XFX 8600 GTS XXX Video Card Review

Features & Specifications

Today we are testing the XFX 8600 GTS XXX Video Card. This is one of the trio of entry lever DirectX 10 graphics cards from NVIDIA. Like all the XXX editions from XFX this XFX 8600 GTS XXX Video Card is factory overclocked and still carries the XFX Double Lifetime Warranty. XFX has even improved their warranty with the launch of the XFX 8600 GTS XXX Video Card by taking the card back if it fails for any reason so long as there is no physical damage to the card. That means you can overclock the XFX 8600 GTS XXX Video Card even higher and if it fails it will most likely be covered. The XFX 8600 GTS XXX Video Card has a core clock of 730 MHz and a memory clock of 2.26 GHz on the 256MB of RAM. To compare the PNY Verto 8600 GTS has a core clock speed of 675 MHz and a memory clock of 2000 MHz.

Test Machine

Before we get into the performance of the XFX 8600 GTS XXX Video Card I want to list the specifications of my test machine since that has an effect on the performance numbers:

• CPU- Intel QX6700
• Mainboard- EVGA 680i
• RAM- PNY XLR8 PC2-8500 2GB
• Display- HP 30” LP3065
• OS- Windows XP Pro SP2

Benchmarks & Testing

3DMark06

For 3DMark06 testing I used default settings for 3DMark06 and in the NVIDIA control panel. The test results were:

• Total 3DMarks- 6309
• SM2.0- 2507
• HDR/SM3.0- 2241
• CPU- 3926
• Return to Proxycon- 19.354
• Firefly Forest- 22.431
• Canyon Flight- 19.785
• Deep Freeze- 25.040
• CPU1- 1.319
• CPU2- 1.869

For the sake of comparison the PNY Verto 8600 GTS I reviewed scored 5831 total 3DMarks and the next step up from the XFX 8600 GTS XXX Video Card, the scored 9150 total 3DMarks.

FEAR

I tested the XFX 8600 GTS XXX Video Card using the in game test loop with a screen resolution of 1280 x 1024, 4x AA, no soft shadows and 16x AF. All other settings were at max levels. FEAR recorded the following performance data:

• Min- 25 fps
• Avg- 40 fps
• Max- 83 fps

If you like to see percentages for FEAR the frame rates never dipped below 25 fps, 65% of the time frame rates were 25 – 40 fps and 35% of the time frame rates were greater than 40 fps.

Battlefield 2142

Next up was some BF2142 gaming with game settings of 1600 x 1200 screen resolution, 4x AA and all settings on high. I used Fraps to gather frame rate data on a single player map called “Fall of Berlin”. Fraps gather the following frame rate data:

• Min- 22 fps
• Avg- 32.693 fps
• Max- 38 fps

Final Thoughts

After all the testing was finished I found that the XFX 8600 GTS XXX Video Card significantly out performed the PNY Verto 8600 GTS, which was to be expected considering the PNY card runs stock clock speeds and the XFX 8600 GTS XXX Video Card is overclocked. The MSRP for the XFX 8600 GTS XXX Video Card is $239.99 compared to the $199.99 for the PNY. The real question is if you feel the performance difference justifies the extra expense. You should also bear in mind the XFX 8600 GTS XXX Video Card has the best warranty in the business.