XFX GeForce 6600 256MB DDR2
Our Summary & Conclusion
After spending some quality time with XFX's latest budget offering, we were left with a very good impression of this card. It's certainly not going to be setting any benchmark records, but for $100 you'd be hard pressed to find a better value.
The new GeForce 6600 DDR2, in genera, looks to be an excellent performer for the money, but XFX wasn't satisfied with that and raised the core clock speed an extra 50MHz. And raising the core is what this card is all about. As you saw from our overclocking results, this card lived up to its self proclaimed "Extreme Overclocking" status. We honestly didn't expect that little aluminum cooler to allow for such high clock speeds. The new DDR2 ram also allows for some decent overclocking. While it would have been nice to see it running at more than 885MHz, we certainly can't complain. We were surprised, not just by the overclocking results, but the entire package in general.
The performance of the XFX GeForce 6600 DDR2 is somewhere between that of the recently released Radeon X1300 Pro, and the GeForce 6600 GT. Considering both cards are considerably more expensive, XFX's offering is quite a deal. With the exception of F.E.A.R. with AA and Aniso enabled, all of the games we benchmarked today are perfectly playable with the XFX GeForce 6600 DDR2.
To state it simply, the XFX GeForce 6600 256MB DDR2 is a standout product at its price point. Our expectations were exceeded on almost every level. What it all comes down to is the price / performance ratio of this card. $100 can now buy you playable framerates in just about all of today's games. And to sweeten the deal even further, the card comes with a free copy of FarCry on DVD. Because of this product's great price / performance ratio and good bundle, we have decided to give the XFX GeForce 6600 256MB DDR2 a 9 out of 10 on our Heat Meter, as well as an Editor's Choice award.
 |
 |
||
| •_Excellent performance •_Extreme overclocking __potential •_Far Cry on DVD |
•_No DVD Playback software |
