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MSI GeForce 6600 Ares DDR2 256MB PCI-E Review |
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Written by Mavke
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Saturday, 18 March 2006 |
Hardware Zone brings us a review on the MSI GeForce 6600 Ares DDR2 256MB PCIe graphics card. In a discrete graphics market awash with attention grabbing names and short-lived brands/models, it can be a thankless task trying to stand out from the rest of the middling crowd. Those who have fought this battle and lived know all about the various methods used to drum up attention for their products. One effective way is to make consumers feel obliged to pay more by associating the product with a classy and upmarket vibe. MSI has had some success with this marketing strategy in recent times. Witness its Diamond edition GeForce 6600 cards, which came in stylish packaging.
 MSI GeForce 6600 Ares DDR2 256MB PCI-E Review
For the case of the MSI Diamond, it was not merely its appearance or packaging that got the five-star treatment. There was substance beneath the style as the card utilized better memory chips to achieve a clock speed of 800MHz DDR. Coincidentally or not, this was the exact same speed NVIDIA set for its own refresh of the GeForce 6600 many months later, which used DDR2 memory instead of DDR1. Therefore, the performance of the forward looking Diamond was easily ahead of its peers then and deservedly belonged to a premium class. Now, with the latest GeForce 6600 DDR2 cards taking away some of the limelight, MSI hopes to replicate this formula, but with the newer GeForce 6600.
Looking to impress us again with this series, MSI has sent us two of its newest MSI GeForce 6600 Ares DDR2 256MB cards. While the faux gold on the MSI GeForce 6600 Ares may appear contrived and gaudy to some, it does have its attractions, especially when paired with the black PCB. The card ends up looking more like a fashion accessory than a boring piece of silicon. Complemented by the classy packaging, you get a card aiming for an exclusive niche of consumers. However, unlike its Diamond GeForce 6600 cards, style is all there is going for the MSI GeForce 6600 Ares. Under all that glitter lies a standard GeForce 6600 DDR2 256MB card.
On first glance, our title on the first page of this article may seem like an oxymoron. After all, how can something meant for the lower end market segment be luxurious at the same time? Well, MSI has tried to pull off this strategy for the GeForce 6600 Ares, giving it the same classy touches as the Diamond edition GeForce 6600. The crucial difference is that the Diamond cards deserved their billing thanks to its overclocked frequencies while the Ares unfortunately remains an ordinary GeForce 6600 DDR2 despite its expensive veneer. In terms of both performance and its overclocking, the Ares does not really stand out from the crowd.
With its normal clock speeds, it is unlikely to break any records soon while the overclocking can only be described as decent. This is especially true when it's stacked against the powerful XFX GeForce 6600 DDR2, which is also a premium product. At least we had no complaints with the overall cool and quiet performance of the Ares. The sole advantage that the Ares has been equipped with is in its implementation of the latest version of MSI's D.O.T utility. The newer version comes with D.O.T Express, which, besides its overclocking profiles, also helps those who are not into overclocking, get the lowest possible noise emission from the card.
Meanwhile, voltage overclocking, another rarely seen feature that made its debut previously in another MSI product, is integrated along with the usual settings to adjust clock and fan speeds. In short, MSI's D.O.T II is quite the application and makes things so much easier, even for enthusiasts. Hopefully, we can find other MSI graphics products bundled with this utility but for now, the Ares is probably one of the earliest to include MSI's updated D.O.T. With their D.O.T II at maximum setting, the MSI GeForce 6600 Ares can match the XFX GeForce 6600 DDR2 in stock performance, but the card unfortunately does not have the same overclocking potential as the XFX card.
Hence, the consensus is this; the MSI GeForce 6600 Ares is a low-end product seemingly targeted at those who want slightly more class in their GeForce 6600 DDR2. It looks a million dollars despite not differing significantly from the standard version and relies on its combination of software and hardware hacks through the new D.O.T II to distinguish itself. The software bundle is also better than the low-end fare and the budget or ageing games that we usually find.
As yet, we still do not know the recommended retail price for this newly launched product but it is definitely going to cost more than the typical GeForce 6600 DDR2 edition. Some may find the extra value software bundle and the dazzling looks of the MSI GeForce 6600 Ares enticing enough to shell out the additional bucks. Or not.
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