Video card review: eVGA e-GeForce 8600GT 256MB

[Ben Scott]

  Submitted purely FYI.

BACKGROUND

  I've mentioned in the past that my main home PC had come with an
NVidia card that I wasn't terribly happy with in terms of speed.  It
was a Quadro NVS 285, and didn't have much in the way of fast 3D
acceleration.  Fine for desktop use, but not good for 3D action games.
 Normally, I spec such things out and/or build them myself.  I got
this system at a fire-sale price, but had to take it "as is".  So I
had been looking for a new video card.  Unfortunately, all the options
seemed to have serious problems: NVidia's drivers are binary-only;
ATI's drivers are new and/or incomplete; Intel's hardware isn't good
at fast 3D.  I held out for as long as I could, but eventually broken
down and purchased something less than completely satisfactory.

REQUIREMENTS

  My requirements (in roughly descending order of importance):

* Works well with Linux (primarily accelerated 2D), in particular,
Fedora and CentOS
* Decent 3D performance for Wintendo (I play games like Half-Life 2
and Portal sometimes)
* Works with my Dell Precision 380
  * 375 watt power supply
  * PCI Express x16 slot
  * Single slot foot-print
* DVI digital output
* Quiet operation
* Low price
* Manufacturer with at least something of a positive reputation

SPECIFICATIONS

  Here's what I ended up choosing:


Card mfg: EVGA
Model: e-GeForce 8600GT 256MB
P/N: 256-P2-N751-TR
GPU mfg: NVidia
GPU model: GeForce 8600 GT
Host interface: PCI Express x16
Max resolution: 2560 x 1600
GPU core clock: 540 MHz
Onboard RAM: 256 MB, 128-bit, DDR3
Outputs: 2 x DVI-I (digital or analog), DE-15 adapters included; HDTV-7 (?)
Power requirements: System PSU of 350 watts with 18 amp on +12 volt rail
Card mfg web site: http:/www.evga.com
Model web page: http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=256-P2-N751-TR

  Of note: The card does not support HDCP (copy restrictions for
TV/DVD/Blu-Ray).  I didn't care, but some might.

Supplier: NewEgg
Supplier P/N: N82E16814130085
Price: $50 after mail-in rebate
Web page: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130085

MY EXPERIENCE

  It's an older card by today's standards, but it's good enough for my
needs, and the price was outstanding.  I've seen people spending $600+
on the latest stuff from NVidia.  An order of magnitude cheaper is
something I like.  :)

  It's a single slot card.  The onboard heatsink/fan is fairly low
profile, and doesn't use a slot for an external vent.  Seems to do a
reasonable job of keeping the card cool.  Idle, it seems to hover
around 120 degrees Fahrenheit.  Under heavy 3D load, it shoots up to
160, but that's within nominal spec.  It's very quiet -- I can barely
tell the fan is running.

  It worked immediately in Linux when I powered the system back up.  I
didn't have to update drivers or adjust settings or anything; it just
worked.  That's largely because I kept the same monitor and the
previous card was also an NVidia card (thus uses the same driver), but
it was still nice to just boot up and log right back in.  No 2D
display artifacts or other problems.  I haven't tried 3D beyond
"glxgears" (but that worked).

  Windows XP Pro came up in 16-color VESA VGA mode.  I had to first
uninstall the software from my old card, reboot, install the software
for my new card, and reboot again.  This despite the fact that I was
using recent OEM stock drivers (NVidia ForceWare).  Apparently, the
builds for Quadro NVA vs GeForce 8 are not compatible.  I don't see
how Windows XP will ever be able to succeed on the home desktop
market, when I have to spend time mucking around with drivers and
uninstalls and reboots.  Linux just works.  ;-)

  Half-Life 2 Episode 2 is playing very well at 1400x1050 with most of
the rendering features turned on/up.  1600x1200 (my monitor's max)
seems to be pushing it just a bit.

-- Ben