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Chaintech GeForce 6600 video card with 256MB DDR for PCI Express

Friday, September 9th, 2005 | Reviews, Video Cards

Chaintech are certainly making a name for themselves with good value, but high quality products. This card makes a great upgrade for people looking for excellent performance in games as well as generally.

This card is based around the nVidia GeForce 6600 chipset. This chipset has become known for it’s performance in 3D graphics. For a time it took the lead over it’s main competitor, ATi, in the video card race.

Here is a quick rundown of it’s main features…

• GeForce 6600 chipset
• 256MB memory
• PCI Express
• DVI, HDTV and VGA outputs

Video cards give a noticable boost to the graphics performance of any computer.

The video cards by themselves have what is called a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) which is much like the CPU of your computer, but dedicated to graphics. When using the video capabilities of your motherboard, your main memory is used. A graphics card has it’s own built onto it, so it no longer has to share with the rest of the computer.

Benefits include more memory, so Windows can run more programs more efficiently, with smoother graphics. Mostly noticable in games. 3D performance is boosted with the high quality of it’s GPU, allowing smooth gameplay.

The downside of all this new technology is an increased need for power from the computer’s power supply. If you are running an older computer you might need to upgrade the power supply. Recommended is 300W but 400W might be a safer bet. The card needs a 4 pin power connector.

The other good benefit is the outputs it provides. VGA is the standard that was used with old monitors for years. DVI is often used for LCD monitors. HDTV allows you to use it with your HDTV. This is useful if you plan to use it in your living room for your television.

Here is a roundup of the ups and downs of this card.

Ups

• High performance
• Low priced
• Lots of outputs
• PCI Express connection, for best performance

Downs

• Needs additional power
• Only for more recent computers

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