NVIDIA's GeForce 6600GT AGP: The Little Bridge that Could
by Anand Lal Shimpi on November 16, 2004 12:15 PM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
The Sims 2 Performance
In our final test, the 6600GT once again sits between the 9800 Pro and the x800 Pro. The relatively linear looking graph and low frame rates is due in no small part to the fact that The Sims 2 is not a heavily graphics centric game. The 3D interface and eye candy in this game is a means to an end, and not an end in and of itself. The popularity of this game, and the advantages of a smooth framerate therein afford it a spot in our benchmarking suite. And the 6600GT holds a nice position in this benchmark along with the rest of them.
The x800 scales better (or is it worse?) with resolution than the other cards, but the 6600GT doesn't do a bad job either. At 1600x1200 the midrange NVIDIA card nearly catches up with its big brother the 6800GT. It seems to us that there is either an issue with the game or a driver that is causeing the x800 to be frame rate limited at lower resolutions, which is why we are seeing these strange numbers. Certainly the x800 posts the best numbers at the highest resolution, so it deserves recognition for that.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
66 Comments
View All Comments
Slaimus - Tuesday, November 16, 2004 - link
What is missing is an AGP versus PCIE comparison, so the impact of the bridging can be seen.bob661 - Tuesday, November 16, 2004 - link
Newegg has one for $235.http://tinyurl.com/6cjej
pio!pio! - Tuesday, November 16, 2004 - link
#8: What do you mean unlock the stuff? Can you flash the 6800GT BIOS onto the 6800 regular or something?Da3dalus - Tuesday, November 16, 2004 - link
NVidia rocks again 8DStaples - Tuesday, November 16, 2004 - link
Hell yeah.I was hoping this card would hit before Christmas. My brother wants a 9800P for Christmas but after seeing the PCI-E vesion as a comprable price, it would pain me to buy a 9800P for the same price.
Staples - Tuesday, November 16, 2004 - link
Bonesdad - Tuesday, November 16, 2004 - link
Will the retail price here match the street price we see in the real world? Often the MSRP is appreciably higher than street price. Have to wait to see...if it is $175-$200 street price, then the message is clearFinalFantasy - Tuesday, November 16, 2004 - link
Awesome card...I might pick one up for my dad's rig.CU - Tuesday, November 16, 2004 - link
Anand you must be the only one in the world that can find 6800GT/U and x800Pro/XT, and now a 6600GT AGP the day it is out, but don't have a 6800nu to test with. I wish I had that problem.P.S. I don't mean this in a bad way or anything. I just thought it was funny.
mldeveloper - Tuesday, November 16, 2004 - link
will we see a pci express 6600gt vs. agp 6600gt to confirm if the bridge chip actually affects performance