The focus of this article is one of the best graphics cards, the popularity of which has not been declining for several years - the GeForce 6600. In just a few years, technology in the field of gaming applications has gone so far that most users no longer remember about devices of this class. However, there is a category of people who prefer to use computers before the first breakdown, without exposing them to improvements. This article is intended for this target audience.
The reader will find out why this video adapter is so popular among users, get acquainted with market representatives based on the GeForce 6600, and get full performance testing information and data on overclocking of this video card.
History reference
The thing is that the Nvidia GeForce 6600 video adapter was made at the time the manufacturers of computer components switched from one technology to another (the bus for the AGP video was replaced by a PCI connector). Accordingly, the manufacturer tried to sit on two chairs: make the fastest device for the old AGP technology and, not knowing the trends of the new market, introduce all the technologies available at the time of manufacture into devices with the new PCI bus. It is generally believed that the epic with the overclock of the graphic core and the memory bus began with the GeForce 6600 video adapter.
This is not to say that after several years the video adapter continues to occupy top positions, rather, on the contrary, its performance is negligible for modern games. But with confidence we can say that the GeForce 6600 graphics card is the best solution for owners of old computers.
If we talk about the chipset
The chipset is codenamed NV43 and exists in several versions. The first division goes on platforms: PCI and AGP. And the second relates directly to the technical characteristics. So the manufacturer created an inexpensive solution called GeForce 6600 LE, endowing it with weak characteristics. He released a lot of basic modifications, which do not have any letters in the marking, and made the top GT line, providing it with high power. Moreover, this same power is achieved by increasing the frequencies of the memory and the graphics core - ordinary overclocking, only done by the hands of the manufacturer.
In the media there are a lot of feedback from IT professionals who claim that in fact the separation of video adapters by modifications that are responsible for performance is a common rejection. If the chipset is capable of stable operation in hard mode, it is labeled as the GeForce 6600 GT. If the chip is unstable, it is not marked in any way, and if there is strong heating during acceleration, then it should be an inexpensive LE modification.
Specifications
The manufacturing technology of the NV43 chip complies with the 256-bit standard, has a 0.11 micron process technology and includes 143 million transistors. The manufacturer based on the Nvidia GeForce 6600 introduced modifications with a GDDR and GDDR3 memory bus. Naturally, this difference affected the performance of video adapters (in fact, the difference in bandwidth in 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 cheap chips the limit is set to 350 MHz. All devices support DirectX 9.0c, 10 bits per color channel and are equipped with a built-in TV encoder that uses the power of the video processor for its work. Do not forget that it was the sixth modification from Nvidia that started the epic with the introduction of special functions in its hardware solutions: adaptive, real trilinear filtering, UltraShadow and the like add-ons.
Chipset Direct Competitor
Due 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 statement applies 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 competitor’s video adapter has a lower graphic core frequency (425 MHz) and a lower memory frequency (800 MHz), but this does not prevent it from showing high performance in operation.
It's all about technologies that support ATI adapters. Long ago abandoning the race for increased frequencies, the manufacturer began to introduce its own development into the system, which allows it to demonstrate excellent potential in work. In the media, owners note poor technical support for users in terms of drivers, as is the case with the GeForce 6600. Windows 7, detecting a discrete ATI Radeon X700 Pro video adapter, assigns it an integrated driver.
Video Card Market Leader
The most productive video adapter based on the Nvidia GeForce 6600 GT is considered to be a product from Leadtek. It owes its tremendous power to the high frequency of the graphic core (550 MHz) and the memory bus (1120 MHz). The high speed for transmitting video data is provided by memory modules from Samsung, whose response time is 1.6 nanoseconds.
The absolute leader in productivity in the market has several drawbacks. Firstly, the cooling system. It provides only a graphics chip with a stream of cold air, but the memory modules and other important components of the device were ignored. Secondly, there is no video input, as 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 precisely the Leadtek video adapter, 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 Gainward GeForce 6600 GT video adapter. The video card is part of the gold series, which means that, along with high performance, it guarantees fault tolerance in work. The manufacturer made an interesting marketing move, installing the base settings of the video core frequencies (500 MHz) and memory bus (1000 MHz) in the BIOS of the video card, he gave a lifetime warranty on the device. Only on condition that the user will not overclock it. However, when installing the proprietary software that is bundled on the disk, the video driver independently accelerates the graphics core to 540 MHz, and the bus to 1150 MHz.
Compared to its competitors, the performance of the Gainward video adapter is very high. Hardware support for video input and video output with HDTV is a great addition to a worthy purchase. The future owner will also be pleased with the chipset cooling system , which effectively cools all the modules installed on the board.
No noise and dust
If a user thinks that Nvidia GeForce 6600 GT with passive cooling is unlikely to surprise fans of dynamic games, then he is definitely mistaken, because Gigabyte will never allow everyone around to consider its products to be low-grade. A copper radiator covers the video card from two sides, closing all the chips installed on it. To normalize the temperatures between the two radiators, there is a fairly wide copper tube.
And yet she is warming. But not strong enough for the protection to work, and the computer went into rebooting the system. Experts recommend future owners to think about having a spacious system case with decent ventilation. High performance adapter provides increased memory frequency - 1120 MHz and Samsung 1.6 ns modules. As a result, this product is recommended for many users for whom high performance and quiet operation and games are a priority - Gigabyte has no competitors for the NV43 chip and are not expected to.
Diamond series
MSI remembered the legendary Nvidia GeForce 6600 AGP graphics card for all users with its advertising, because it was thanks to it that all fans of dynamic games learned about the excellent shooter "The Riddick Chronicles". The hero of the film itself was depicted on the box, and the toy was supplied free of charge with the video adapter. About the power of the device stated marking Diamond. The video card for the AGP bus had tremendous potential - 400 MHz for the core and 800 MHz for memory. It is unfortunate that the MSI developers did not take another step forward, providing the user with at least some tool to increase the frequency of the graphics core and bus. In tests, this is a little missing.
The manufacturer also took care of the cooling: the cooler blows around the graphics controller, and the memory chips are equipped with radiators. Judging by the reviews, users are embarrassed by the lack of a copper lining on the back of the video card, because the dissipated power just hotens this part of the board. In general, the attitude to the product is positive, the video card is beautiful, made wisely and, as for the technology of the last century, copes very well with the tasks set.
Strange Extreme
ASUS products have always occupied top positions in all tests, however, with the GeForce 6600 128Mb Extreme graphics card, the leader in the computer market got embarrassed. The clock frequencies of the memory and the core installed at the factory are not subject to change. What ASUS manufacturer wanted to achieve on the market remains a mystery. By removing the video input and placing slow memory modules with a 2.5 ns response, the famous Taiwanese brand did not even bother to lower the price of its products.
In the media, many owners assure others that ASUS is the only company in the world that has complemented the bundled licensed game “Joint Operations”. There is no logic in such statements, because the game can be purchased separately, and everyone wants to see a productive video card in their own computer, not consumer goods.
Last Hero
Albatron's product called Trinity GeForce 6600 AGP is considered the benchmark for many video cards, because this brand at the dawn of the computer era set the market for all components. The appearance of Albatron devices, whether it be a video card, a motherboard or a tuner, always differed from its competitors underlined by strictness and conservatism.
In the race for high performance, the market leader decided not to participate, having directed all his potential to the bundling and software that comes with the video card. It is unfortunate that many manufacturers at the moment of time pay very little attention to the software that comes with the video adapter, because it is in these products that the user’s affection for the brand lies.
Video adapter testing
It is unlikely that it will be possible to get a GeForce 6600 PCI device running on DirectX 9.0 technology to launch 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 video cards. Naturally, there is no question of any FullHD parameter; the standard resolution is 1024x768 dpi with 32 color bits.
As expected, the leading positions were occupied by devices with the maximum frequencies of the graphics core and memory bus: Leadtek, Gainward and Gigabyte. From this, one single correct conclusion should be made that the video card that has the maximum overclocking wins in games. Appearance, beauty and equipment - this 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. This happened with the NV43 chip, which has already managed to differ from its competitors and show its ultra-high crystal strength, which, with careless handling, leads to disastrous results. Having improved the performance characteristics for the GeForce 6600 with the placement of 143 million transistors on the chip, the manufacturer did not think about the security that is impaired by careless handling of the video card.
The fact is that the chip does not fit snugly on the surface of the video card, and the cooler mounted on top does not have a recess for the graphics chip. Accordingly, if you click on one of the edges of the radiator, the crystal of the graphic core bursts. There is already a lottery: only the corner of the chip will drop off or the entire GPU will split in two. In the first case, the video adapter with high probability can work, and in the second - you have to go to the store for a new purchase.
Problems installing video cards
Many owners of non-modern computers have already noticed a strange arrangement of memory slots on motherboards with an AGP connector installed . It feels like the manufacturer joked with users by placing a contact for installing a video card in the immediate vicinity of the locks for attaching memory modules. All owners of GeForce 6600 graphics cards have a chance to break a couple of air conditioners on the board during installation. And so that this does not happen, it is necessary to carry out installation with maximum responsibility and in good lighting.
In the media, IT experts recommend that you first install memory modules and only then insert the video card into the slot. Gently lowering it down to the stop, you need to use the fingers of the other hand to move the edge of the board away from the tabs for mounting the RAM modules. If for any reason the end face of the video card's printed circuit board abuts against the capacitor on the motherboard, then the user can effortlessly fix the problem by carefully bending the interfering device to the side.
About efficient overclocking
A curious user will certainly come to independent conclusions that the performance of a video adapter can be increased by overclocking even further if the appropriate software is at hand and the video card has excellent cooling. In the media, judging by the reviews over several years, overclocking the GeForce 6600 is not a lot of time. The owners managed to achieve record-breaking indicators at that time: the frequency of the graphic core 615 MHz and the bus frequency 1340 MHz.
First of all, the user's task is to provide the video card with decent cooling. There are many options. You can replace the regular cooler with some professional solution from Shuttle or Zalman, but the price of cooling systems raises doubts. It's easier to change the 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 with a 90-140 CFM air flow over the standard cooler. For overclocking, it is recommended to use the official software that comes with the Nvidia driver.
Finally
The GeForce 6600 graphics card is the only link that still connects the two eras of personal computers that can work with dynamic games. Transitional video card models will leave the market - the time of old PCs will end. And if a potential buyer is faced with the choice of buying a GeForce 6600 or upgrading the entire system, then you should think about the last thought, because nothing in our world exists forever. Sooner or later, old technology will be lost to humanity forever. But if to improve the new system there is a choice between the video adapters themselves, then by the criterion of “price-quality” the buyer will not find anything worthy of the GeForce 6600 chip.