Content, a View on the Inside...

So, what did we receive from Sparkle in terms of package? Sparkle is shipping the GeForce 8600 GTS edition in an eye catchy colored paperboard box. Opening the package reveals the card itself and some extra items. The main part and weight of the package comes actually from the graphics accelerator itself, which features the reference cooling solution designed by NVIDIA with the Sparkle sticker on it. The box as we mentioned already before is quite nice and stylish, and the Sparkle graphics card on its own looks very impressive. So let's dig into the package and find out what Sparkle has included...

Does it really need words? Well, for us words aren't needed, but still we can say that the Sparkle created a very neat package for their GeForce 8600 GTS series. As Sparkle is quite known within the graphics card segment, they had to stand out in the crowd and made a light colored box which needs to attract the potential buyers. And a similar design and color scheme is used for the sticker featuring on the graphics accelerator. Next to the GeForce 8600 GTS card you get some extra items in the package. These will come in handy when installing and using the video card.

Components

• Sparkle GeForce 8600 GTS Board
• Sparkle Quick Start Guide
• Sparkle Driver Installation CD
• Single DVI to VGA Converter
• 6-pin "Y" PCI Express Power Cable
• TV-out Cable (HDTV Support)

In fact, when looking at the package as a whole we get a big box but with not that big in terms of content. By that we mean that the card isn't that big, rather standard size for a mid-range graphics card that will fit easily in every system even the small factor cases. This is actually good next for all who do want a DirectX 10 capable accelerator that will just fit their system and that can deliver decent performance in relation to the price if the bundle itself. And that is exactly what you get with this Sparkle package, great performance at a very attractive price tag.

What we discovered first in the box was the Quick Start Guide; this is a quite small booklet that provides details on the installation of the video card in about 9 different languages. This Quick Start Guide is though very limited; though provide the procedure in steps. After which it refers to the Sparkle website to check for the latest updates. In the end, we don't care that much about such a manual as it doesn't require a lot detail what does matter is the performance of the graphics card. Where it comes down to is getting the card installed and enjoy the gaming performance. Next to that Sparkle includes a Driver CD which features their own SmartInstall software.

What else have we found? We found two cables, a 6-pin split power cable and an S-Video cable. The 6-pin molex split cable is very useful for those who ran out of power cables. Sparkle has made sure that they are including it with their package. The S-Video cable with HDTV support is shielded which will add up to the image quality in the end. And lastly there is one DVI to VGA adapters. This adapter might come in handy when you got a screen that doesn't have a DVI connection, meaning no digital input. Of course, these digital connections are becoming a standard on current LCD displays. But what we are missing a bit is some game title to go along with the graphics card... Maybe a thought for the future?

Now that we have checked the content of the Sparkle bundle, and know what is included we can finally get to the most interesting point the card itself, namely the Sparkle GeForce 8600 GTS accelerator. You might have already figured out that this is really a standard GeForce 8600 GTS card which is following the reference design to the letter. And in fact that is completely correct, with the only difference being the Sparkle sticker on top of the cooling solution. Then again, this is bad at all as the reference design from NVIDIA is quite optimized and able to deliver excellent performance. Let's see how this card it build and dig deeper into the details of this graphics accelerator board, and find out some of the great features about it...