NVIDIA GeForce 6600GT Roundup. Round 1: PCI-E
Final Words
Prior to announcing a verdict on each of the cards reviewed, let's make some general conclusion.
No doubt, more exhaustive findings can be made no earlier than we get a video card on the base of the ATI X800 chip originally positioned by ATI as a real menace to 6600GT. For now, 6600GT is decent enough in the 200$+ (PCI-E) sector.
6600GT takes a lead over the competitor solution Õ700PRO (around 220$ +/- depending on the manufacturer and the sales place) as we have found out through all the synthetic benchmarks that we ran. However, synthetic benchmarking is far not all, many have lost interest to 3DMark and don't take the results as the truth in the last resort. Therefore, gaming applications proved to be the most indicative in terms of real performance comparisons.
Of course, the major focus is put on the three "monsters" of the gaming industry of the past year - Far Cry, DOOM3, and Half-Life2.
Far Cry (1.3)
With AFx4 enabled, Radeon X700 PRO showed a serious lag versus 6600GT at 1280õ1024. Note that with the AA enabled, X700PRO the lag is not that pronounced at the resolutions as compared to 6600GT. In view of the generally low FPS, it doesn't make much sense benchmarking it at 1600õ1200 - this is unlikely to be ever demanded by gamers, especially with the ÀÀ+AF enabled.
DOOM3 (Timedemo)
There isn't much to say here. All is evident on the graphs. Just note that in the normal mode all the cards demonstrate a good gameplay at 1024x768, and superb at 1280x1024. With the ÀÀ and ÀF enabled, all the 6600GT showed a good standing at 1024õ768, whereas being on the verge at 1280õ1024. X700 PRO showed minimum gaming comfort only starting with 1024õ768, but at 1280õ1024 already the FPS drops below 20. That is why it is useless testing it at 1600õ1200 - only for the theoretical interest.
Half-Life2 (our own demo recorded with the canals map)
At that, on the contrary, X700PRO takes a lead (of which no one has doubts). What is nice - owners of 6600GT can stay assured that the lag card showed is not so drastical to worry about. Through a little bit of overclocking you can easily add some score points to the performance rating at the hit of the past year 2004.
In conclusion, a brief summary on each of the video cards tested today:
Gigabyte GeForce 6600GT
We would call it the best gift to DOOM fans who would be glad to get their favorite game as bundled item to the "right" card. It showed good overclocking results, and the overall performance is at quite a high level. The price is a pleasant surprise - about 220$ (+/- depending on the place of purchase).
The GPU maximum temperature during benchmarking (in the overclocked state) was 50 degrees. No shortcomings have been found.
Gainward Powerpack! Ultra/1960 PCX XP Golden Sample GLH
As usual, Gainward supplies its smartest solutions on the market. In addition to the standard advantages of GS (and GLH!) cards, there is also faster memory of 1.6 memory access time, and "official" overclocking (the company guarantees trouble-free operation of the card at these frequencies, unlike other manufacturers who are by no means liable for the poor overclocking capabilities of their cards). Above all, there is a cooling system made as radiators, a quiet enough cooler, and the nice look of the card (plus colorful illumination). A weighty plus is support for the VIVO. The price of the splendor is at least 250$ (on the date of writing the material).
XFX GeForce 6600GT
The good-quality product by XFX is also equipped with faster than standard memory of 1.6 ns access time. Of note is also the rich package bundle. As regards the overclocking capabilities, it doesn't make a big difference among all the video cards, which is nice. It is much easier to assume the "simple mean".
Among the cons, is the lack of nominal cooling for the memory chips. The 1.6 ns makes the chips heat up immensely, so we had to arrange additional blowing while overclocking. Anyway, it is not a problem gluing radiators on.
Leadtek PX6600 GT TDH
The major advantage of the card is in the quiet cooling system (although, it is up to personal preferences). In all the other respects, everything is standard. Memory of 2 ns access time, decent overclocking capabilities, good package bundles. No serious flaws have been revealed. The solution will also appeal for its price - about 220$ (+/-).
ASUS EN6600 GT
For the dessert - a card by ASUS, one of the industry leaders. The first thing to note is the very high quality of the cooling system which also implies cooling the memory chips, made in the form of radiators. Also note the excellent overclocking capabilities - 575(!) MHz for the core - again ASUS showed super results, which allows granting ASUS our well-deserved reward.
So, dear readers, it's up to you to think and choose. As regards AGP products on the base of the GeForce 6600GT chip, we'll present a review on that (the second part) in the nearest time.
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