XFX 6600GT AGP Review/Results

[consumer9000]

Alright, I finally got the card installed last night and gave it a formal burn in using HL2! :clap:
For starters, I too was wary of buying a card from the relatively unrecognized vendor "XFX". Over the years, I have generally purchased either Elsa or ATI built boards, which are usually the quality benchmark for reference design products. It turns out the XFX is owned by Pine Technologies, which has been around for the better part of a decade, so they know what their doing...surviving that long in this market takes some quality control and discipline. The packaging is something else, and takes it to a level above that of any other retail graphics card I have bought. Very well designed and an effective marketing tool. Aside from the sexy looking 6600GT with it's BLUE PCB and black connectors, you get 3 Grade A games: Nascar Thunder 2004, Commandos 3, and X2 The Threat. Sure, Doom3 , Far Cry or HL2 would have been nice, but I already bought those...and these games all have fairly good gameplay and graphics. The dimensions of the 6600GT's make installation a breeze, and by some miracle my 1st PCI slot is once again open (though unused of course). The reference cooler has a copper plate which interfaces between the GPU and the Aluminum heatsink body. Adequate at best, at least it's quiet and doesn't take up much room, though the lack of memory cooling and a 40C Idle/60C load temp leaves much to be desired. (I'm currently developing a 6600GT AGP cooler, expect first shipments in one month) Anyway, onto the good stuff. The stock 500/1000mhz speeds are impressive, though this .11 micron chip and the Samsung 2ns GDDR3 are just begging to more performance wrung from them! :cool:
Sure enough, without even a complete burn in, the card is running rock solid at 550/1200 using the stock cooler and god knows what type of thermal interface materials they installed at the factory. The board spanks my 9700PRO (OC'ed to 400/700) in every aspect and makes HL2 and DOOM3 much more satisfying gaming experiences. Visual quality is excellent, and the rest is as expected - CRAZY PERFORMANCE PER DOLLAR RATIO! :santa:
When I get a chance I'll run an official battery of benchmarks and post the average results...I remember someone asking about fillrate? Well, in 3DMark 2005 with the card overclocked it yielded somewhere along the lines of 4.3 MTexels/s...not too shabby, with more to come when I push the RAM a bit further!

***I'll post benchmark results, as well as the max stock overclock results today when I have the opportunity***

PROS:
+Full 500/1000 Speeds
+Superlative Overclockability (550/1200 so far...)
+Availability
+Lowest Cost
+Excellent Initial Quality
+Distinct Blue PCB and Black Components
+DUAL DVI

CONS:
-XFX Tech Support (Email only)
-Game Bundle not as hot as it could be
-No reference to a warranty anywhere to be found!!! :eh?:
-Crappy reference cooler (to be addressed muahaha)

*Note* Upon installation of the board, my P4T533 has been trying to get a divorce with middling success. There seems to be a compatibility issue wtih the NV43 and the Asus board, though this is currently being investigated by XFX and Asus. Assuming the board/post process makes it into Windows (which given a couple hard restarts it will) everything is 100% stable. Clearly not a driver issue, but a possible GFX board compatiblity problem...defect, I doubt it, as it runs flawlessly once on it's feet. More to come on the situation when I recieve the companies responses. :rolleyes:

[Nandro]

:thup: Thats awsome dude!!!
I'm happy for you. Not that suprised that it slaps your 9700. Thats how I felt when I went from my 9800xt to my 6800NU.
Is it basicly like everything your 9700pro could do but at 1 res setting higher and one graphic setting (high -> ultra high) up? Thats what I noticed, wondering if the difference was about the same.

AWSOME!!!
:burn:

[consumer9000]

Wow...does this card have an upper limit? I've been running loops of 3DMark2005 now @ 275/1225!!! Only beyond these speeds do I start seeing hints of rejection... (occasionaly green geometric fragment pops up, likely GPU error, not the typical snow seen from heavy ram oc'ing) The card peaks at nearly 70C, so cooling for the GPU and naturally the ram (which is currently bare) will go a long way towards keeping it reliable and getting more power out of it.

***UPDATE - XFX DOES HAVE A U.S. 1-800 TECH HOTLINE***

One thing I find rather odd, is that when playing through HL2 and regardless of the clock speed I find that when the water meets the edge of texture in the Root Kanal level, there is no blending and the transition is very hard and ugly...a blue line follows the path of the water channels. However outdoors, such as in the speedboat mission, the water is perfect, blended with the shore etc. I have fiddled with AA, and anistropic filering settings but to no avail, these glitches are still there... Is this a 67.02 error or common to other nvidia cards? :(
Still no luck with the random lockups and startup issues...and of course Asus and XFX had nothing meaningful to contribute. Their response is as cookie cutter broad as can be! I am starting to suspect that my 330W PSU may be to blame, though it makes me wonder how the system is usually rock solid once booted up!? (How much power does a 6600GT use vs. a 9700PRO?)

[CandymanCan]

If youre using the 66.93 drivers change them to something else, those drivers cause Artifacts overclocked or not.

[Nandro]

This may or may not work, but try turning up the agp voltage in the bios 1 notch. I had some success doing this when I overclocked my card and was getting random reboots and such.

Sounds like a kick ass card..

[consumer9000]

Unfortunately there are no AGP voltage controls on the P4T533. Even if there were, the card does this at stock settings. It seems like it's simply a matter of 2 hard restarts everytime to get it to load windows...rather annoying, so I might just have to get a new case and PSU. :D

[Fourevercali]

I have the same card as well. And i love it!. except for the problem in halo. OC's niceley got 8975 in 3dmark03 and abotu 3507 in 05. very good card, would highly recomend.

[gigabit]

I have the same card as well. And i love it!. except for the problem in halo. OC's niceley got 8975 in 3dmark03 and abotu 3507 in 05. very good card, would highly recomend.
Dam that 3d05 score is almost as good as my softmodded evga6800nu.Its they same as the 6800nu if i dont have it softmodded.Thats a powerful little card there boy.I wonder what 2 of these would be like in SLI.You wont even need the 6800GT's and ultra's in SLI. Once it becomes main stream.If it ever really catches on.Which personally i dont think it will.Not for long anyway.

[Cyklone_KY]

How would this card rate vs. a 9800 Pro 256MB/256-bit card?

~$230

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0172940

Vs. the 6600GT, only 128mb and 128-bit, but using GDDR3?

~$245

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-150-080&depa=0

________________________

Athlon XP-M 2400+ 35w @ 2480MHz(206.7x12)
TR ALX-800 HtSk and TT Smart Fan II
Abit NF7-S V2.0 w/ stock BIOS
1GB DDR400 Kingmax @ 2.5-3-3-11
Antec TruePower 330W
Windows 2000 SP4
GeForce 2 GTS 64MB AGP 4x

[Fourevercali]

The 6600GT rapes the 9800 pro, as well as the 9800xt

[Cyklone_KY]

6600GT seems like the best buy then..

The cheapest I can find for the AGP version is at Newegg at $245 currently (which is higher than it used to be).

Know any place that seems the AGP version for cheaper?

[Cyklone_KY]

Well %$#@....

Here's the 6600GT for $229 WITH free shipping.

http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=190327

I'm ordering this :)

[subtotal]

I have the same card as well. And i love it!. except for the problem in halo. OC's niceley got 8975 in 3dmark03 and abotu 3507 in 05. very good card, would highly recomend.

:cry:
i hate my video card! i want one of these, your 3Dmark score is more than 10 times what mine is

[koss20100]

6600GT is the reason im going from ATI to NVIDIA ..... nvidia really showed ATI whos boss **** .... dont forgot 6600GT come with sli in the pcie version .

[Fourevercali]

Well %$#@....

Here's the 6600GT for $229 WITH free shipping.

http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=190327

I'm ordering this :)
Make sure that it is in stock. I bought mine at buy.com

[consumer9000]

I just installed Far Cry with the latest 1.03 patch, and I'm pleased to say that Pixel Shader 3.0 along with the new lighting features make for some really spectacular effects!!! Yet one more reason to switch to a NV40 class GPU for now.
Neither Asus or XFX can figure out the cause of the instability I've experienced during post/boot, so I may just buy a new case and a PC Power and Cooling 510W PSU and call it a day. Aside from that the card is holding up just fine throughout my extended Half Life 2 marathons! :clap:

[gigabit]

Poor 9800XT getting raped.Someone should call the police!!!!!!!!!!

[Nandro]

Poor 9800XT getting raped.Someone should call the police!!!!!!!!!!

Call the police... what are you thinking.

Someone get a camera!!!!!!!

[gigabit]

LMFAO. Yeah you would make a fortune!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
.
.

..

.News flash we have reports of a few reque 6600GT's running around raping 9800pro's and 9800XT's but at this time it dont look like any video card is safe from this abuse unless you own a 6800 series or X800 series video card do not leave your video card alone with any 6600GT These cards seem not to have any loyality either because we just got a report of a 6600GT that raped its uncle a FX5900. more at 11:00


.I know that was stupid but i just had to do it....lol

[Nandro]

FX cards found randomly with enormous holes where their VGA connectors were. Note left says "SM 3 rules" Only clue tying the 6600GT to these brutal molestations.

[gigabit]

LOL it was also underclocked by the 6600GT.Will the horror ever end

[Sevin7]

Whats your 3dmark05 score? Did you run 03 to?

[||Console||]

"Fourevercali I have the same card as well. And i love it!. except for the problem in halo. OC's niceley got 8975 in 3dmark03 and abotu 3507 in 05. very good card, would highly recomend. "

These scores seem low for your system were those @ 4ghz ?
I thought the 6800gt killed the x800pro ?
Edit -

nm i thought u had the 6800 not the 66

[Fourevercali]

Whats your 3dmark05 score? Did you run 03 to?
3dmark03 - 9339 / 3dmark05 - 3671
Yeah lol i wish i had a 6800

[Sevin7]

check the cyber deal section, there is one for $205 shipped!

[consumer9000]

Well, the the card will run stable upto 600/1206, though the GPU at that speed will begin to produce some small geometric artifacts...
I'm leaving it at 575/1202 until I get some better cooling for this puppy! I can only imagine what kind of speed this card has locked up in it - I can't wait for someone to figure out how to voltmod the sob.
I removed the stock HSF today and reapplied the copper heatspreader with some Artic Alumina Thermal Epoxy, and the applied some Artic Silver 5 to the GPU core to see if this improves matters any before I put my new heatsink on it.
Anyway, here are my latest 3DMark scores run at 575/1206:
3DMark2005: 3325 (Stock settings - texture settings in driver at High Quality)
Fill Rate: Single Texturing- 2215 MTexels/s Multi Texturing - 4525 MTexels/s (not bad for a 128bit card eh?)
Pixel Shader: 106 FPS Vertex Shader: Simple - 43 MVertices/s Complex - 29 MVertices/s

This card definitely spanks the R300 series cards...though enough with the rape analogies geeze! :eek:

[Sevin7]

What did you score in 3dmark03? Also which program are you using to overclock it? Myne comes tommrow :)

[Fourevercali]

I got 9339 with mine in 03, hey consumer if you find a better HSF for it let me know please, i would really like to purchase one. How for do you think it will be able to go?

[Sevin7]

wow breaking 9k in 3dmark03 for ~$200 is crazy. Since the 9800pro for the same price cant even break 7 without some insane mods.

[koss20100]

wow breaking 9k in 3dmark03 for ~$200 is crazy. Since the 9800pro for the same price cant even break 7 without some insane mods.

ya i knoe for once they released a quality mid range card for those who dont wonna spend 350 for a grfx card :) ty NVIDIA

[baberpervez]

nVIDIA wins in the mainstream market.
ATI seems to desire to dominante the high end market with their X850XT PE and X800XT PE editions.

[baberpervez]

If you can get those insane overclocks with the 6600GT PCI-E versions in SLI I'm predicting a 3Dmark score of well over 15000. My PNY 6800GT overclocked only scores 13000, meaning the 6600's are kickin serious ass.

[koss20100]

nVIDIA wins in the mainstream market.
ATI seems to desire to dominante the high end market with their X850XT PE and X800XT PE editions.

ya but 2 6800ultras .... come on .. Nvidia winz

[Sevin7]

Yes im an ATI lover, still am. But my 6600gt is coming today, sorry ATI, but you got your ass kicked my Nvidia in the mainstream market. And 2x x850pe's will beat 2x 6800 ultras. Also the 6600gt's are getting this high with one piece of **** stock hsf. I have a thermaltake giant 3 laying around, im gonna see if it fits when it comes today, if it does i wonder what kinda clocks ill be able to get.

[wanab]

$500 Pwn3d by $200 :burn:


thats what i like to see.

[Rumrunner]

So...what would happen if a 6800 oc and a 6600gt went toe to toe?!!!? Fully modded

[gigabit]

The 6600GT would get spanked ...lol But u know what i bet it would be pretty close.Probably around a 1000 piont difference in 3dmark03.The one dude Got 9337 or around there heck i only got 11197 in 3D03 and he 3500 in 3D05 and i got 4119 i would say thats pretty close but i only paid $40-50 dollars more for my card.

[Rumrunner]

The 6600GT would get spanked ...lol But u know what i bet it would be pretty close.Probably around a 1000 piont difference in 3dmark03.The one dude Got 9337 or around there heck i only got 11197 in 3D03 and he 3500 in 3D05 and i got 4119 i would say thats pretty close but i only paid $40-50 dollars more for my card.

u rule :attn:

[gigabit]

So...what would happen if a 6800 oc and a 6600gt went toe to toe?!!!? Fully modded


u rule :attn:

LOL i dont know if thats a crack or what...lol But i know one thing i dont rule.My piont was dudes card is stock but if he volt mods it or water cools it or both it would be a really close one.Since my card and yours is softmodded and OCed pretty nicely.Rob119 what do you get with that BFG 6800OC in3D03? The BFG 6800 OC is the card i reallt wanted.

[Rumrunner]

I havent tried 3dmark 03 yet. My top 05 score:3610. Which i alot better than my first scores. I think you helped selecting my drivers a while back. Anyway, that improved my score alot.
Ill post my 3d 03 scores up tonight so you can see what i get.

[subtotal]

uh, excuse my lack of brand knowledge on this but which of the following would be the best brand? sparkle, albatron, microstar. it's just that these are the only brands they have where i live (at this stage anyway), i'll probably be getting one just after xmas

[consumer9000]

My current 3DMark 2003 score: 8675 :bday:
Pretty quick, and with some more speed (test run @ 575/1210) I bet 9000 is just around the corner. It should be noted I have the driver settings on "High Quality" (no AA or AF unless application enables it)

The design of the my peformance cooling solution will likely be a two slot design, and will incorporate a shroud and will also cool the ram and reverse side of the pcb. :cool:
Prototyping begins next week. Design Pat Pending.

[Rumrunner]

LOL i dont know if thats a crack or what...lol But i know one thing i dont rule.My piont was dudes card is stock but if he volt mods it or water cools it or both it would be a really close one.Since my card and yours is softmodded and OCed pretty nicely.Rob119 what do you get with that BFG 6800OC in3D03? The BFG 6800 OC is the card i reallt wanted.

Ok i ran 03 and got 10574. So your NU is beating me right now. I think my cpu is holding me back.

[gigabit]

Ok i ran 03 and got 10574. So your NU is beating me right now. I think my cpu is holding me back.
Yeah most likely .I thought it was you i suggested some drivers to.Im glad they helped.I know another dude with same card as you and amd 2100+ OCed to 2.2 and he gets the same score as you.Actaully the last time i ran it i only got 10300 .I switched drivers and my card doesnt like them for benches but games look awesome. So you are beating me now since i still have them drivers in 67.50

[Sentential]

Wow, very nice guys. I knew that the 6600GT had some potential...but DAMN! Thats one hellova card for $200.

[JasonDTM]

Yes, for the 200$ one would be spending is very nice, you get a card that overclocks extremely well on stock cooling.... hmmm Anyone got a SK7+ and some copper ramsinks lying around? :D

-Off topic--

Sent, what would your predictions be for an A64 3500+, 2x256 BH-5, Gainward 6800GT GS, MSI K8N Neo2 Plat, in 3dmark03, because my A64 box is going to be slightly similiar, I have the memory and the graphics card, but the mainboard and the CPU coming at a later time..

[consumer9000]

With the new cooler, I am hoping for artifact free runs at speeds in the neighborhood of 625/1300 (waiting impatiently for voltmods to be cracked)
It should prove wicked fast once up in that range...so long as the resolutions are 1280 and under hehe :)

[Sevin7]

i got myne and just ran 3dmark05, i got 3398 @ 575/1.13 . It will definently go higher, i am just starting low and working my way up. Im gonna try 3dmark03 now.

[Sevin7]

just got 8970 in 3dmark03... now im gonna crank it up some more see how much higher than 9k i can get.

[gigabit]

sweet

[Avg]

I'm thinking of getting one of those for my nest system but I will only upgrade if I can get at least 10k oc and a a64 otherwise I'll wait until prices come down and I'm able to get a 6800nu at least.

[Sevin7]

i scored 9129 @ 575/1188
And i got 88fps on the cs:source vid stress test @ 1280x1024 max settings (max AA and AF too)
im playing doom 3 @ 1280x1024 ultra settings, and 2x AA, avg 60 fps.
i set it to boot @ 575/1200 becuase its very stable, doesnt go over 37c, and no artifacts. @ that clock i got 3500 right on the dot in 3dmark05.

[Fourevercali]

i scored 9129 @ 575/1188
And i got 88fps on the cs:source vid stress test @ 1280x1024 max settings (max AA and AF too)
im playing doom 3 @ 1280x1024 ultra settings, and 2x AA, avg 60 fps.
i set it to boot @ 575/1200 becuase its very stable, doesnt go over 37c, and no artifacts. @ that clock i got 3500 right on the dot in 3dmark05.
Holy crap, it doesnt go over 37 c's, are you sure, is that idle or full load, what brand do you have? Mine runs uber hott, im talking 42-47 idle, and 60-73 full load!! Hey Consumer9000 when you get that cooler done, PLEASE let me know! Thx

[Sevin7]

mynes xfx. And it acutaly got up to 40c after doing 3dmark03/05, 4 times in a row. But it is very cold in my case... the ambient temp in my case is 19c, my cpu is 21c idle, gpu is 29c idle. And i got an even higher score:http://service.futuremark.com/servlet/Index?pageid=/orb/projectdetails&projectType=10&projectId=3410441
9402 . :)

[Avg]

mynes xfx. And it acutaly got up to 40c after doing 3dmark03/05, 4 times in a row. But it is very cold in my case... the ambient temp in my case is 19c, my cpu is 21c idle, gpu is 29c idle. And i got an even higher score:http://service.futuremark.com/servlet/Index?pageid=/orb/projectdetails&projectType=10&projectId=3410441
9402 . :)

Holy crap, 19c in the case, when my case is at 25c I'm freezing, and trust me I know my celcious degrees.

[Sevin7]

yes, i am freezing, i live in atlanta, and its about 35F outside, i have a fan blowing that insanely cold air right into through my window, and 2 fans in my room. Then i have 3 insanely powerful fans blowing that air into my case. got a new 05 score:
http://service.futuremark.com/servlet/Index?pageid=/orb/projectdetails&projectType=12

3651 :)

[consumer9000]

LOL, wait till summer time rolls on through! :mad:

Anyway, here is a list which should answer all your questions as to who what where when how do I get my AGP 6600GT!? :eek:

SANTA CLARA, CA - NOVEMBER 16, 2004 - NVIDIA Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA), a worldwide leader in graphics and digital media processors, today announced widespread availability of NVIDIA® GeForceTM 6600 GT graphics processing unit (GPU)-based add-in cards for AGP-based PCs. GeForce 6600 GT-based graphics cards for the AGP bus are available today and in the coming weeks from the following partners:

Albatron Technology, Co., Ltd
Anextek Global Inc.
AOpen America, Inc
ASUSTek Computer International
BFG Technologies, Inc.
Biostar
Chaintech Computer Computer Co., Ltd
ELSA Japan
eVGA.com Corporation
Gainward Co. , Ltd
Gigabyte Technology Co, Ltd.
Galaxy
InnoVISION Multimedia Ltd.
Jaton
Leadtek Research, Inc.
MSI Computer Corporation
PNY Technologies, Inc.
Palit Microsystems, Inc.
Prolink Computer Inc.
Point of View
Sparkle Computer Ltd.
Sigmacomm
Triple D
Ennyah Technologies
Espco
Geminan
XFX

[subtotal]

:cry:

[gigabit]

YO when you guys post a link to your futuremark scores dont send the borrowser link send the link under the score.Mark your score as active and published then update then copy the link The reason im posting this is because all you guys links to your score are either invalid or take me to my own score..My buddy was doing this over in another forum and couldnt figure out why i wasnt getting his scores.

[Sevin7]

do my 3dmark links work for you?

[gigabit]

Nope...lol both of them come up as this
The project id is not valid - please check the URL.

[Sevin7]

it appears you have to purchase the pro edition in order to get that link... i dont think i can do that ... :(

[gigabit]

I dont have the pro edition watch i post a link to my score for ya.
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k3=3412209
Just under the score you wanna pst check active and publish then go to the bottom of the page and click upate and then you will see a link under your score. copy it and paste here or where ever...lol you dont need the pro edition really .

[Sevin7]

The checkbox is not visible if a problem was detected in the benchmark project. Possible reasons for this are many, but most are due to an unknown component in your system, or inconsistensies during your benchmark run. If you feel you should be able to publish your project, please visit our - it wont let me use the publish button! Thats what it says, i dont know, why, it even says im using the approved drivers.

maybe it wont lemme publish becuase of this:
"Graphics Chipset- Generic VGA "It recognizes my drivers as 6600gt drivers... but why does it not recognize my 6600gt?

[gigabit]

Thats weird do you have the new patch installed 05 or something like that?It just came out a few eeks ago.
http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=912
What drivers are u using?

[consumer9000]

3DMark recognizes my videocard as far as I can tell! :-/

[gigabit]

HHMM that dont make sense when you click the link i provided does it show your project and mine or just mine?

[Sevin7]

i have the latest version of 03 and 05, both of them will not let me publish! my drivers are the Nvidia ones- 6.6.9.3

[Avg]

They should tell you the reason, sometimes I get one about my cpu speed changing.

[gigabit]

Yeah it dont make sense i would contact there tech support to see whats going on.I mean it aint no big deal but it does suck. If you do get a really nice score and wanna brag on it abit...lol You cant prove it well you can but then you have to do a screenie but then you cant compared spec's.Any one know of a Good benching utility thats free.Thats as good as 03 or better?

[consumer9000]

Uhm...last I checked all the futuremark software is free! Only the pro versions cost money, and even so, are well worth it if you really like benchmarking and publishing your scores! :eek:

[alinosa]

so has anyone found a gpu waterblock for this yet? I'll be replacing my maze3 soon, anyone think that'll work? I have a GF4 block too but that thing is kind of a pain to bolt on...so, yeah, has anyone seen a waterblock for this thing yet?

[alinosa]

anyone???
Bueller....

[gigabit]

I looked around and i see none for the 6600GT.

[Feuer Frei]

Im also going to buy one for xmas, from newegg from xfx :clap:

and do u guys have special cooling on this card to get 550/1200 or higher?

[JasonDTM]

Gameve has the BFG 6600GT OC :)

err I saw it somewhere, cant remember :/

[NavyDood]

I looked around and i see none for the 6600GT. I haven't found any either. Have you noticed how far apart the damn mounting holes are? :eek: And there's only 2 of them.

[gigabit]

:eek: Yeah i know but you would think that someone would have made something by now for the 6600GT .I would watch frozen cpu because if something comes out for it they will have frist or at least within a day or so of it being released.

[NavyDood]

:eek: Yeah i know but you would think that someone would have made something by now for the 6600GT .I would watch frozen cpu because if something comes out for it they will have frist or at least within a day or so of it being released.I'm waiting on Koolance. We have emailed back and forth 3 times now about the 6600GT and what they are going to do for it. I am under the assumption they didn't realize the 6600GT boards were built the way they are.

I really don't see a need to water cool the 6600GT. It runs plenty cool for me considering I am not going to try and squeeze every FPS i can out of it by overclocking it.

Yes I am satisfied with my Koolance. So no bashing needed. :D

[JasonDTM]

I found the BFG :)

http://www.chumbo.com/Info.aspx?id=239864

I've checked reseller ratings, and most of their negative feedback is due to pricing errors, ect