GeForce 6600 graphics card: overclocking, performance, testing and reviews

The focus of this article is one of the best video cards, whose popularity has not declined for several years - the GeForce 6600. In just a few years, technologies in the field of gaming applications have moved so far that most users already do not remember about devices of this class. However, there is a category of people who prefer to use computers before the first breakdown, without subjecting them to improvements. This article is intended for this target audience.

The reader will learn how this video adapter is so popular with users, get acquainted with the market representatives built on the GeForce 6600, and will get full information on performance testing and overclocking data of this video card.

Historical reference

The thing is that the video adapter Nvidia GeForce 6600 was produced at the moment of the transition of manufacturers of computer components from one technology to another (the AGP video bus was replaced with a PCI slot). Accordingly, the manufacturer tried to sit on two chairs: to make the fastest device for the old AGP technology and, not knowing the trends of the new market, to implement all technologies available at the time of manufacture in devices with a new PCI bus. It is considered that it was with the GeForce 6600 video adapter that the epic started with the overclocking of the graphics core and the memory bus.

It can not be said that a few years later the video adapter continues to occupy top positions, rather, on the contrary, its performance is negligible for modern games. But with certainty it can be stated that the GeForce 6600 graphics card is the best solution for owners of old computers.

If we talk about the chipset

The chipset is code-named NV43 and exists in several modifications. The first division goes on platforms: PCI and AGP. And the second concerns directly technical characteristics. So the manufacturer created an inexpensive solution called GeForce 6600 LE, giving it weak characteristics. He released a lot of basic modifications, which in the marking do not have any letters, and made the top ruler GT, providing it with high power. And this power is achieved by increasing the frequency of memory and graphics core - the usual overclocking, only performed by the hands of the manufacturer.

In the media, a lot of feedback from IT professionals, who assure that in fact, the separation of video adapters by modifications, responsible for performance, is the usual rejection. If the chipset is able to work stably in a hard mode, it is labeled as a GeForce 6600 GT. If the chip is unstable, it is not labeled in any way, and if there is a strong heating during overclocking, then it should be an inexpensive LE modification.

Specifications

The technology of manufacturing the chip NV43 corresponds to the standard of 256 bits, has a manufacturing process of 0.11 microns and includes 143 million transistors. The manufacturer based on Nvidia GeForce 6600 introduced modifications with the GDDR and GDDR3 memory bus. Naturally, this difference affected the performance of video adapters (in fact, the difference in bandwidth for GDRR3 is 1.5 times higher). The amount of video memory of the device is 256 MB, although sometimes there are instances with 128 megabytes on board.

The actual operating frequency of the improved modification is 500 MHz, but for low-cost chips the limit is set at 350 MHz. All devices support DirectX 9.0c, 10 bits per channel color and are equipped with a built-in TV encoder, which uses the power of the video processor for its operation. Do not forget that it was the sixth modification from Nvidia that started the epic with the introduction of special functions into its hardware solutions: adaptive, real trilinear filtering, UltraShadow and similar additions.

Direct Competitor of the Chipset

Thanks to the fact that Nvidia has a competitor in the market - ATI, all users have the opportunity to purchase computer components at an affordable price. This application also refers to the video card in the review - GeForce 6600, the characteristics of which are as close as possible to the ATi Radeon X700 Pro. The video adapter of the competitor has a lower frequency of the graphics core (425 MHz) and an underestimated memory frequency (800 MHz), but this does not prevent it from showing high performance.

It's all about technologies that ATI adapters support. For a long time having refused races for the increased frequencies, the manufacturer has started to introduce in own system development which allow to show excellent potential in work. In the media, the owners note the weak technical support of users in terms of drivers, as developed by the GeForce 6600. Windows 7, when discerning a discrete video adapter ATI Radeon X700 Pro, assigns an integrated driver to it.

The leader in the video card market

The most productive video adapter based on Nvidia GeForce 6600 GT is considered to be a product from Leadtek. Huge capacity, it is due to high rates of graphics core frequency (550 MHz) and memory bus (1120 MHz). High speed for transferring video data is provided by memory modules from Samsung, the response time of which is 1.6 nanoseconds.

Absolute leader in performance in the market has several drawbacks. First, the cooling system. It provides only a graphics chip with a cool airflow, but memory modules and other important components of the device are ignored. Secondly, there is no video input, as it is implemented by all competitors. But the video output has support for HDTV. In fact, it is not clear that this is a virtue or a disadvantage. By the way, many potential buyers literally chased after the video card Leadtek, because it included three licensed games: Splinter Cell, Prince Of Persia and Pandora Tomorrow.

Gold series

When it comes to devices that are built forever, many owners immediately recall the video card GeForce 6600 GT from Gainward. The video card is included in the gold series, which means, along with high performance, it guarantees fault-tolerance in operation. The manufacturer made an interesting marketing move, installing the basic settings of the frequencies of the video core (500MHz) and the memory bus (1000MHz) in the BIOS of the video card, he gave a lifetime warranty on the device. Only if the user does not overclock it. However, when installing the proprietary software that comes bundled on the disc, the video driver independently accelerates the graphics core to 540 MHz, and the bus to 1150 MHz.

Compared to competitors, the performance of the Gainward video adapter is very high. Hardware support for video input and video output from HDTV is an excellent addition to a worthy purchase. It will please the future owner and the cooling system of the chipset, which effectively cools all installed modules on the board.

Without noise and dust

If the user thinks that the Nvidia GeForce 6600 GT video card with passive cooling is unlikely to surprise the fans of dynamic games, then he is definitely mistaken, because Gigabyte will never allow everyone around to regard its products as low-grade. The copper radiator grips the video card from both sides, closing all the chips installed on it. To normalize the temperature between the two radiators there is a fairly wide copper tube.

And yet it is heated. But not strong enough for the protection to work, and the computer went into rebooting the system. The future owners of the experts recommend to think about the availability of a spacious system case with decent ventilation. High performance adapter provides an increased memory frequency - 1120 MHz and Samsung modules 1.6 ns. As a result, this product is recommended to many users, for whom high performance and noiselessness in work and games - competitors from Gigabyte for the NV43 chip are not present and are not foreseen.

Diamond Series

The legendary Nvidia GeForce 6600 AGP graphics card from MSI was remembered by all its users for advertising, because it was thanks to her that all fans of dynamic games learned about the wonderful shooter "The Chronicles of Riddick." The hero of the film was depicted on the box, and the toy was delivered free of charge in the kit to the video adapter. About the power of the device declared the marking Diamond. The video card for the AGP bus had a huge potential - 400 MHz for the core and 800 MHz for memory. It is unfortunate that the developers of MSI did not take another step forward, giving the user at least some tool to increase the frequency of the graphics core and the bus. In tests of this a little bit is not enough.

The manufacturer took care of the cooling: the cooler blows out the graphics controller, and the memory chips are equipped with radiators. Judging by the reviews, users are confused by the lack of a copper overlay on the reverse side of the video card, because the dissipated power just ignites this part of the board. In general, the attitude to the product is positive, the video card is beautiful, made with the mind and, as for the technology of the last century, copes very well with the tasks set.

Strange extreme

ASUS products always held top positions in all tests, however, with the video card GeForce 6600 128Mb Extreme, the leader of the computer market got embarrassed. The memory and core clock rates set at the factory are not affected by the changes. What the manufacturer wanted to achieve ASUS in the market remains a mystery. Removing the video input and placing slow memory modules with a response of 2.5 ns, the famous Taiwanese brand did not even bother to reduce the price of its products.

In the media, many owners assure others that ASUS is the only company in the world that has supplemented the configuration with the licensed game "Joint Operations". In these statements there is no logic, because the game can be purchased separately, and in your own computer everyone wants to see a productive video card, not consumer goods.

The last Hero

The product of Albatron company called Trinity GeForce 6600 AGP is considered the standard for many video cards, after all this brand at the dawn of the computer era set the direction for the market of all components. The appearance of the Albatron devices, whether it's a video card, motherboard or tuner, always differed from competitors with an emphatic severity and conservatism.

In the race for high performance, the market leader decided not to participate, sending all its potential for the bundle and the software that comes with the video card. It is a pity that many manufacturers at this time very little attention to the software supplied with the video adapter, because it is in these products that the attachment of users to the brand is hidden.

Testing video adapters

To get a GeForce 6600 PCI device running DirectX 9.0 technology, it's unlikely to be able to run a more advanced toy in the tests, so the corresponding applications (The Chronicles Of Riddick, Half-Life 2 and Doom3) will be used to compare the video cards. Naturally, there is no question of any FullHD parameter, the standard resolution is 1024x768 dots per inch with 32 bits of chroma.

As expected, the leading positions were occupied by devices with maximum graphics core frequencies and memory buses: Leadtek, Gainward and Gigabyte. From this it is necessary to make one only correct conclusion, that in games wins that video card which has the maximum dispersal. Appearance, beauty and equipment is all just to distract potential buyers from high-performance video adapters.

Pitfalls for future owners

Manufacturers always hide the shortcomings of their products from prying eyes. So it happened with the chip NV43, which has already distinguished itself from competitors and shows its superhigh strength of the crystal, with careless handling leading to disastrous results. Having improved the performance characteristics for GeForce 6600 with the placement of 143 million transistors on a chip, the manufacturer did not think about the security that is disrupted by careless handling of the video card.

The fact is that the chip is loosely attached to the surface of the video card, and the cooler installed on top does not have a recess for the graphics chip. Accordingly, if you click on one of the edges of the radiator, then the crystal of the graphics core bursts. There is already a lottery: only the corner of the chip will fall off or the entire graphics processor will split in two. In the first case, the video adapter with high probability can work, and in the second - will have to go to the store for a new purchase.

Problems with the installation of video cards

Many owners of non-modern computers have already noticed the strange location of memory slots on motherboards with AGP connector installed . It's a feeling that the manufacturer joked at users by placing a contact for installing the video card in the immediate vicinity of the locks for fixing the memory modules. All owners of GeForce 6600 cards have a chance to break a couple of air conditioners on the board during the installation. And that this does not happen, you need to make installation with maximum responsibility and with good lighting.

In the media, IT professionals recommend first installing memory modules and then inserting the graphics card into the connector. Gently lowering it down to the stop, you need to pull the other hand's fingers away from the edge of the board away from the tabs for fastening the RAM modules. If the end face of the video card of the video adapter for any reason rests against the capacitor on the motherboard, then the user can easily solve the problem by carefully unbending the interfering device to the side.

About effective overclocking

A curious user will certainly come to independent conclusions that the performance of the video adapter can be increased by overclocking and further, if you have the appropriate software at hand, and the video card has excellent cooling. In the mass media, judging by the reviews for several years, the overclocking of the GeForce 6600 is not wasted much time. The owners managed to achieve record at that time: the frequency of the graphics core 615 MHz and the frequency of the bus 1340 MHz.

First of all, the user's task is to ensure the video card is worthy of cooling. There are many options. You can replace the standard cooler with some professional solution from Shuttle or Zalman, but the doubt is caused by the price of cooling systems. It's easier to change a motherboard with a processor than to give a round sum for a professional solution. The second option is to install an additional 12 mm fan above the standard cooler with an airflow of 90-140 CFM. To overclock it is recommended to use the official software that comes with the Nvidia driver.

Finally

The GeForce 6600 video card is the only link that still connects two epochs of personal computers capable of working with dynamic games. The transition models of video cards will leave the market - the time of old PCs will end. And if the potential buyer is faced with a choice, to buy GeForce 6600 or to upgrade the whole system, then it's worth thinking about the last thought, because nothing in our world exists forever. Sooner or later, old technologies will be lost to humanity forever. But if for the improvement of the new system there is a choice between the video adapters themselves, then unambiguously by the criterion "price-quality" the buyer will not find anything worthier than the GeForce 6600 chip.