GeForce 8600 GT

GeForce 8600 GTS

As I reported earlier we will start seeing GeForce 8600 GTS, 8600 GT and 8500 GT cards on April 17th and it seems that NVIDIA has plans for two more lower end models; 8400 GS and 8300 GS slated for late April or early May. This time round, NVIDIA has a different naming for their low end G86 series - GeForce 8500 GT, 8400 GS and 8300 GS instead of 7300 GS, 7300 LE, 7100 GS based on G72 core.

According to VR-Zone, GeForce 8500GT is based on 80nm TSMC process and has 128-bit memory interface. It seems that the rest of the G86 family will be 128-bit as well so it will pose a great threat to ATi RV610 which has only 64-bit memory interface. GeForce 8500GT will be clocked at 450MHz core and has 256MB DDR2 memory clocked at 400MHz (800MHz). VR-Zone also have preliminary scores and it looks like its performance is slightly better than the current GeForce 7600 GS series. Its 3DMark06 scores (1280x1024) stood at 22xx and 3DMark05 (1024x768) scores stood at around 42xx on a Core 2 Duo X6800 processor. Its DX10 performance is yet to be seen. 8500GT will be priced between US$79 to US$99.

Update: OCWorkbench has posted some rather authentic-looking pictures of the two cards. The GeForce 8600 GTS is shown here, while the GeForce 8600 GT is up over here. According to the same site, the cards will launch on April 17. The GeForce 8600 GTS will cost $200-250 and will run at a core clock of 675MHz with 256MB or 512MB of GDDR3 memory running at 1GHz. As for the 8600 GT, OC Workbench says that card will run at 540MHz with 128MB or 256MB of 700MHz GDDR3 memory. Pricing for the 8600 GT will reportedly be between $150 and $180.

At the top of the mid-range lineup is the GeForce 8600GTS. The G84-based graphics core clocks in at 675 MHz. NVIDIA pairs the GeForce 8600GTS with 256MB of GDDR3 memory clocked at 1000 MHz. The memory interfaces with the GPU via a 128-bit bus. The GeForce 8600GTS does not integrate HDCP keys on the GPU. Add-in board partners will have to purchase separate EEPROMs with HDCP keys; however, all GeForce 8600GTS-based graphics cards feature support for HDCP.

GeForce 8600GTS-based graphics cards require an eight-layer PCB. Physically, the cards measure in at 7.2 x 4.376 inches and available in full-height only. NVIDIA GeForce 8600GTS graphics cards feature a PCIe x16 interface, unlike ATI's upcoming RV630. GeForce 8600GTS-based cards still require external PCIe power. NVIDIA estimates total board power consumption at around 71-watts.

Supported video output connectors include dual dual-link DVI, VGA, SDTV and HDTV outputs, and analog video inputs. G84-based GPUs do not support a native HDMI output. Manufacturers can adapt one of the DVI-outputs for HDMI.

NVIDIA's GeForce 8600GT is not as performance oriented as the 8600GTS. The GeForce 8600GT GPU clocks in at a more conservative 540 MHz. The memory configuration has more flexibility, letting manufacturers decide between 256MB or 128MB of GDDR3 memory. NVIDIA specifies the memory clock at 700 MHz. The GeForce 8600GT shares the same 128-bit memory interface as the 8600GTS. HDCP support on GeForce 8600GT is optional. The GPU and reference board design support the required HDCP keys EEPROM, however, the implementation is up to NVIDIA's add-in board partners.