As we said just a minute ago, you can see that the OpenGL based Doom3 really liked the cards higher frequencies and rewarded us in kind.

Conclusion

The NVidia GeForce 6600 GT has long been proven a winner product in reviews both here and elsewhere in PCI-Express form.  With NVidia bringing the little pocketful of dynamite to the mainstream AGP based audience, the 6600 GT holds true to its reputation.  Excellent gameplay, very fast and with very fine image quality; all at a cost of less than $200.  Chaintech has done a fantastic job of implementing the 6600 GT in a well performing and aesthetically pleasing package.  While we didn't find any fancy LED lights or fancy graphics on the card itself, we did find extras that do mean more such as a nice bundle.  With so many products being similar, it is in the details and price that allow one manufacturer or another to pull ahead from the rest of the market.  Chaintech looks to have done just this with their $189 price tag and their above average software bundle.

The only real drawback with the card was the heatsink not having any contact with the memory chips.  This was by design and not accident.  The memory chips were declocked 10% with the Chaintech card and I can't help but speculate that the cooling, or lack there of is why.  I do want to stress that at no time did we run into any thermal issues or problems.  It was this sole issue of memory cooling that kept us from giving the Chaintech GeForce 6600 GT our Editor's Choice award.  I can only imagine what the memory would have overclocked to with some cooling.

If you are looking to upgrade your aging but still venerable AGP based system on a budget - stop shopping because the GeForce 6600 GT is it.  Chaintech brings their version of the card to market in a solid performing package for the value conscious who aren't willing to sacrifice any performance.

Pros

• Very fast

• Best bang for your buck

• Quiet operation

• Very nice bundle

• Did I mention this thing was $189??

• Nice overclocker

Cons

• No memory cooling

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Pg 1 - Introduction
Pg 2 - The Card
Pg 3 - Setup and Benchmarking
Pg 4 - Benchmarking Results
Pg 5 - Benchmarking Results
Pg 6 - Overclocking and Conclusion