Today we’ll see if investing more money to buy a 8600GTS 512MB card is really worth it. In the table we included a 8600GTS reference card running at same speeds as Gainwards 8600GTS with 512MB of memory. Gainward memory runs slightly faster, 8MHz which produce a final speed of 2016 MHz, not reference 2000 MHz.
In the table you’ll see an interesting card, Gainward 8500GT using a GDDR3 memory. Geforce 8500GT cards usually work with GDDR2 memory.
Overclocked Gainward 8600GTS Golden Sample card is also featured. Our 512MB card was overclocked to match the Golden Sample speeds, and we finished all the tests in a stable manner.
To see how much muscle 256 MB of memory brings, you can compare the results. Let us start with 3DMarks.
Composite Figures 3Dmark 03 | 3DMark 03 | Game2 | Game3 | Game4 |
Gainward 8500GT 600/1400MHz GDDR3 | 11196 | 89.3 | 69.7 | 64.2 |
Asus EN8600GT 540/1400MHz | 15247 | 105.5 | 88.7 | 107.0 |
8600GTS referenc 675/2000MHz | 17566 | 133.0 | 101.4 | 110.1 |
Gainward 8600GTS 725/2200MHz 256MB | 18916 | 144.6 | 109.4 | 119.2 |
Gainward 8600GTS 675/2016MHz 512MB | 20340 | 152.9 | 120.5 | 135.8 |
Gainward 8600GTS 725/2200MHz 512MB OC | 21599 | 164.4 | 128.6 | 143.9 |
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Composite Figures 3Dmark 03 | Single Texturinng | Multi Textur. | Vertex Shader | Pixel Shader 2.0 |
Gainward 8500GT 600/1400MHz GDDR3 | 2164.8 | 3721.2 | 34.0 | 164.4 |
Asus EN8600GT 540/1400MHz | 2023.7 | 7028.5 | 55.1 | 168.2 |
8600GTS referenc 675/2000MHz | 2638.5 | 7434.6 | 59.0 | 227.7 |
Gainward 8600GTS 725/2200MHz 256MB | 2844.8 | 8015.4 | 63.5 | 249.6 |
Gainward 8600GTS 675/2016MHz 512MB | 2688.2 | 8808.0 | 67.0 | 276.0 |
Gainward 8600GTS 725/2200MHz 512MB OC | 2870.0 | 9446.3 | 71.1 | 299.8 |
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In 3DMark 03, we see that Gainwards 512 MB card is faster than overclocked Gainwards card with 256 MB of memory. The difference is in 1424 marks, while reference Geforce 8600GTS card is slower by 2744 marks. Gainward 8600GTS 512MB beats the reference card by 15.8%. Additional 256 MB of memory definitely pays of here.
Composite Figures 3Dmark 05 | 3DMark 05 | Game1 | Game2 | Game3 |
Gainward 8500GT 600/1400MHz GDDR3 | 6327 | 30.0 | 19.2 | 28.1 |
Asus EN8600GT 540/1400MHz | 8924 | 38.5 | 28.7 | 41.2 |
8600GTS referenc 675/2000MHz | 11407 | 48.0 | 36.1 | 54.9 |
Gainward 8600GTS 725/2200MHz 256MB | 12354 | 52.0 | 38.9 | 59.7 |
Gainward 8600GTS 675/2016MHz 512MB | 12408 | 54.0 | 38.0 | 59.5 |
Gainward 8600GTS 725/2200MHz 512MB OC | 13213 | 56.9 | 40.5 | 64.0 |
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Composite Figures 3Dmark 05 | Single Texturinng | Multi Textur. | Pixel Shader |
VS/VS |
Gainward 8500GT 600/1400MHz GDDR3 | 2230.7 | 4196.0 | 85.4 | 88.4/74.7 |
Asus EN8600GT 540/1400MHz | 2166.7 | 7399.2 | 140.1 | 63.0/95.1 |
8600GTS referenc 675/2000MHz | 2723.5 | 8094.5 | 179.5 | 117.2/123.9 |
Gainward 8600GTS 725/2200MHz 256MB | 2904.9 | 8688.9 | 193.6 | 130.8/136.3 |
Gainward 8600GTS 675/2016MHz 512MB | 2721.6 | 9108.9 | 188.6 | 143.9/131.5 |
Gainward 8600GTS 725/2200MHz 512MB OC | 2900.1 | 9736.5 | 202.9 | 157.3/140.3 |
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Final result of 3DMark 05 test shows only a slight advantage over Golden Sample 256MB card. Let’s not forget that Gainwards 256MB card is overclocked. When we compare 512 MB card to reference 8600GTS running at same speeds, we see 1000 marks or 8.8% difference.
Composite Figures 3Dmark 06 | 3DMark 06 |
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Gainward 8500GT 600/1400MHz GDDR3 | 3101 |
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Asus EN8600GT 540/1400MHz | 4513 |
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8600GTS referenc 675/2000MHz | 5513 |
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Gainward 8600GTS 725/2200MHz 256MB | 5916 |
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Gainward 8600GTS 675/2016MHz 512MB | 5890 |
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