Quake 4: (OpenGL) - Map: MP - The Fragging Yard
Based on the Doom 3 Engine, Quake 4 is also visually stunning and id / Raven have updated it to 1.4.2, resolving several issues previous versions had. VL built a server, provided 4 g0m0's for fodder and proceeded to game away while recording a demo. With TimeDemo enabled again, we are able to produce frame rates above 60 FPS, that is, if the card can handle it...

The MSI NX8600GT Twin Turbo did not disappoint here, with the Doom3 engine getting aged, the midrange cards seem to have caught up with it. The onboard video solution had issues painting Quake4 even at a 1280x800, performing at 15.8fps.

Dual Core Center / Overclocking:

So here is where we get to have some fun, the MSI application Dual Core Center is designed for either ease of use overclocking, pre-defined overclocking or manual intervention to push it to the limits. While MSI also has StarOSD for overclocking and GPU monitoring, there is no Vista support (and you must install MSI's variety of nV driver), therefore, I will only be using DCC today.
I found the program both easy to use and rather well designed, as always, there could be improvements, but nothing major stands out. The only issues I saw were that when the program was running and you pressed the TT button on the graphics card (so it lights up and you are in Twin turbo mode) nothing changes on the DCC program, this could mean that the program takes precedence over the key press on the board itself, as the updates are regular and I could still see the GPU temperature fluctuate. Also the program showed that I only had one core (a side note, the 8600GT only has one core :p). All kidding aside, the program works well.

As shown in the previous tests, the overclocking boost is pretty significant.

Final Words

For game play results I went into the individual games and played them at 1680x1050 with and without AA/AF and when necessary, 1280x800.

Quake 4 played very nice, as I mentioned earlier, the engine on this game is aging and the hardware has more then caught up. While turning on AA/AF was noticeable, it wasn't enough to deter me from playing it with AA/AF enabled. Go ahead and play at 1680x1050, turning on AA/AF is still only an option at 1280x800 however.

UT3 was very difficult to run at 1680x1050, it was playable, however there was noticeable lag in the mouse response to your position when the action got hot and heavy. Turning on AA/AF made it impossible to play, the lag was so great that it made hitting any of the targets nearly impossible. You will want to play at 1280x800, and without AA/AF on for the smoothest play possible. While we are here, lets look at a couple of screenshots of UT3 with AA/AF on and off...

No AA/AF	4AA/8AF

COD4, like UT3, was difficult to run at 1680x1050, it was more playable then UT3, though I feel this is more due to the speed of UT3 is greater and requires more of a flick style play compared to COD4's methodical team play. Once again, COD4 would be best played at 1280x800.

HTPC: The MSI NX8600GT Twin Turbo is an extremely viable HTPC graphics solution. Great graphics output, interconnect cables for DVI (which would include a DVI-->HDMI cable solution with integrated sound, but the only downside is that no DVI to HDMI is included) and HDTV (YpbPr) cable provided with the card. The near silence of the MSI cooling solution, along with the affordable price point makes this a good choice for such a solution. If you are seriously looking at building an HTPC, the MSI NX8600GT Twin Turbo should be on that list.

Image Quality: With SM3.0/HDR the MSI 8600gt does not disappoint. Quake 4, COD4 and even UT3 played well and looked damn good doing it.

Over on the 2D side of things, we found the DVI quality to look very good, as good as we have seen in fact. For desktop use, the fonts were clear at 1680x1050 and very readable on a Dell 2005FPW.

Obviously, anything you can put into that PCIe slot to update the on-board video is going to give you a boost, the MSI NX8600GT Twin Turbo is not only going to do that, its going to do it while keeping those all important big bills in your savings account. nVidia has been king of the high end market space for some time now, and the midrange has been going their way as well. When they have cards such as the NX8600GT Twin Turbo being put out by Manufacturers such as MSI in this case, its no wonder. A well packaged all around card that won't just give you a great gaming experience and pop great imagery onto your HDTV... Can it do the dishes too?

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