Enhanced Performance & Overclocking

When looking at the Sparkle version of the GeForce 8600 GTS, we somehow got the feeling that this card is capable of more. The looks and design suspect that this GTS has been designed to deliver stunning performance, but that some still have to be discovered. Since the GTS has been released we saw as well some pre-overclocked version being introduced. Yeps, indeed, Sparkle also made one which is being released as the Calibre series. And well overclocking, unlocking the extra performance is exactly what we have done. And although the G84 core powering the GeForce 8600 GTS does feature a voltage increase is possible via a simple BIOS tweak, we could still get some decent overclocking out of it...

Gaming Results - 1280x1024 - E6300 2.80GHz - 2GB RAM
GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB (2x/4x)	Game Score
675/2000MHz (Reference)	82.48 fps
730/2150MHz (Avg Overclock)	88.79 fps
775/2300MHz (Max Overclock)	92.51 fps
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.
Gaming Results - 1600x1200 - E6300 2.80GHz - 2GB RAM
GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB (2x/4x)	Game Score
675/2000MHz (Reference)	61.20 fps
730/2150MHz (Avg Overclock)	66.33 fps
775/2300MHz (Max Overclock)	69.45 fps
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.

Would you have imagined that? We just overclocked the core and memory by upping the clock speeds and that resulted in decent increase in performance. As you can clearly see from the figures we gotten from Far Cry a significant boost is noticeable. During all our benchmarks the GTS kept on humming stable with no hickups to finally set the top speed at 775/2300MHz. Would you have thought so? Well we suspected the GeForce 8600 GTS to be quite overclock friendly but such a big increase we didn't expect. We somehow expect that the Calibre series from Sparkle will be clocked at 730/2200MHz which should give a nice performance boost. But the standard GeForce 8600 GTS certainly has quite some hidden potential that each and every owner can unlock by just overclocking their graphics card.

Final Thoughts

A new era has started when NVIDIA released their mid-range DirectX 10 compatible series of graphics cards ready to the support the upcoming gaming titles. A fully renewed architecture, bringing the performance to the next level, delivering stunning image clarity and quality all present with the GeForce 8600 series. Once again NVIDIA is the first to introduce a mid-range accelerator with the appropriate DirectX 10 support for gamers on a medium budget. The Sparkle GeForce 8600 GTS is an excellent example of this mid-range segment with a retail price tag of around $199 providing full DirectX 10 support. The GeForce 8600 GTS is built using the same unified shader architecture that was introduced with the GeForce 8800 series. By leveraging off the same architecture, GeForce 8600 GPU's receive all the benefits in optimizations and compatibility work that developers have put into their game engines.

The Sparkle version of the GeForce 8600 GTS is identical to the reference design laid out by NVIDIA featuring the same single slot cooling solution. This is actually good news as the reference cooler is quiet though very efficient and doesn't take up much room. Looking at the warranty it does struck us with some surprise as we are getting used to the lifetime warranty offered other brands, the contrast with the 3 years limited warranty offered by Sparkle isn't much as added value. But their technical support services are quite excellent, with a serious after service guarantee and a reply within 48 hours to any question raised. And that will make up for some part, as assistance is very essential for any interested buyer. So although not that comparable to some other brands the service offered is generally better than what you are getting from other manufacturers.

What is generally the most exciting part about the graphics card these days is without a doubt the overclocking ability. In that aspect we can say that this card has really struck us by the overclocking potential of the G84 graphics core. The Sparkle GeForce 8600 GTS did manage to hit 775/2300MHz without any difficulties. Yes, a bit more could be expected but this would require a bit better cooling and airflow to tweak it further. And make no mistake this was all achieved with the single slot reference cooler and no modifications done to the graphics card. So, the pre-overclocked version will certainly come in many shades and versions, and we expect to see a Calibre version from Sparkle quite soon after the introduction of the GeForce 8600 series. In fact Sparkle has already release the Calibre 8600 GT edition which features an improved clock speed.

The GeForce 8600 GTS itself is a very well positioned chip in terms of performance and price. The newcomer slices the performance spectrum right down the center from the GeForce 8800 GTX perspective. Yes indeed, in between you still have the GeForce 8800 GTS which comes in two formats, being just the difference in the amount of memory. But with the GeForce 8600 series you can have a DirectX 10 capable card with very nice performance at a damn nice price tag. Sparkle has jumped on the mid-range wagon and brings their GeForce 8600 GTS at a very competitive pricing and an excellent package. We can only encourage Sparkle on having taken this approach, which will certainly attract quite some potential buyers. In the end the mid-range segment is the one that generates the sales and market share which is important to own.

The Sparkle GeForce 8600 GTS card is an outstanding graphics card that promises to deliver outstanding performance for any game you can throw at it at a very reasonable price tag. We proved that the GeForce 8600 GTS can handle gaming at excellent frame rates, and just a bit less at Extreme HD resolutions. So, if you are looking for a new GPU for an upgrade or fresh system build, you will find the Sparkle GeForce 8600 GTS very inviting as the price is modest and the performance is outstanding.

Pros

• Outstanding Gaming Performance
• High Quality and Quiet Cooling
• Ultra Fast Samsung (1.0ns) Memory
• Microsoft DirectX 10 Ready
• Amazing Overclocking Capability
• Simultaneous HDR & Anti-Aliasing
• SLI Ready, Multi-GPU Enabled
• Unified Shader Architecture
• Competitive Pricing

Cons

• N/A

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