Inno3D GeForce 8600 GTS iChill and regular

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Page 2 (Specs)

 

Reference Specifications

To get you a better understanding of what we are dealing with, let's have a look at some specs that I placed into a table.

 

GeForce 8500 GT

GeForce 8600 GT

GeForce 8600 GTS

Stream Processors

16

32

32

Core clock (MHz)

450

540

675

Shader clock (MHz)

900

1180

1450

Memory clock (MHz) x2

400

700

1000

Memory

DDR2

gDDR3

gDDR3

Memory bus

128-bit

128-bit

128-bit

Memory bandwidth (GB/sec)

12.8

22.4

32

Transistor count

210

289

289

HDCP compatible

No

No

Yes

Let's analyze a little. First off, the 8800 GTS and GTX are brilliantly performing cards. They have a lot power thanks to the sheer number of Stream processors (shader processors). The GTX has 128 units, the GTS cards have 96 shader units.

If you do some generic math you'd know I expected the mid range products to have 48 shader units, but that's not the case. Merely 32 units are present in the 8600 series and a very shallow 16 on the 8500. Now since we are looking at the 8600 cards today let's keep focus on that one. The 32 shader units inside the GPU is not a lot, but for a mid-range product it could be enough if you give the product the proper what I call "framebuffer performance". The memory on your graphics card is very influential when you look at its bandwidth (the data speed which the GPU can work (read/write/copy) in. So I was surprised to see a 128-bit bus as in 2007 we should have really moved towards a 256-bit bus. 256-bit memory is dirt cheap so that's just not a logical step from my point of view. It's simple, the difference between memory for 128-bit versus 256-bit is half the bandwidth and has a very intense effect on the overall framerate of your games.

I would not be surprised to see 256-bit memory bus mid-range products later on in this year. Next: what's the physical difference between the 8600 GT and GTS you ask? Nothing, except the clocks and likely internal GPU voltage. So if you receive a GT that can overclock well, you could be able to bring it close to GTS speeds and save 50 bucks. Really it's the same GPU yet specified slower. Also good to know, every feature that is present on the 8800 series is also available on this chip architecture. Please read our reference GeForce 8800 GTX review for full documentation on these features.

So as you can understand the cards all will have full DX10 compatibility, which brings us to Microsoft Vista.

SPECIFICATIONS

  • Chipset - NVIDIA Geforce 8600 GTS
  • Memory - 256MB GDDR3
  • Core Frequency - 702MHz
  • Memory Frequency - 2100MHz
  • RAMDAC - 400MHZ
  • Interface - PCI-Express
  • Memory Bus - 128-bit
  • Max. Resolution - 2560 x 1600
  • SLI Ready - Yes
  • Stream Processors - 32
  • Output - #1. Dual-Link DVI #2. HDTV s

Please notice that only the 8600 GTS will have HDCP support straight out of the box.

This brings us to Inno3D

Inno3D has the regular version of the Geforce 8600 GTS available, yet also a faster clocked model of the card. The iChill edition. Inno3D's products are well known and reputable in the USA, they are now slowly getting some grip in the complex European market channel as well.

As stated we'll test two 8600 GTS Inno3D cards today, the regular 8600 GTS and the iChill version.

Inno3D GeForce 8600 GTS

The regular (and slightly cheaper) GeForce 8600 GTS comes armed with reference clocks. So therefore the core will be clocked at 675 MHz and it's memory at 1 GHz (x2).

The card itself is 100% reference, including the cooler. Included in the box you'll find:

  • GeForce 8600 GTS 256 MB
  • Driver CD
  • HDTV block (3-way RCA component)
  • SVIDEO cable
  • 6-pin to Molex power cable
  • manual
  • VGA->DVI dongle

Inno3D GeForce 8600 GTS normal and iChill review

That's it, no additional software. You receive the hardware and that's all. What did caught my eye is that warranty has been extended, this product will offer you a nice 2 years warranty, which is value.

 

Inno3D GeForce 8600 GTS iChill edition

Faster clocks will give it a little more edge over the competition, and this is why we see a slightly faster iChill edition. Where the reference product is running at 675 MHz, the iChill edition is running at 702 MHz. Also the memory is clocked from 1000 towards 1049 MHz. As you can see, marginal default overclocks, every extra frame per second rendered is one I say.

But can we maintain steady temperatures with such a product and overclock ? Hmm... difficult. We'll find out in our temperature test and see if the Striker3 cooler is worth the money.

Also notice the smaller details; even the memory has little ramsinks (which quite honestly have no use with BGA memory these days), but they do look cool and again bring detail and aesthetics to the product. In short, nice !

Alright let's have a look inside the box shall we.

So once you open up the box you'll physically see that you have bought something special with gold plated DVI connectors and a new cooling solution. What immediately strikes me is that the PCB is green. How cool would this card have been with a black PCB huh ?

Once we open it up we'll see:

  • GeForce 8600 GTS with XStriker3 cooler
  • Driver CD
  • Full game - RACE the WTCC game
  • 6-pin to molex power connector
  • HDTV 3-way RCA (analog) component connector.
  • Composite VIDEO cable
  • DVI-VGA dongle

Inno3D GeForce 8600 GTS normal and iChill review

The i-Chill products come with a nice 3 year warranty. The gold plated DVI connectors ensure better signal quality and less oxidization.

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