Foxconn GeForce 8600 GTS

Makaveli - 2007-07-13 20:36:57 in Video Cards
Category: Video Cards
Reviewed by: Makaveli   
Reviewed on: July 23, 2007
: Foxconn
: Foxconn
Price: $174.99 USD

Introduction:

With DirectX 10 games emerging onto the gaming scene, gamers are finding themselves in need of a video card that can support the new technology. Not many of us want to break the bank just to be able to play these new games, so instead of getting the high end cards, we'd get a mainstream performance card such as the 8600 GTS. Let's find out how well the Foxconn Geforce 8600 GTS card competes against some of the most popular cards on the market today. Does this card have the performance you're looking for... without burning a hole in your pocket? Join us as we examine this card.

Foxconn, a division of Hon Hai Precision Industry Company, strives to provide affordable PC components to all users - big or small. The company looks to maintain delivering honest, solid, and easy-to-use products that are convenient for their customers.

 

Closer Look:

The box in which the Foxconn 8600 GTS is packaged is eye catching portraying a Halloween in space. Notice the overclock sticker on the front telling you it is overclocked to 700/2200MHz. The back of the box displays the features of the card in multiple languages, which is always nice to see. When you open the box, you'll see the card wrapped in pink bubble wrap and a layer of anti-static material under the bubble wrap.

 

 

 

Once the card is out of the packaging you'll notice how big the heatsink is. A big heatsink is usually a good sign that the card has decent cooling. Notice the PCI-E connector,  SLi port, dual DVI out connectors, S-Video port, and the six-pin power port.

 

 

 

Included with the card is the user manual, driver CD, six-pin power cable, DVI to D-Sub converters, a bonus software CD,  and a high definition video output cable.

Installation:

To install the Foxconn 8600 GTS you'll need to make sure you have a motherboard that supports PCI-Express. If you already have a video card installed, you'll need to make sure that you remove all of the display drivers before you install the Foxconn 8600 GTS. Next, power down your computer, unplug the power cable to the power supply and open your case. Remove your current video card from the PCI-E slot and insert the Foxconn 8600 GTS. Insure that it is firmly in place and plug in a six-pin PCI-E power connector into the port on the 8600 GTS.  Then plug in your monitor to one of the DVI out connectors on the video card. Last, close your case, plug in your power supply and boot up your computer. Once your computer is loaded up, insert the included driver CD and follow the on screen instructions to properly install the display drivers for the Foxconn 8600 GTS.  Before you're all set, check the nVidia website for the newest drivers and download the newest drivers if they are available.

 

Configuration:

Foxconn included a driver CD for you to use once your 8600 GTS is correctly installed. Below, you can see some screen shots before the driver software is completely installed. After the software successfully installs, you'll have to restart your computer.

 


Now that everything is installed, let's take a look at the nVidia control panel. When you first open the control panel, you'll have four categories to choose from; 3D Settings, Display, Networking, and Video & Television. In the 3D Settings menu, you'll be able to adjust image settings and manage 3D profiles.

 

 


In the Display category, you'll be able to change how the picture looks on your monitor, resolution, and refresh rate to get the display to your optimal settings.

 

 

Specifications:

 

GPU： NVIDIA GeForce 8600GTS
Core： G84
CoreClock： 700MHz
Pixel Pipeline： 32 Stream processors
Vertex Pipeline： 32 Stream processors
RAMDACs： 400MHz
Memory Type： GDDR3
Memory Size： 256MB
Memory Clock： 2200MHz
Memory Interface： 128-bit
Graphics Bus Technology： PCI Express x16
Cooler： Fansink
Connectors： Dual Dual-Link DVI + HDTV-Out
Special Features： NVIDIA® PureVideo™ HD Support
NVIDIA® SLI™ Support
Dual Dual-Link DVI Support
HDTV Out Support
NVIDIA® TurboCache™ Technology
Windows Vista™ Support
Over clocking Edition

 

 

Features:

Testing:

To test the Foxconn 8600 GTS (Which is pre-overclocked at 700/2200MHz) we're going to run it through a series of rigorous benchmarks and see how well it stacks up against the competition. Each card had the most recent set of drivers available installed on them.

Test System:

Comparison Cards:

 Gaming Benchmarks:

 

Benchmark: Far Cry

Like always, we're going to start with the Far Cry benchmark. Even though it is an older game, it still is nice to see how newer cards do on it.

Settings:

 

 

 

Testing:

Benchmark: F.E.A.R.

F.E.A.R. is a first person shooter which has its own built in benchmark.

 

 

 

Settings:

 

 

 

Testing:

Benchmark: Call of Duty 2

Call of Duty 2 is a World War II first person shooter that allows players to fight all over Europe.

 

 

 

Settings:

 

 

 

 

Testing:

Benchmark: Quake 4

Quake 4 is also a first person shooter in which users are space marines fighting the Strogg.

 

 

 

 

Settings:

 

 

 

 

Testing:

Benchmark: Need For Speed Most Wanted

Need for Speed: Most Wanted is one of the more recent installments of the Need for Speed racing series.

 

 

 

 

Settings:

 

 

 

Testing:

Benchmark: Microsoft Flight Simulator X

Microsoft FSX is a very demanding flight simulator which can really take a toll on the video card.

 

 

 

 

Settings:

 

 

 

Testing:

Benchmark: 3D Mark 06

In this benchmark, we used all default settings.

 

 

 

 

Settings:

 

 

 

Testing:

Benchmark: RyderMark

Candella Software has produced a new benchmark called "RyderMark". Basically, the benchmark revolves around a boat racing game they made which takes place in Venice, Italia. Please look back for an official review on the benchmark.

 

 

Settings:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion:

So what can we conclude about the Foxconn 8600 GTS OC video card? It's safe to say that it hangs with some of the best cards on the market. It was neck and neck with the XFX 8600 GTS in the Call of Duty 2 benchmark in lower resolutions. The Microsoft Flight Simulator X benchmark results shocked me because this card preformed better than all of the other video cards. Even while being stressed, I couldn't really hear the Foxconn 8600 GTS OC card's fan, which is definitely a plus. I was impressed with the size of the heatsink because generally, the bigger the heatsink, the better the cooling. Installing the drivers wasn't an issue like some of the other cards we tested, so I was glad to see that. This video card definitely falls into the mainstream performance category for graphics cards. It certainly held its own in all of the rigorous benchmarks we ran. Being DirectX 10 capable was a huge plus and the card was a tough competitor for the other DirectX 10 cards we tested. If you're looking for a mainstream performance card that can handle the new DirectX 10 games but you don't want to break the bank, check out Foxconn's 8600 GTS OC video card. Check back to OverclockersClub.com to see our DirectX 10 video card round up coming soon.

 

Pros:

 

 

Cons: