It's something that hardware manufacturers, Microsoft and PC gamers have been talking about for the longest time, yeps DirectX 10. With the graphics hardware apparently ready from NVIDIA since last year and Microsoft's Windows Vista released early this year, it seemed that all the pieces were in place for the next great thing in PC gaming, right? The scarceness of DirectX 10 games has not prevented vendors from promoting their new hardware heavily. The new graphics cards promise more than just DirectX 10 compatibility after all; the higher end cards especially, give hefty boosts in performance. However quite some DirectX 10 games have been pushed back since the introduction. - Hardware Zone

Leadtek WinFast PX8600 GT 256MB Graphics Review

For those who have been holding off their spending, Leadtek hopes to give them a reason to buy sooner rather than later, with its latest GeForce 8600 GT bundled with one of the earliest DirectX 10 games in retail now, Capcom's Lost Planet: Extreme Condition. It's an interesting proposition, since gamers who are wondering about the hype behind DirectX 10 can get a hands-on experience immediately with the GeForce 8600 GT, an affordable, mid-range graphics card. This Lost Planet edition is also available for the company's GeForce 8600 GTS but today, we will be looking at the GeForce 8600 GT version.

According to its specifications, this Leadtek card appears to be your standard GeForce 8600 GT card and besides the Lost Planet themed decal, it certainly doesn't look any different from the usual models. Graphics cards bundling a well-publicized or hotly anticipated game is no longer any surprise. Therefore, Leadtek's Lost Planet edition of the GeForce 8600 GT comes not only with the PC game, but the card itself sports a decal with the Lost Planet artwork. It's not particularly attractive though we suppose it's a change from Leadtek's typical designs, which are hardly eye catching.

Based on the GeForce 8600 GT chipset from NVIDIA, Leadtek has not deviated from the standard specifications, with a core of 540MHz and a memory frequency of 1400MHz effective. The memory bus width is limited to 128-bits though the memory chips used are GDDR3 and rated at 1.4ns. Leadtek has included 256MB worth of them, which again is typical. In short, there is nothing in its specifications to suggest that this GeForce 8600 GT will be setting any records in the benchmarks. Meanwhile, the aluminum based cooler fan is relatively quiet and is secured tightly to the PCB.

As for Leadtek's attempt to entice consumers with its DirectX 10 friendly package of a GeForce 8600 GT graphics card together with Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, it is first and foremost a competent but standard GeForce 8600 GT. From the clock speeds to the memory chips used, this card conforms to the NVIDIA standard and that's basically it. There are no overt attempts to customize it beyond the choice of the cooler and its Lost Planet decal. So if you're looking for a unique design or increased performance, this card is not the candidate. On the bright side, overclocking was quite decent.

In short, it's a rather average quiet mid-range graphics card that should be pretty affordable. In the end, even the attraction of having an early DirectX 10 title is diminished since consumers can purchase the game on their own. Leadtek's version is priced at $136, placing it about ten dollars more than Leadtek's standard edition that comes without Lost Planet. It is a competitive price that is arguably lower than some other vendors locally. This makes this Leadtek card a decent bargain if you're looking for something within that performance and price range, with a new DirectX 10 game thrown in.