Diablotek isn't the most popular component manufacturer name on the street. In fact, we are sure you haven't heard of them before now, and it might be a while before you hear of them again. Nowadays, while they have started to make some higher-end cards as well, Diablotek still has some good mid-range offerings, like their GeForce 8600 GT 1GB that we are looking at today. The new trend these days seems to be to go overboard with our PC components and buy high-end everything, when all you are going to do is chat and check your email. The GeForce 8600 GT is for those among us who realize that onboard video just isn't enough, but want something better for their home theatre PC. - OCIA

Diablotek GeForce 8600 GT 1GB Edition Card Review

This Diablotek card looks like it even has a chance at running some of today's toughest games well at high settings, if on a little bit smaller resolutions. For some reason, the specifications for this card vary over the internet, but the ones provided in Diablotek's list are the most accurate. The Diablotek GeForce 8600 GT 1GB comes in a small box with simple but attractive artwork. On the back, you'll find the model number and description of the card inside. The card comes with all of the essentials, and not much more. The actual card is quite small, unlike all of the cards you're used to seeing these days.

The GeForce 8600 GT requires no extra PCI Express power connector, and only occupies one expansion slot. The card also is quite short compared to other cards and should not have any trouble fitting in any case. It would have been nice to see two DVI ports. The back of the card has the obligatory serial number and warranty stickers if you ever want to register your card or need technical support. The GeForce 8600 GT performs roughly as expected. A low powered card running DDR2 memory, it certainly held its own, making Call of Duty 4 more than playable on full settings at high resolutions.

More bonuses for this card come with its small size, single slot cooling, and low power consumption. The small heatsink and fan run quietly on this card while keeping it easily below 65°C, which means quiet, low maintenance performance in small form factor cases. While, again, we would have liked to seen dual DVI ports on this card, especially coupled with the increase in memory, such a feature is not too common on GeForce 8600 series cards. There is not much bad to say about this card, and it would be an easy recommendation to anybody building a mid-ranged system, if it were not for its high price.

We find this card coming at $164 at Geeks, which is not the best deal on the market by any means. Not only does quick research shows us more than one GeForce 8600 GT 1GB at less than $90, but Geeks themselves are selling a GeForce 9600 GT for almost $10 less. Indeed, when we go back and look at how the Radeon HD 3870 performs in comparison to the GeForce 8600 GT and then consider that the Radeon HD 3870 cost us about $40 less a month ago, we begin to wonder why this card is so expensive. All in all, the Diablotek GeForce 8600 GT 1GB PCI express graphics card is a great card to work with.