World
in Conflict
| |
Min
|
Max
|
Avg
|
| MSI RX2600XT Diamond OC Edition |
8
|
43
|
29.316
|
| MSI
NX8600 GTS OC Edition |
15
|
56
|
28.339
|
Performance
was similar, but the 8600GTS is overall the faster card.
World
in Conflict - Image Quality
For
a RTS, World in Conflict is a very graphically intense game. Once
the explosions start, your hardware better be up to speed. The
fire and smoke effects are very good and we were able to play
the game with all effects turned on. Ideally, with the 2600XT,
we suggest playing no higher than 1280.
Final
Words
The MSI
RX2600XT Diamond OC Edition already comes OC'd out of the
box, 850/1150Mhz for the core and memory respectively. Neither
RivaTuner or Powerstrip allowed us to make any OCs that had a
visible impact on performance. ATI Overdrive allowed a 6Mhz OC
on the core and 21MHz on the memory.
Needless to say, the overclock wasn't especially
impressive but consider that ATI's reference speeds are 800/1050MHz
core and memory. To be truthful, we were a bit surprised we did
squeeze anything out of the memory considering the lack of cooling
on the chips.
On the subject of cooling, the fan was not very
loud at all and seemed nearly silent when we had our CPU fan at
maximum speed. The Zalman CNPS9500 does have a silent mode, and
when enabled, there was a quiet whir from the MSI
RX2600XT Diamond OC Edition. Under full load, the GPU measured
43°C.
Image quality was solid in both 3D and 2D applications.
I was unable to test the HDMI output, but for those of you looking
for such an output, this is one of the few cards to offer this
option.
On the performance front, the MSI
RX2600XT fared well against the MSI 8600 GTS. We realize in
retrospect that 1440 resolution may have been too much to have
asked from it and the perfect fit for the RX2600XT would be owners
of 19" LCDs as 1280 seems to be the sweet spot. With more
DX10 games coming in over the fence, the MSI
RX2600XT Diamond OC Edition would make a fairly good mid-ranged
choice if you're looking to keep your video card upgrade budget
under $200.
If
you have any questions or comments on this or other articles here
at Viper Lair, then please feel free to leave your thoughts in
our forums.
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