What to use, 7600gt or 8600gt?

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sitnet

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Hey, I got a Nvidia chaintech 8600gt for free today and I don't know if I should use it or my Nvidia XFX 7600gt :D .Both cards have 256mb memory, the 7600gt has a core clock speed of 560Mhz and the 8600 gt is 540Mhz. Those specs I just gave makes it seem like an easy choice but the thing thats bothering me is that the 8600gt is DDR3 and DirectX 10 compatible and the 7600gt is DDR2 and only DirectX 9 compatible.

So I have tested the 8600gt and the performance looks pretty much the same as the 7600gt. I have 2 PC's and one of the cards I want to put in the pc I don't use so much so which card should I put in my "main" PC?

:D:D:D Thanx for any opinions in advance

xfx-7600gt-angle.jpg


OR

24297.jpg
 
I’ve got a 8600gt XXX edition, factory overclocked a bit, and I’m not complaining. Hope it helps, but the 3dmark06 is a very good suggestion.
 
I can't get 3d mark to work!!!:mad: I installed 2 versions now and the moment I start it a blue screen pops up and the pc restarts. I thought it may be my antivirus (Trend micro pc cillen 2008) but after I closed it the blue screen didn't pop up, the pc just restarted.
 
@Scotty

It seems although the 7600gt has a faster clock speed the 8600gt still outperforms it. Thanx for the site, I will test the 8600gt for a week or so and then decide.

BTW do you know what might be wrong with my 3dmark?
 
There isn't really any need to run 3DMArk, the 8600GT is faster.

Unless you're running Vista and don't want games to run in DX10, but you can always set most games to DX9.
 
I don't know why but now that I have played some games the 8600gt seems to perform worse than the 7600gt, I still can't get 3dMark to work though. Maybe it's because the 8600gt is a DX 10 card and I haven't installed it yet because I can't find it.
 
No the 8600GT is DX9 compatible, thats not the case.

Try updating your drivers and search if there's any 3dmark fix for your card/system/OS/anything
 
The 7600gt actually sits between the 8600gt and 8600gts.

8600gt<7600gt<8600gts
 
The 8600gt is a 7600gt with DX10. TBH the 8600gt isn't such a great card. It was "Nvidia's" pathetic upgrade over the 7600gt. But in reality it wasn't an upgrade at all. Just a rebranded 7600gt. Now the HD4760 is a real step up from its predecessors. You can actually see a solid improvement over other cards in the same price range.
 
Thanx for all the help, I've made my choice. I'm gonna use the 7600gt for 3 main reasons:

•It's faster than the 8600gt
•The 8600gt runs at 60-70ºC and the 7600gt at 40-50ºC
•The 8600gt is designed for DX10 (yes I know it's DX9 compatible)
and DX10 requires Vista, I'm not gonna use Vista!!!:D

I have one question though (I don't want to create uneccesary threads if I can just ask the questions here:)):

If the 7600gt is at the moment running at these clock- and memoryspeeds, how much can I overclock it before there a chance of overheating( I am only using fans as cooling, no watercooling):

Core Bus: 570MHz
Memory Bus: 725MHz

Fan Settings: Automatic fan control
Temp: 47ºC (116ºF)
 
Its strange but according to some reviews the 8600 is only a bit slower than the 7900gs. So it should be faster than the 7600.

And about overclocking it, the temp will be about 10 degrees or less than ur max temp now if u don't volt mod it.
 
Nameite said:
Its strange but according to some reviews the 8600 is only a bit slower than the 7900gs. So it should be faster than the 7600.

And about overclocking it, the temp will be about 10 degrees or less than ur max temp now if u don't volt mod it.
Click to expand...

If I overclock it to the max, or what? and sorry if they is a n00b-like question but what is volt modding
 
The 8600GT should definitely be faster. Beanie or someone with good knowledge needs to post here to explain that there are lots (lots!) of factors besides clockspeed.

Download RivaTuner to OC it a little bit. Just make sure to constantly monitor temps and run graphics benchmarks to make sure it doesn't overheat and to check for artifacts.

Don't worry yourself with volt modding. To be honest though, (and in my opinion) it probably isn't worth the effort.
 
sitnet said:
If I overclock it to the max, or what? and sorry if they is a n00b-like question but what is volt modding
Click to expand...

Well yeah, clock to its max, highest clockspeed with no artifact usually shouldnt increase the temp more than 10degrees.

Voltmod is when you increase the voltage to ur gpu core, which allows it to be more stable (no artifact and no crashes)
This results in higher clock speeds, higher temp, possibly damage to ur card and not worth it at all :p
 
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