Detailed Impressions, Golden Sample...

Having gone through the first impressions of the GeForce 8600 GTS accelerator, it is time to check a bit deeper and reveal the real nature of the Gainward BLISS 8600 GTS Golden Sample graphics card. We will actually take a closer look and highlight some of the vital features. We will start with the front and move slowly to the underlying components. As we already mentioned the Gainward version is in fact a reference design, though coming with Gainward's own cooling solution. Next to the different cooling design, they have also overclocked the graphics card to offer extra value to their consumers. Gainward came up with a different cooling design to keep the card cool and quiet while running the newest game titles.

As already mentioned, the main difference relates to the dual slot design versus the single slot reference cooler. But in the end, this could have some serious benefits and would offer superior cooling and overclocking. The Gainward version looks sturdy, though light and on top of all it's quite impressive. The actual PCB is almost completely hidden away behind the dual slot cooling solution. Peeking out at the bottom we see the PCI Express interface connection. It is rather interesting to see a dual slot cooling on the GeForce 8600 GTS, as the reference design by NVIDIA comes with a single slot cooling solution and most of the other manufacturers are following those guidelines. A great example of making a difference and setting their products apart from the competition.

The Golden Sample version is fully covered by a black cover plate with holes which are favorable on the air circulation. The ventilator used by Gainward grabs the air around it and pushes it through the heatsink and the circular metal slats. Doing so the air gets a decent circulation and takes up the heat generated by the Gainward accelerator. By having holes in the top cover plate; the air can easily find its way and can be refreshed faster. Does it mean a more silent than the reference cooling solution? Well, we can already state that it is more effective and does produce a bit less noise in the end. And what about the looks, does that need any words? Well I don't think so, as it looks awesome...

	GeForce 8600 GT	GeForce 8600 GTS	BLISS 8600 GTS
Core	540MHz	675MHz	725MHz
Shader	1190MHz	1450MHz	1557MHz
Memory	1400MHz	2000MHz	2200MHz
Processors	32	32	32

The table shows where you can situate the GeForce 8600 GTS, which is in fact the fastest of the GeForce 8600 series. And the Gainward version does up the stakes a bit with their Golden Sample version, by overclocking the GeForce 8600 GTS to the next level. All of these are built around the same graphics processor, the G84 which features 32 stream processors. The only difference between these versions, are the clock speed settings and the actual memory used. It's important to note that Gainward does clock their BLISS 8600 GTS Golden Sample higher than the reference GeForce 8600 GTS card by NVIDIA. But the PCB itself follows the reference to a big extend, if you don't take into account the cooling solution.

Once again it proves that Gainward is thinking out of the box, by re-thinking at each product launch the design set by NVIDIA. Doing so, they improve the product itself and provide an excellent unique solution. Gainward has been innovative and in combination with the mid-range G84 core have defined an outstanding alternative to the reference design. Although, the only drawback might be the dual slot solution, whereas NVIDIA initially set out a single slot design. But does it really matter much? Well if you want some extra performance then this is the way to go. If you need a more silent and efficient cooler then you need to go out and find a better solution or come up with your own, which is exactly what Gainward has done.

The rear view is quite sober and resembles to the standard GeForce 8600 series; except that Gainward is using a red colored PCB which we generally see on the various ATI products. It does show all the details off the PCB with just some stickers covering certain areas. You can also spot the four screws on the back side just around the location of the GPU and that is just to keep the dual slot cooling in place. Quite some stickers are placed on the back to provide the model, raw specifications and the serial number. And that's it for the back of the PCB of the Gainward Golden Sample graphics card, which is as plain and simple as you can get it. Let's dig a bit deeper...