Is GeForce 6600GT good?

H

Hosick

New Member
I made a thread a couple of months ago asking about getting a new Graphics Card but i was basically told it would be better and easier to just buy a new computer.
My uncle sent me over a GeForce 6600GT, it installed okay and i don't think there's anything wrong with it, he advised me to fit one of those cheap fans that you can get for a pound or two, but i haven't got round to that yet.

Anyway, is this quite a good Graphics Card? I will let you define 'good'
Not brilliant, but better than an integrated card. I know the GeForce models go up to 9000 and something.

THANKS
 
johnb35

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
It's a low end card, don't expect to play any medium to high end games with it at decent settings. The 8800 series was good back when they came out.
 
spynoodle

spynoodle

Active Member
It's all relevant, but for basic internet browsing and flash games, a 6600gt is plenty when paired with a good Pentium 4/Athlon 64 or better. ;)
 
Ramodkk

Ramodkk

VIP Member
Definitely better than integrated. But that card is more than 6 years old, depending on what you do on your computer, it should be enough.
 
CardboardSword

CardboardSword

New Member
nVidia's cards go much further than the 9000 series. :p After those you have the 200, 400 and 500 series. The card wasn't terrible for it's time, although I'm not sure how it stacks up against more modern solutions, I had a 6800GT back in the day, it would play older games (Original Far Cry, Doom 3 even) fairly well. I would expect the 6600GT to perform a bit below that so likely it is better than an integrated chipset. So long as it does what you want it to then it's great, especially for free. Just don't expect it to be a power house or anything :p
 
spynoodle

spynoodle

Active Member
It's definitely better than integrated. :) Well, maybe not Sandy Bridge integrated, but everything earlier. :D
 
H

Hosick

New Member
I apologise for my woefully low knowledge of computers.
If i give you Speccy reports for my PC, would you be able to tell me the best Graphics Card it could run without upgrading anything else?
I assume that with the 6600GT being older than my PC, that the computer is capable of running something slightly better.

If possible, would you be able to tell me the best GeForce Card i could run?
I know it sounds stupid and immature, but as someone with the computer knowledge of a sponge i prefer hardware with 'names' and particularly the GeForce series because they are easiest for me to compare and remember. For example: GeForce 6600 and GeForce 9500 - Obviously the latter is the best. But if someone said "Sapphire - Radeon HD6870 FleX Edition" and "Asus - EAH6950 2GB Overclock Edition" --- i'd just look at them with a rather comical expression! (i got those names from typing 'graphics card' into google - i don't understand either of them!)

Anyway, i really warble on at times!!

I'm on my laptop now, so if i come back tomorrow and find a few positive responses i'll get the Speccy reports for my PC.

THANKS
 
johnb35

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
Is this a store bought pc or a custom built pc? If its store bought just give us the brand and model number of the pc. If its custom bulit, we need the motherboard model number.
 
H

Hosick

New Member
It's store bought.
It's an Acer Aspire, but i can get the model number and anything else you'd like tomorrow.

Check back with me tomorrow at about 4pm, thank you for your help.
I really appreciate people like you in these forums - helping out the less-knowledgeable.
 
spynoodle

spynoodle

Active Member
You might want to pull that card out if your power supply isn't good enough. Check inside your case (or online if you can find it) and try to find the wattage of your power supply. If it's under 300w, you might run a risk of it blowing out.
 
kobaj

kobaj

VIP Member
CardboardSword said:
nVidia's cards go much further than the 9000 series. :p After those you have the 200, 400 and 500 series. The card wasn't terrible for it's time, although I'm not sure how it stacks up against more modern solutions, I had a 6800GT back in the day, it would play older games (Original Far Cry, Doom 3 even) fairly well. I would expect the 6600GT to perform a bit below that so likely it is better than an integrated chipset. So long as it does what you want it to then it's great, especially for free. Just don't expect it to be a power house or anything :p
Click to expand...

Are you kidding!? Here is me showing my age, but the 6600 was /the $h*#/ when it came out. I recall F.E.A.R had just hit shelves about the time, and no card could run it at all. And then the 6600 game along and beasted that sucker right out of the water. Good times, oh to be young again.
 
StrangleHold

StrangleHold

Moderator
Staff member
The 6600GT was the card in its day. Just like later on with the 7600GT and 8800GT. For price vs. performance vs. ATI
 
johnb35

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
Looks like you have specs of...

Intel Pentium Dual Core E2180 processor
320GB standard Serial ATA-300 Hard Drive
2GB DDR2 SDRAM
250 watt power supply
1 open pci express x 16 video card slot

You will have to upgrade the power supply for sure. You should be able to put any pci express video card in your system after you upgrade the power supply, providing you get one good enough to run whatever card you want to use.
 
H

Hosick

New Member
Thanks very much, John, and those reviews were helpful too; but again - my technical ability is greatly similar to that of a sponge:
How would i go about upgrading the Power Supply? I know literally nothing about power in PCs. Until someone explains it briefly (which would be helpful) my knowledge of what 'power supply' is will be limited to the thick black plug you use to plug it into the wall!
I am also quite limited in terms of money at the minute as well.

By the way, the 6600 seems to be doing quite well with my current power supply, but i will let you (the experts) advice me on what to do in the case of buying a better card.

I have been checking ebay for GeForce cards and the 6600 and 7600 seem to be pretty much the same price, the first one i saw being refurbished for £27, how much difference is there between the 6600 and this one? And as i am completely unaware of the prices of power supply things (??), Would i be able to get this card, or possibly a slightly better one, plus the required power supply to run it, for under £50, or not much over?

Lastly (my posts are always really long!) - This question has been popping in and out of my mind for ages: Is the power supply the only thing i would need to upgrade in order to make use of my new card?
I am planning on using it to play games, not new games, but old-ish ones, and more specifically: Minecraft, which i have recently discovered. Minecraft is one of those games made entirely of big pixels and blocks, but it is unplayable on my PC. So would i have to upgrade me RAM or something as well to play these?
I know that computers are one of those things in life that only work to the speed of the slowest unit, so it means nout if i don't have a good RAM, but i think my RAMs okay.

I am also aware thanks to my uncle of how to install a Graphics Card by the way.

THANKS
 
linkin

linkin

VIP Member
Hosick said:
Is this a good PSU? - for the GPU i need anyway:

http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/9137202/CiT-400U-400W-Micro-ATX-PSU-Power-Supply-Unit/Product.html?searchtype=allproducts&searchsource=0&searchstring=akasa+psu&urlrefer=search

I think i recognise that, so i might be ale to fit it. [might]
Click to expand...

Let's just say you get what you pay for with powersupplies. Something like this is better: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/430w...ronze-80-plus-bronze-82-eff-eps-12v-120mm-fan

You want to buy a reliable one, it powers everything inside the computer, so it's rather important. Some good brands include: Seasonic, XFX, Corsair, Antec, Silverstone

The one I linked you should be able to handle any GPU with two PCI-E connectors (to a point, I wouldn't load anything more than a GTX 460/560 on it, or Radeon 6850 if you want an AMD card in the future)
 
H

Hosick

New Member
I appreciate the link and the advice, but honestly most of that means nothing to me.
I simply cannot compare different makes. That's why i said earlier that i like the GeForce series because it is generally just a case of bigger number = better.
 
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