I then proceeded to install the Dual Core Center so I could monitor and control the graphics card.
Testing
This is where the fun begins. The MSI NX8600GT Twin Turbo is a midrange market focus graphics solution. While I might typically sample a current ATI card against the 8600GT, I figured whats the point, sure, ATI would garner a few frames more in this one, nV a few more in that. Usually a scenarion such as that would come down to which camp do you reside in? I figure it would be a better fit to my readers if I were to look at what the actual purpose of this card would be positioned for, how does it fare as an upgrade from a previous gen card? Better yet, how does it fair when positioned in a system that was built budget minded, and you want to upgrade to game...
We will be performing all tests at 16:10 resolution of 1680x1050 for the 8600GT at 4x AA/ 8xAF and 1280x800 on the integrated GeForce 6150 with no AA/AF enabled. Bear in mind that this is a budget system, we do not have a dual core processor pushing us along (although at current prices its not out of the question), and the motherboard herself was not built to be a high-end gaming system, it only has one PCIe slot FCS...
While not all games support WS resolutions, there is usually a hack or two that allows you to play it that way, just as an FYI, all of the games I have chosen support WS.
Benchmark System:
AMD Opteron 148
Foxconn 6150B (nForce 430)
2GB SuperTalent PC-3200
WD WD800JD / 80GB SATA 7200RPM
MSI NX8600GT Twin Turbo
Dell 2005FPW (1680x1050)
Windows Vista32
nVidia
The Comparison System:
AMD Opteron 148
Foxconn 6150B (nForce 430)
2GB SuperTalent PC-3200
WD WD800JD / 80GB SATA 7200RPM
GeForce 6150 (integrated Video)
Dell 2005FPW (1280x800)
Windows Vista32
nVidia
The games:
- UT3: She's out, and hurts the current generation of cards just a bit (sometimes we like a little hurt though).
- Call of Duty 4: Visually intense, bright and a lot of scenery.
- Quake4: Aging already, yet still a great engine to test with.
UT3: (DirectX 10)
This game is not only intense, it's engine demands high end hardware in order to be playable with any of the pretties enabled, its a true test for a midrange graphics card.
Not pictured are the NV6150 results as we had to run that at 1280x800. The end result for that was 8.3fps with no AA or AF enabled. Using the in-game demo playback and benchmarking, I was able to recreate the same test scenario over and over. While its a no brain'r the MSI NX8600GT Twin Turbo outperforms the on board video, I think it is a good representation of what a little scratch will get you... Of note here is that the on-board GeForce 6150, unlike the 8600GT, will not paint UT3 using DX10, it will fall back to DX9.
Call of Duty 4: (DirectX 9)
CoD4 is a simply a stellar engine, there is rarely time to catch your breath as you move through your missions that flow smoothly from one to the other. Using Fraps I went through a demanding section of terrain and enemies, I split my time with 1 minute out in the open fighting and the last 45 seconds with night vision goggles on inside of a building.
Due to unrelated circumstances from the review, we omitted the max OC and TT results. At 1680x1050 the NX8600GT Twin Turbo had problems making it playable, 4xAA/8xAF only aggravated that. Dropping the resolution to 1280x800 made things better on the 8600GT, however, the integrated GeForce 6150 could barely paint the screen, performing at 13.19fps at the test settings.
NEXT
