GeForce 8600 GT vs NVS 3100M

Place in the ranking	1226	1310
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Power efficiency	2.59	0.47
Architecture	Tesla 2.0 (2007−2013)	Tesla (2006−2010)
GPU code name	GT218	G84
Market segment	Mobile workstation	Desktop
Release date	7 January 2010 (14 years ago)	17 April 2007 (17 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	no data	$159

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores	16	32
Core clock speed	606 MHz	540 MHz
Number of transistors	260 million	289 million
Manufacturing process technology	40 nm	80 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	14 Watt	47 Watt
Texture fill rate	4.848	8.640
Floating-point processing power	0.04698 TFLOPS	0.07616 TFLOPS
ROPs	4	8
TMUs	8	16

Form factor & 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).

Interface	PCIe 2.0 x16	PCIe 1.0 x16
Length	no data	170 mm
Width	no data	1-slot
Supplementary power connectors	no data	None
SLI options	-	+

VRAM capacity and type

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 type	GDDR3	GDDR3
Maximum RAM amount	512 MB	512 MB
Standard memory config per GPU	no data	256 MB
Memory bus width	64 Bit	128 Bit
Memory clock speed	790 MHz	700 MHz
Memory bandwidth	12.64 GB/s	22.4 GB/s
Shared memory	-	-

Connectivity and outputs

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 Connectors

No outputs

2x DVI, 1x S-Video

API compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX	11.1 (10_1)	11.1 (10_0)
Shader Model	4.1	4.0
OpenGL	3.3	2.1
OpenCL	1.1	1.1
Vulkan	N/A	N/A
CUDA	1.2	1.1

Synthetic benchmark performance

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

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

NVS 3100M 0.53
+65.6%

8600 GT 0.32

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. 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.

NVS 3100M 204
+65.9%

8600 GT 123

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

3−4
+200%

1−2

−200%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	4−5 +100%	2−3 −100%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	3−4 +200%	1−2 −200%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 +200%	1−2 −200%
Far Cry New Dawn	1−2	0−1
Hitman 3	5−6 +66.7%	3−4 −66.7%
Horizon Zero Dawn	10−11 +66.7%	6−7 −66.7%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	6−7 +100%	3−4 −100%
Watch Dogs: Legion	30−33 +66.7%	18−20 −66.7%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	4−5 +100%	2−3 −100%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	3−4 +200%	1−2 −200%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 +200%	1−2 −200%
Far Cry New Dawn	1−2	0−1
Hitman 3	5−6 +66.7%	3−4 −66.7%
Horizon Zero Dawn	10−11 +66.7%	6−7 −66.7%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	6−7 +100%	3−4 −100%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	10−11 +66.7%	6−7 −66.7%
Watch Dogs: Legion	30−33 +66.7%	18−20 −66.7%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	4−5 +100%	2−3 −100%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	3−4 +200%	1−2 −200%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 +200%	1−2 −200%
Hitman 3	5−6 +66.7%	3−4 −66.7%
Horizon Zero Dawn	10−11 +66.7%	6−7 −66.7%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	6−7 +100%	3−4 −100%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	10−11 +66.7%	6−7 −66.7%
Watch Dogs: Legion	30−33 +66.7%	18−20 −66.7%

1440p
High Preset

Far Cry New Dawn

1−2

0−1

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	0−1	0−1
Cyberpunk 2077	1−2	0−1
Far Cry 5	1−2	0−1
Hitman 3	6−7 +100%	3−4 −100%
Horizon Zero Dawn	3−4 +200%	1−2 −200%
Watch Dogs: Legion	1−2	0−1

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

3−4
+200%

1−2

−200%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	1−2	0−1
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	0−1	0−1

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

2−3
+100%

1−2

−100%

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	0.53	0.32
Recency	7 January 2010	17 April 2007
Chip lithography	40 nm	80 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	14 Watt	47 Watt

NVS 3100M has a 65.6% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 2 years, a 100% more advanced lithography process, and 235.7% lower power consumption.

The NVS 3100M is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce 8600 GT in performance tests.

Be aware that NVS 3100M is a mobile workstation card while GeForce 8600 GT is a desktop one.

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