It certainly hit my wallet with everything it had. Maybe I'll get another one (2nd hand?) to keep it company before I go DX10...
     
  15. Mathmarauder

    Mathmarauder What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    14 Jan 2007
    Posts:
    369
    Likes Received:
    0
    I would like to know how these perform in sli, any plans to test this later Tim?
     
  16. Tim S

    Tim S OG

    Joined:
    8 Nov 2001
    Posts:
    18,882
    Likes Received:
    89
    Unfortunately, there was just no way I could come up with a score because I still can't really gauge where the card's performance actually falls. It's just incredibly inconsistent across the games we've tested. The only thing that was consistent was that it generally sucked with 4xAA enabled.
     
  17. Tim S

    Tim S OG

    Joined:
    8 Nov 2001
    Posts:
    18,882
    Likes Received:
    89
    DirectX 10 is such a massive unknown and the problem here is that its DirectX 9 performance is a little shady too - sometimes it's where you would expect, other times it's low. I need to do some more shader heavy benchmarking when I get back home.

    There is no DirectX 10 content yet, so because this isn't a dead-certain DirectX 9 performer it just doesn't make sense to buy right now if you're a gamer. By the time DirectX 10 content turns up, there will be benchmarks out there comparing ATI and Nvidia's hardware. As for upgrading from a 7800 GTX - you'll get no more performance, it'll just be added DirectX 10 functionality. If you want more performance, go for the 8800 GTS 320MB.

    £130 is a reasonable price, but again, no DX10 content and shady DX9 performance against the X1950 Pro (which can be bought for £110ish) makes the decision a tricky one. It's all about balancing it up and price in the mid-range is incredibly important.
     
  18. zr_ox

    zr_ox Whooolapoook

    Joined:
    5 Jan 2005
    Posts:
    1,143
    Likes Received:
    0
    Nice review but where is the 8800 Ultra or 8850 that everyone's been talking about? My 90 day step-up is running down :(
     
  19. Tim S

    Tim S OG

    Joined:
    8 Nov 2001
    Posts:
    18,882
    Likes Received:
    89
    you'll have to wait for that one ;)
     
  20. BioSniper

    BioSniper Minimodder

    Joined:
    5 Feb 2002
    Posts:
    3,815
    Likes Received:
    18
    Seems like the 7900GS still out performs it all be it on a DX9 code path, Kind of reminds me of when the 9500 was out an ATI launched the 9600 which was very slightly slower in all aspects.
    Kind of a shame really.
     
Tags: Add Tags

Share This Page