Extreme Overclocking Performance

As usual we do like to check if there is something more to get out of the graphics accelerator, meaning that we try and see how far it can be overclocked. And so we did with the PowerColor Radeon HD 2600 XT as well, by using the only tool available current coming from AMD. Using GPU Clock Tool we tried to overclock the Radeon HD 2600 XT in small steps, with the so called trial and error approach. With the rather big cooler on the GPU of the PowerColor card we expected some extra performance to be unlocked. And that is exactly what we tried to do by overclocking the graphics card and increasing both the core and memory clock speed.

Gaming Results - 1280x1024 - E6300 2.80GHz - 2GB RAM
Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB (2x/4x)	Game Score
800/1400MHz (Reference)	37.597 fps
820/1450MHz (Avg Overclock)	38.175 fps
840/1500MHz (Max Overclock)	38.784 fps
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.

In the end it all comes down to the gaming experience and the actual feeling you get out of it. So we actually used all our previous games but narrowed our report down to X³: Reunion to show our findings. And no this is not because X³: Reunion is better or worse, it actually was in between. When you apply some basic overclocking on the core and memory we noticed that the performance of the Radeon HD 2600 XT is slightly positively impacted. Raising these to the maximum stable clocks shows that it can surpass all expectations and crush the previous results. With some improved cooling you should be able to achieve even 850MHz core, but in our case that was only possible by applying some extra colder airflow. Our main concern however are the Catalyst drivers which seem not yet that optimal for the mid-range graphics cards.

Final Thoughts

The long wait is over as we now finally have the mid-range graphics cards from ATI supporting DirectX 10 and which are ready for the upcoming gaming titles going for that technology. A complete new architecture, bringing the performance to the next level. Although a bit trailing behind NVIDIA, they have finally been able to strike back and also put their video cards on the market and have some extra competition. The Radeon HD 2600 XT brings us the same unified shader architecture which was introduced some time ago with the Radeon HD 2900 series. By leveraging off the same architecture, Radeon HD 2600 GPU's receive all the benefits in optimizations and compatibility work that developers have put into their game engines. The main goal now is to find a way to bring the performance to a more competitive level to go head to head with NVIDIA's mid-range graphics cards.

We can't really say we are impressed by the Radeon HD 2600 XT, but that really doesn't depend on PowerColor but rather lies with ATI and their chip design. And although the specifications look good, we can't hide our disappointment when it comes to the actual gaming performance. We feel a bit left behind, and had expected more from these new mid-range graphics cards. But we do acknowledge that the pricing is in favor of ATI, which somehow had anticipated a bit on the lack of real power to go up against the GeForce 8600 series. And, of course that really is good news for all who are waiting for the Radeon HD 2600 series and who can now get these cards at a very nice price tag. Next to t hat the Radeon HD 2400 series are also available at an even lower price. Next to that you can expect from PowerColor the usual, meaning excellent customer care and support services.

What is generally the most exciting part about the graphics card these days is without a doubt the overclocking ability. And to that extend we are as well not that positive as the overclocking was rather limited and facing some stability issues which most likely come due to immature drivers. The PowerColor Radeon HD 2600 XT did manage to hit 840/1500MHz, with some random hiccups but these we also saw at standard clock speeds. Somehow we thing the card should be able for greater things, but all depends more or less on the drivers. Once that is resolved we should be able to review once again the overclocking and stability of the Radeon HD 2600 XT accelerator. Just as with the introduction of the Radeon HD 2900 series we hope that ATI is working hard to get the drivers in better shape and that they can tackle the gaming performance at the same time.

Although we are a bit disappointed, the PowerColor Radeon HD 2600 XT comes at a very attractive price tag which will please a lot of potential buyers. It does offer good performance but not enough to really go up against the mid-range NVIDIA graphics cards. The main point we liked about the PowerColor version is the silent cooling solution, which does an excellent job. All well considered the features offered are excellent, and with full Windows Vista and DirectX 10 support you can't really go wrong with the Radeon HD 2600 series. So if you are on a lower budget then this could be the graphics card for you!

Pros

• Great Gaming Performance
• High Quality and Quiet Cooling
• Mircosoft DirectX 10 Ready
• CrossFire Ready, Multi-GPU Enabled
• Unified Shader Architecture
• Avivo HD Video Technology
• Very Attractive Pricing

Cons

• Strange Hiccups and Stability
• Minor Overclocking Potential

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