Graphics Card:
* Graphics Processor: NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT
* Memory Installed: 1GB GDDR2
* Interface: PCI Express x16
* Memory Interface: 128 bit
* RAMDACs: 400 MHz
* NVIDIA unified architecture with GigaThread technology
* Full Microsoft DirectX 10 Shader Model 4.0 support
* 16x full-screen anti-aliasing
* True 128-bit floating point high dynamic-range (HDR) lighting
* NVIDIA Quantum Effects physics processing technology
* Two dual-link DVI outputs support two 2560x1600 resolution displays
* NVIDIA PureVideo HD technology
* HDCP capable
* OpenGL 2.0 support
* NVIDIA ForceWare Unified Driver Architecture (UDA)
* NVIDIA Lumenex Engine
* Innovative Cooling System
* Built for Microsoft Windows Vista

My PC:
Motherboard:
CPU Type AMD Athlon 64, 2000 MHz (10 x 200) 3200+
Motherboard Name MSI RS480M2 (MS-7093) (3 PCI, 1 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR DIMM, Audio, Video, LAN, IEEE-1394)
Motherboard Chipset ATI Radeon Xpress 200, AMD Hammer
System Memory 1984 MB (DDR SDRAM)
BIOS Type Award (08/31/05)
Communication Port ECP Printer Port (LPT1)

Display:
Video Adapter ATI RADEON XPRESS 200 Series (256 MB)
Video Adapter ATI RADEON XPRESS 200 Series (256 MB)
3D Accelerator ATI Radeon Xpress 200 (RS480)
Monitor Plug and Play Monitor [NoDB] (ETL5108197)

Multimedia:
Audio Adapter ATI SB400 - AC'97 Audio Controller

Storage:
IDE Controller Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
IDE Controller Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
SCSI/RAID Controller MagicISO SCSI Host Controller
Disk Drive SAMSUNG SP1604N/R (160 GB, 7200 RPM, Ultra-ATA/133)
Disk Drive Generic USB SD Reader USB Device
Disk Drive Generic USB MS Reader USB Device
Disk Drive Generic USB SM Reader USB Device
Disk Drive Generic USB CF Reader USB Device
Optical Drive HL-DT-ST DVDRRW GCA-4164B
Optical Drive HP DVD Writer 1040d
Optical Drive MagicISO Virtual DVD-ROM0000
SMART Hard Disks Status OK
--------

my main concern is the GDDR2 when i have a DDR memory motherboard.. i dont really understand this?:S

i posted this originally in another topic but nobody replied after so many hours so i hope someone will reply here

It is not a good choice for a video card, but it will work fine.

why is it a bad choice, buyers have said it runs CoD4 at 40-50 fps..

i want it to run WoW nice and smoothly and Assassins creed as i start upgrading more specs of my comp

Buying a 1GB 8600GT is a waste of money. The large amount of VRAM does nothing since the 8600GT isn't powerful enough to handle high resolutions which would benefit from that much VRAM.

On Newegg, a 1GB 8600GT is $100. For the same price (after mail-in-rebate), you could get an 8800GS, which will give much better performance.

This post has been edited by stettybet0: Apr 21 2008, 03:07 PM

on play.com im able to get that card for £60 which in US i believe is roughly $110-120.
i searched the 8600GT and that costs me £130 which is $210

I believe you have it backwards. The 8800GS is listed for £130 on play.com, while the bad name-brand 8600GT is listed for £60. It's unfortunate how overpriced computer hardware can be in Britain.

Still, I don't think you will be happy with the 8600GT if you are looking to play games like Assassin's Creed on anything other than low settings and low resolutions. I would recommend saving up for an ATI HD3850 at the least. Better (though more expensive) choices are: HD3870, 8800GS, 9600GT, 8800GT, 8800GTS 512MB, 9800GTX (in that order... though the first two are very similar).

This post has been edited by stettybet0: Apr 21 2008, 08:14 PM

i see, ok thank you for all your help

sorry to ignite this topic again, but just for re-assurance but what is the best GFX card you listed above?

ATI HD3850
HD3870
8800GS
9600GT
8800GT
8800GTS 512MB,
9800GTX

All those are in order of least to greatest, so the 9800GTX is the best one (not by much compared to 8800GTS 512MB).

Yes, though the HD3870 beats the 8800GS in some situations.

The best value of those is easily the 8800GT. It offers the best performance for the price. The 8800GTS 512MB can be found for just a bit more usually, so if you have the extra money, I'd go for it. The 9800GTX is currently too highly priced to justify the minor benefits over the 8800GTS 512MB, so I would not recommend it. Keep in mind that the GT200/G100/D10E (should be "officially" named either the 9900 or a 10 series card) is speculated to come out sometime this summer, and it supposedly will offer 2-3 times the performance of the 9800GTX. If you don't have an urgent need, I'd recommend waiting until then.