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Nvidia vs ATI Midrange PCIe GPU Comparison
[Abstract]
The New Cards On The PCIe BlockWith the availability of NVIDIA's nForce4 Media Communication Processor (MCP), the third generation I/O interface (PCI Express bus) has finally arrived on the AMD...
[Content] PCDigitalMobileGame
The NVIDIA GeForce 6600 Series (PCIe)
When the GeForce FX first debuted, the 5800 models were the high-end whilst the 5600 models were the mid-range series. Replicating that model number pattern again on the GeForce 6, we now have the 6800 models for the high-end while the 6600 models are reserved for the midrange segment. Both segments share the exact same feature set since they are part of the GeForce 6 series. The only difference is in their hardware prowess to help deliver the GeForce 6600 parts to its targeted segment. As usual, expect the usual reduction in the number of rendering pipelines, vertex shader engines, memory bandwidth and power consumption when contrasted to the top of the line GeForce 6800 Ultra. There are two models available in the GeForce 6600 series and their crucial specs that differentiate them are shown in the below table:-
NVIDIA GeForce 6600 Series (PCIe)
| GPU Model | NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT | NVIDIA GeForce 6600 | | Core Code | NV43 | NV43 | | Transistor Count | 145 million | 145 million | | Manufacturing Process (microns) | 0.11 | 0.11 | | Core Clock | 500MHz | 300MHz | | Vertex Shaders | 3 | 3 | | Rendering (Pixel) Pipelines | 8 | 8 | | Texture Units per Pipeline | 1 | 1 | | Memory Clock | 500MHz (1000MHz DDR3) | 275MHz (550MHz DDR1) | | DDR Memory Bus | 128-bit | 128-bit | | Memory Bandwidth | 16.0GB/s | 8.8GB/s | | RAMDAC | Dual 400MHz | Dual 400MHz | | TV Output | Int., 1024x768 | Int., 1024x768 | | TMDS transmitter | On-board IC | On-board IC | | PCI Express Interface | x16 | x16 | | SLI Ready? | Yes | No | | Molex Power Connectors | NIL | NIL |
The GeForce 6600 series is NVIDIA's first GPU to be manufactured on the 0.11-micron process and their first GPU designed for the PCI Express bus interface natively. As mentioned in our Leadtek GeForce 6600 GT AGP review, the PCI Express x16 slot is designed not only to deliver faster transfer rates, but also to supply much more power than the old AGP slot. As a combined result of the GeForce 6600's reduced hardware features, the die shrink and the use of the PCIe bus, both variants have no need for auxiliary power.
Besides higher performance on the GT version, its PCB is designed to support the Scalable Link Interface (SLI), which is its distinct advantage against the non-GT version. So for those of who have opted for motherboards with dual PCIe x16 slots (e.g. the NVIDIA nForce4 SLI motherboards), you could purchase one GeForce 6600 GT now and then have an option to double your graphics performance via SLI by just acquiring a secondary GeForce 6600 GT graphics card in the near future. Not a bad idea at all, but the motherboard requirement makes this option limited to only enthusiasts who might have planned ahead to utilize a more expensive SLI-capable motherboard. Stay tuned to We as we bring you articles related to SLI pretty soon.
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