8600GT positives?

[new_builder]

Hi

i wanted to know what are the positives in buying this card. This is a midrange card but i keep on hearing people criticize it.

However i hear this card is better than most of the dx9 cards on its level for games that are shader intensive, so won't it preform with newer games better. Also crysis recommends it in its system requirements if i'm correct.

 

[theuprightman24]

Its cheaper than other 8800 series cards ---

 

[mactronix]

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/HD-2600-AND-GEFORCE-8600,review-2362.html
The above link is a good read to help you understand where the card fits in.
Basically its a midrange card as far as Nvidia are concerned but performance wise as in fps for gaming it would be concidered (from my point of view any way as strictly entry level).
I would use it in a pc that was for light gaming ie nothing graphically intensive definatly not Crysis,the actual specs havent been released yet (unless they did it today),and as a HTPC.
Mactronix

 

[rodney_ws]

The main problem is that it doesn't compare favorably to previous generation cards (7900 GS comes to mind) that are in its price class. I think everyone was surprised at what a cut-down card the 8600 series was... just look at the numbers on the above link... the 8600 has 1/3 the stream processors as the 8800 GTS. That along with the 128 bit bus means there's a huge gap between it and the next DX10 card from Nvidia (8800 GTS 320 MB) Apparently Nvidia's problem is contagious because ATI pretty much did the same thing with their cards. It's not a horrible card... just not what the community was expecting from a "mid-range" card.

 

[theuprightman24]

Like I said - cheap and cheerful!

 

[starcraftfanatic]

THG said with the cheap prices of them now that they are a relatively good buy, Check the charts and the cheapest cards on newegg, and best cards for money: August
DONT GET THE 8500!

 

[cleeve]

I wouldn't call it midrange. It's more of a mid-low.

The worst thing about the 8600 GT is that:

1- It doesn't perform much better than the old 7600 GT
2- The X1950 PRO doesn't cost much more, yet it's a far stronger performer at higher resolutions

However, the 8600 GT is relatively strong at shader-heavy stuff like oblivion. IMHO it's worth the 5-or-so bucks more than a 7600 GT just for that.

But the X1950 PRO is a pretty sweet card.

 

[aevm]

I think the 8600GT is a great card, for a certain type of people. It's designed to be silent and relatively cheap and able to handle Vista's Aero and to support HD video (which is very important if your CPU is also relatively cheap). It does all this very well IMO. As a gaming card it stinks, sure, but it's not designed for that market. If you're into gaming you need the 8800 series. Come to think of it, I wouldn't be surprised at all if nVidia sells more 8600GT cards than 8800GTX cards.

 

[jwolf24601]

I love my 8600gts so far, I am running last Gen games at decent framerates with high settings 1600x1200 graphics 2x AA and 2x AF. I dont like to raise AA and AF higher than that anyways as I feel it makes games too blurry.

For more recent games if you turn down the settings a little you can get good frame rates.

The 8600 series shines when playing back video, along with the 2600ati series they're perfect for home theater PC's.

8400, 8500, 2400 are all garbage for gaming though.

 

[new_builder]

Would i be correct that if i overclock the 8600GT and get it on par with the 8600GTS its opinion would improve, and it would make it better for medium to high gaming?, since apparently the 8600GTS is more of an overclocked version of the 8600GT and isn't worth getting as its price is much closer to the 8800GTS.

 

[vonwombat]

You could OC the 8600GT to match the GTS frequencies, but don't expect too much from it. Even OC-ed, it won't do great in games.
I would still recommend a good DX9 card, like X1950PRO or 7900GS.

 

[aevm]

OP, why don't you tell us about your budget for the video card, screen resolution, CPU type, PSU type, and which games you want to play. Then we'll be able to recommend a card that serves you best. For example if you want to play Crysis at 1920x1200 it's really pointless to talk about the 8600 series.

 

[new_builder]

OP, why don't you tell us about your budget for the video card, screen resolution, CPU type, PSU type, and which games you want to play. Then we'll be able to recommend a card that serves you best. For example if you want to play Crysis at 1920x1200 it's really pointless to talk about the 8600 series.

My monitor can take only up to 1280x1024 resolution but i don't mind playing at 1024x768. I am currently using a geforce 6600

My budget for a new graphics card is more or less in the £75-£100 region, don't want go over £100.

I want to be able to play games like Rainbow Six Vegas, Bioshock, Crysis and other upcoming games at least on medium settings and if possible of course in high settings. I know that my budget isn't big thats why i don't mind getting a card that will allow me to play on medium and let me play with some of the eye candy graphics for those games.

Thanks

 

[aevm]

This sounds like a job for the x1950xt. It is the best card in that price range as far as I can tell.

An 8800 GTS 320 would be better but it's over £100.

I don't know if that PSU can take an x1950xt, you'll have to check the amps.

 

[new_builder]

Are you sure a x1950xt can be found under £100 because the cheapest i could find was £116.24 and that was out of stock, whilst the cheapest 8600GT is £67.38 is it worth it? btw the 8600GT isn't a card i'll be sticking with long term.

 

[mactronix]

Would think that a XT would be borderline for his PSU i know that its a good make but without knowing the amps on the +12volt rail i wouldnt want to risk it.
A pro would be a safer option i would have thought?
Mactronix

 

[San Pedro]

x1950 pro if you can find one in your price range. An 8600 GTS at the right price might be a good buy.

 

[new_builder]

On the psu it says +12V1 14A and +12V2 15A so its got a twin 12V rail with total of 29amps.

 

[mactronix]

Not sure it works like that dont think you just add them up im not up enough on psu ratings ,there is a equation but i dont know it so if one of the other guys wouldnt mind posting it so i can save it for later use that would be great.
Mactronix

 

[aevm]

Are you sure a x1950xt can be found under £100 because the cheapest i could find was £116.24 and that was out of stock, whilst the cheapest 8600GT is £67.38 is it worth it? btw the 8600GT isn't a card i'll be sticking with long term.

Well, I saw the x1950xt for $170 recently and I thought that would mean under 100 pounds. Apparently though it's not that nice in the UK... OK, x1950Pro is another card with great bang-for-the-buck and it should be cheaper and it's easier on the PSU too. Besides, if you're going to upgrade soon anyway it's smart to get something cheaper indeed.

The x1950 pro wants 450W and 30 A, but that's a recommendation "based on fully loaded system". You may be able to use it with your PSU. I would rule out the x1950xt at this point, because that will want even more power.
http://shop.ati.com/product.asp?sku=3122113

 

[new_builder]

Not sure it works like that dont think you just add them up im not up enough on psu ratings ,there is a equation but i dont know it so if one of the other guys wouldnt mind posting it so i can save it for later use that would be great.
Mactronix

Well actually i checked the psu and it says +12V1 14A and +12V2 15A and then i looked up on the internet and it said its got a total of 29amps so...

 

[new_builder]

Well, I saw the x1950xt for $170 recently and I thought that would mean under 100 pounds. Apparently though it's not that nice in the UK... OK, x1950Pro is another card with great bang-for-the-buck and it should be cheaper and it's easier on the PSU too. Besides, if you're going to upgrade soon anyway it's smart to get something cheaper indeed.

The x1950 pro wants 450W and 30 A, but that's a recommendation "based on fully loaded system". You may be able to use it with your PSU. I would rule out the x1950xt at this point, because that will want even more power.
http://shop.ati.com/product.asp?sku=3122113

Well i used a psu calculator on a website and with the x1950 pro the psu wattage was 412w whilst the 8600gt was 389w.

btw i was reading a few other websites and there seems to be people claiming to be able to run a 8800gts with the same psu as mine, do you think they are taking a risk or is it possible?

 

[aevm]

They are certainly taking a risk. It's also possible that their video card is bottlenecked by the CPU so badly that it never gets under full load and that allows it to avoid overloading the PSU. I don't know, I'm a noob about PSUs.

+12V1 14A and +12V2 15A: you can't just add them up and say 29 A, it's more complicated and you actually have somewhat less than 29. Maybe somebody who knows this stuff will step in and explain, I can't. I got myself a PSU with only one rail and don't have this problem.

 

[cleeve]

Two 12v ratings mean there are two separate 12v rails. One of them is probably decdicated to the PCIe video card power connector, which should be ample for an 8600 GTS... OR an X1950 PRO.

 

[ethel]

Here's a X1950pro for £65 + postage. Buy this instead.