Introduction
GALAXY GeForce 6600 256MB Graphics CardIf you've been keeping up with HEXUS reviews over the past few months, I'm sure you've noticed the increasing number of PCI-Express cards that have been subjected to the usual benchmark barrage. I took a recent look at a couple of midrange PCIe cards from ASUS. Whilst the ASUS AX600XT/HTVD was a native PCIe design from the bottom up, the NVIDIA counterpart, the EN5900 (PCX5900), was a bridged design based on older 5900 XT tech.
A month or so later and things have changed markedly in the midrange sector. NVIDIA is keen on pushing its 6800-derived 6600 GPU and ATI is eager to showcase its X700 XT. These newer graphics processors put the trickle-down effect to good use, as both take key elements from current range-topping cards. GALAXY thinks the same way, apparently, and the company has been working hard on releasing 6600 derivatives at the earliest opportunity.
I was keen to see how a retail GeForce 6600 would stack up against the previous generation's midrange cards, especially given that it's a native PCIe card. Read on to see what I found out.
