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Need for Speed: Carbon echoes the results we saw earlier with Oblivion. You don't want to buy the GeForce 8600GT to play this game - it's noe even fast enough at 1024 x 768 without AA and AF and all the details set to High and Maximum. So, while the GeForce 8600GT may look like a bargain, the GeForce 8600GTS is more suitable for shader heavy gamesset to launch this year. however, for next year's batch of games, you likely will have to buy the next generation mainstream cards.

Conclusion:

From the get go, its clear that the GeForce 8600 series is targeted at mainstream users. That means it is targeted more than just gamers. So, don't expect to play games with details set to the max with AA and AF enabled at high resolutions. Reviews and users' experiences alike show that these cards areonly fast enough for 1024 x 768 with AA and AF (1280 x 1024 with games like Quake 4 and Serious Sam II). As for which card is better, on older games, the GeForce 8600GT is an attractive alternative, but you'll change your mind quickly when you play the newest games.

But then again, that's what its all about it, isn't? You don't buy the GeForce 8600 seies (or the lower series like the GeForce 8500 and 8400) to get performance. For the most part, you get because (1) it's cheap, (2) it's DirectX 10 and Vista compliant and probably, (3) its superb video decoding acceleration. The GeForce 8600GTS comes as the premium part in this series because it adds that little bit performance needed to play games.

In that respect, if you're a gamer who think performance (and frame rate) is king, don't get the GeForce 8600 series. But if you are looking for a card for that extra box you have to play movies, browse the web, e-mail and all that other stuff, the GeForce 8600 series is an attractive alternative, especially the GeForce 8600GT. That box may not be fast, but it should be enough to play games at 1024 x 768 or 1280 x 960 without AA and AF (except maybe for Oblivion and NFS: Carbon). In that respect, cards like these should be ideal for HTPC setups though they lack HDMI connectors.



Leadtek PX8600GTS TDH Extreme
Gigabyte NX8800GT Silent Pipe

This comparison is not the easiest to make. For the budget gamer who's willing to pay the premium, we recommend the Leadtek PX8600GTS TDH Extreme. It certainly is faster than the standard GeForce 8600GTS, which is important for newer games. But if you're looking for a bargain and performance in games is not your number one priority, the GeForce 8600GT is a good choice. From the three GeForce 8600GT we tested here today, we recommend the Gigabyte NX8600GT Silent Pipe because of its noise advantage - it has none. It is slightly hotter, particularly if you don't have a well ventilated case,but not that much - a testament to Gigabyte's continuing effort to provide an effective passive, silent cooling. With the help of good airflow, it should be just as cool as cards based using reference cooling solutions. It's definitely cooler than other passively cooled card in this round up, the ASUS EN8600GT. The only drawback is the lack of cooling for the memory chips, but that shouldn't be a problem unless you're planning to overclock the card.

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