7800 GTX vs 8600 GT

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General info

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in performance rankingnot rated1114
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
ArchitectureTesla (2006−2010)Curie (2003−2013)
GPU code nameG84G70
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Release date17 April 2007 (16 years old)22 June 2005 (18 years old)
Launch price (MSRP)$159 $599
Current price$182 (1.1x MSRP)$176 (0.3x MSRP)
Value for money

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

Technical specs

General performance parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. These parameters indirectly speak of performance, but for precise assessment you have to consider their benchmark and gaming test results. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores32no data
Core clock speed540 MHz430 MHz
Number of transistors289 million302 million
Manufacturing process technology80 nm110 nm
Power consumption (TDP)47 Watt86 Watt
Texture fill rate8.6 billion/sec10.32
Floating-point performance76.16 gflopsno data

Size and compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

InterfacePCIe 1.0 x16PCIe 1.0 x16
Length170 mm228 mm
Width1-slot1-slot
Supplementary power connectorsNoneno data
SLI options+no data

Memory

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory typeGDDR3GDDR3
Maximum RAM amount512 MB256 MB
Standard memory config per GPU256 MBno data
Memory bus width128 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speed700 MHz1200 MHz
Memory bandwidth22.4 GB/s38.4 GB/s

Video outputs and ports

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display Connectors2x DVI, 1x S-Video2x DVI, 1x S-Video

API support

List of supported graphics and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX11.1 (10_0)9.0c (9_3)
Shader Model4.03.0
OpenGL2.12.1
OpenCL1.1N/A
VulkanN/AN/A
CUDA1.1no data

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark performance comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.


Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark, part of Passmark PerformanceTest suite. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

Benchmark coverage: 25%

8600 GT 120
7800 GTX 290
+142%

7800 GTX outperforms 8600 GT by 142% in Passmark.

Advantages and disadvantages


Recency 17 April 2007 22 June 2005
Cost $159 $599
Maximum RAM amount 512 MB 256 MB
Chip lithography 80 nm 110 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 47 Watt 86 Watt

We couldn't decide between GeForce 8600 GT and GeForce 7800 GTX. We've got no test results to judge.


Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

User ratings

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite graphics card.


NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT
GeForce 8600 GT
NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GTX
GeForce 7800 GTX

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3.1 892 votes

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3.5 28 votes

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Questions and comments

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