Synthetic Benchmarks

Going for our usual approach, we start of the benchmark analysis by going through the different benchmark suites coming from Futuremark, and the discontinued AquaMark 3 program. These will provide a good indication on the game play of today's games. First we will start with AquaMark 3, followed by the different gaming benchmark programs from Futuremark such as 3DMark03, 3DMark05 and last but not least 3DMark06. We will reboot our system each time for each of the four synthetic API's used and leave all processes running in the background. We put the Gainward BLISS 8600 GTS Golden Sample edition accelerator against the reference design from NVIDIA, the GeForce 8600 GTS card provided by Sparkle, and analyze the performance figures. So let's just give it a go...

Futuremark 3DMark03

And here we go; we first go back to actually an older benchmark suite from Futuremark. By combining full DirectX 9.0a support with completely new tests and graphics, 3DMark03 continues the legacy of being the industry standard benchmark. The high quality game tests, image quality tests, sound tests and others give you an extremely accurate overview of your system's current gaming performance. So the synthetic analysis begins by taking a spin with 3DMark03 which is build around the DirectX 9.0 specifications, although still using quite some DirectX 8.1 features. This is actually the first gamers' benchmark that could really be called this name, and actually earned it since it was released.

Benchmark Results - 1280x1024 - E6300 2.80GHz - 2GB RAM
	GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB	3DMark03 Score
0x AA/Optimal	675/2000MHz (Ref - Single)	14373
4x AA/8x AF	675/2000MHz (Ref - Single)	7811
4x AA/8x AF	675/2000MHz (Ref - Single)	5239
	BLISS 8600 GTS GS 256MB	3DMark03 Score
0x AA/Optimal	725/2200MHz (Ref - Single)	15548
4x AA/8x AF	725/2200MHz (Ref - Single)	8667
4x AA/8x AF	725/2200MHz (Ref - Single)	5873
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.

Being an already older benchmark, it does still perform quite well to show a first indication on the performance of the graphics accelerator. When looking at the results from the reference GeForce 8600 GTS we can say that it is quite fast considering being a video card of mid-range market. Although these results are nothing compared to the faster Golden Sample edition which is pre-overclocked by Gainward and as such fully under warranty as these higher clock speeds. With an extra overclock on both the core and memory we get an instant boost in performance giving it quite and edge over the competition. The new architecture of unified shaders does well even with the older gaming engine, and you can as well enjoy the new visual effects of DirectX 10 in the near future.

Benchmark Results - 1600x1200 - E6300 2.80GHz - 2GB RAM
	GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB	3DMark03 Score
4x AA/8x AF	675/2000MHz (Ref - Single)	5635
	BLISS 8600 GTS GS 256MB	3DMark03 Score
4x AA/8x AF	725/2500MHz (Ref - Single)	6380
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.
Benchmark Results - 2560x1600 - E6300 2.80GHz - 2GB RAM
	GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB	3DMark03 Score
4x AA/8x AF	675/2000MHz (Ref - Single)	2537
	BLISS 8600 GTS GS 256MB	3DMark03 Score
4x AA/8x AF	725/2200MHz (Ref - Single)	2831
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.

Since we got a very nice and decent widescreen 30" LCD display, and due to the fact that quite some gamers are going for bigger screens and the true HD gaming resolutions, we took the liberty to run our benchmarks as well at some higher resolution. As you might already know, both ATI and NVIDIA are now really pushing for the High Definition standards to provide the gamer just that little extra and an even more realistic gaming experience. Well the GeForce 8600 GTS could please us to a certain extend, naturally the ultimate HD resolutions is just a bit too much to handle for this mid-range graphics card. But the capability is certainly present; the gaming experience is trailing a bit behind. Lowering the resolution does make a difference and gives a much smoother impression.

Futuremark 3DMark05

The following version from Futuremark came as 3DMark05, and is best suited for the latest generation of DirectX 9.0 graphics cards. It is the first benchmark to require a DirectX 9.0 compliant hardware with support for Pixel Shaders 2.0 or higher! By combining high quality 3D tests, CPU tests, feature tests, image quality tools, and much more, 3DMark05 is a premium benchmark for evaluating the latest generation of gaming hardware. In fact 3DMark05 is the answer to the continuously growing challenge in benchmarking. Designed for higher image quality and the new processing capabilities, it will show some input and what is possible with compliant hardware.

Benchmark Results - 1280x1024 - E6300 2.80GHz - 2GB RAM
	GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB	3DMark05 Score
0x AA/Optimal	675/2000MHz (Ref - Single)	9549
4x AA/8x AF	675/2000MHz (Ref - Single)	6955
8x AA/16x AF	675/2000MHz (Ref - Single)	5634
	BLISS 8600 GTS GS 256MB	3DMark05 Score
0x AA/Optimal	725/2200MHz (Ref - Single)	10154
4x AA/8x AF	725/2200MHz (Ref - Single)	7656
8x AA/16x AF	725/2200MHz (Ref - Single)	6222
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.

With Futuremark developing updates, it soon came out with a newer version that was fully based upon DirectX 9.0c and that offered even more visual goodies. As of 3DMark05 the processing capabilities that make the difference is all about the graphics accelerator and less linked with the central processing unit used on the computer itself. Yes, it still remains important, but only to certain extend. The BLISS 8600 GTS Golden Sample edition shows to be faster than the reference design, while still running very smooth and silent. Of course with overclocking the standard GeForce 8600 GTS you should be able to attain the same performance levels, although that would no longer fall under the warranty of the card itself.

Benchmark Results - 1600x1200 - E6300 2.80GHz - 2GB RAM
	GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB	3DMark05 Score
4x AA/8x AF	675/2000MHz (Ref - Single)	5404
	BLISS 8600 GTS GS 256MB	3DMark05 Score
4x AA/8x AF	725/2500MHz (Ref - Single)	5982
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.
Benchmark Results - 2560x1600 - E6300 2.80GHz - 2GB RAM
	GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB	3DMark05 Score
4x AA/8x AF	675/2000MHz (Ref - Single)	1931
	BLISS 8600 GTS GS 256MB	3DMark05 Score
4x AA/8x AF	725/2200MHz (Ref - Single)	2119
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.

We started the HD gaming discussion, so we need to also show you the impact and results using the newer version of the Futuremark benchmark suite. The results though are very similar to the normal resolutions, although not that outspoken. The performance advantage is a bit less though still noticeable and does give the Golden Sample the advantage in our benchmark runs. With widescreen gaming becoming more popular each day it does show that the GeForce 8600 series continue along the same lines as NVIDIA set out with their GeForce 8800 series, introducing a new dimension in the HD experience. It should be very interesting to see the real DirectX 10 performance using the G84 processing capabilities, together with the Extreme HD stunning visual quality.