11 GeForce 6600 GT AGP / PCI-E roundup (page 2: Graphic cards tested)

Graphic cards tested

On this occasion we chose to test only those graphics cards obtained from stores. This isn’t always the easiest option because of availability issues, but it does have many advantages. We avoid graphic cards that come on loan from manufacturers, which sometimes aren’t in the best working condition (graphic cards are dismantled/reassembled, there are incomplete packages, etc.) and those pre-selected by manufacturers for various reasons.

We included the following graphic cards in our test:

4 AGP cards:

- Leadtek WinFast A6600GT TDH
- MSI NX6600GT-VTD128
- PNY Verto GeForce 6 6600 GT AGP
- Point Of View GeForce 6600 GT AGP

7 PCI-Express cards

- ASUSTeK Extreme N6600GT
- Gigabyte GV-NX66T128D
- Gigabyte GV-NX66T128VP
- Leadtek WinFast PX6600 GT TDH
- Leadtek WinFast PX6600 GT TDH Extreme
- MSI NX6600GT-TD128E
- Point of View GeForce 6600 GT PCI-E

6600 GT AGP – a couple of problems

Following the feedback of several users having a couple of issues with their graphic cards, we published two news items in the end of December:

- Issues with the 6600 GT AGP ?
- Problems with some 6600 GT AGP – follow-up

In short, two main problems arose. First, power for the GeForce 6600 GT AGP graphic card uses an additional Molex connector that is very sensitive to the power supply. It specifically requires 12V and needs to be as steady as possible (no variation below 5%). Therefore, a quality power supply is necessary. The other problem concerns graphic cards, which use NVIDIA’s standard cooling solutions.

Because the graphic cards’ radiator stands on four plastic bearings and because of a GPU that isn’t always on the same level, sometimes the contact isn’t optimum and can lead to problems. Of course, this only concerns a small number of cards and the more nimble can dismount the radiator and remove the bothersome plastic bearings. Anyway, this has been identified and doesn’t concern newer graphic cards.