Lenovo ThinkPad X230t Review
Sony Xperia Tablet Z Review
AMD Trinity and FX Desktop Review
Toshiba Tecra R950 Review

NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT

NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT

NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT is the DirectX 10 capable successor of the GeForce Go 7600 GT for laptops. Depending on the used graphic memory and the clock speed,  the performance is between the 7600 GT and 7900 GS video card. Therefore, games like Company of Heroes, Supreme Commander, or F.E.A.R can be played fluently with high details in a resolution of 1024 or similar. Still, the shader power is not sufficient to display DirectX 10 effects of games like Crysis fluently (Crysis will only run well in low details).  Gamers, who every time expect supreme frame rates, should get at least a 8800M card.

The 8600M series is one of the first-laptop-GPUs, which support DirectX 10 and accelerate the H.264-decoding of HD-movies.

The particularity of this video card are the "Unified Shader". Pixel- and vertex-shaders do not exist any more but 32 of the so called stream processors do the graphic work (which up to now pixel- and vertex shaders did).

The memory clock speed depends on the used memory: 400 MHz for GDDR2 memory and 700 Mhz for GDDR3 (which is noticeable faster).

The integrated PureVideo engine is one of the advantages of the 8600M GT. It supports (HD) encoding of H.264, VC-1, MPEG2, and WMV9 video content. Compared to the slower 8600M GS (and 8400M series) the 8600M GT supports a few more video features (see comparison chart).

ManufacturerNVIDIA
GeForce 8600M Series

GeForce 8600M GT SLI 64@475MHz

GeForce 8600M GT 32@475MHz

GeForce 8600M GS 16@600MHz

CodenameG84M
ArchitectureG8x
Pipelines32 - unified
Core Speed *475 MHz
Shader Speed *950 MHz
Memory Speed *700 MHz
Memory Bus Width128 Bit
Memory TypeGDDR3, GDDR2
Max. Amount of Memory512 MB
Shared Memoryno
DirectXDirectX 10, Shader 4.0
Current Consumption20 Watt
Transistors289 Million
technology80 nm
FeaturesShader clock frequence 950 MHz, PureVideo technology (H.264, VC-1, MPEG2, WMV9 decoding acceleration), MPEG2, WMV9 decoding acceleration), HDCP-capable, PowerMizer 7.0 power management (dynamic switching between performance and energy economizing), HDR (High Dynamic-Range Lighting), designed for Windows Vista, 16x full screen AA, 16x AF independent of angles, 128-Bit HDR illumination with AA, Dual-Link DVI-D exits for resolutions of TFT up to 2560x1600, PCI-E 16x, OpenGL 2.1, Gigathread technology
Notebook Sizemedium sized
Date of Announcement09.06.2007
InformationSpeichertakt (Vorgaben): DDR2 - 400 MHz
DDR3 - 700 MHz
Link to Manufacturer Pagehttp://www.nvidia.com/object/geforce_860...
* The specified clock rates are only guidelines for the manufacturer and can be altered by them.

Benchmarks

3DMark Vantage - P Result no PhysX 1280x1024
0% 100%
min: 1040     avg: 1040 (3%)     max: 1040 Points
3DMark Vantage - P GPU no PhysX 1280x1024
0% 100%
min: 843     avg: 843 (2%)     max: 843 Points
3DMark 06
0% 100%
min: 2671     avg: 3347.4 (11%)     max: 4434 Points
3DMark 05 - Standard 1024x768
0% 100%
min: 4279     avg: 6174.8 (17%)     max: 8078 Points
3DMark 03 - Standard 1024x768
0% 100%
min: 5244     avg: 10215 (7%)     max: 13515 Points
3DMark 2001SE - Standard 1024x768
0% 100%
min: 13417     avg: 22071.5 (36%)     max: 28050 Points
Cinebench R10 - Shading 32Bit
0% 100%
min: 2100     avg: 3206.9 (30%)     max: 5230 Points
Windows Vista Experience Index - GPU
0% 100%
min: 4.5     avg: 4.8 (70%)     max: 5.9 Points
Windows Vista Experience Index - GPU Games
0% 100%
min: 5.2     avg: 5.3 (77%)     max: 5.4 Points
- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card

Game Benchmarks

The following benchmarks stem from our benchmarks of review laptops. The performance depends on the used graphics memory, clock rate, processor, system settings, drivers, and operating systems. So the results don't have to be representative for all laptops with this GPU. For detailled information on the benchmark results, click on the fps number.

Crysis - GPU Benchmark
Crysis - GPU Benchmark (2007)
low:
50.8 40.3 43.8 50.3 ~ 46 fps      Compare
med.:
17.6 18 18.6 19.6 20 ~ 19 fps      Compare
high:
7.6 8.7 9.8 10.1 10.1 ~ 9 fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
Crysis - CPU Benchmark
Crysis - CPU Benchmark (2007)
low:
34.8 42.9 46.8 51 ~ 44 fps      Compare
med.:
14 15.3 18.3 19 19.9 ~ 17 fps      Compare
high:
7.2 8.6 9.4 10.1 10.7 ~ 9 fps      Compare
» With most tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
World in Conflict - Benchmark
World in Conflict - Benchmark (2007)
med.:
27 29 ~ 28 fps      Compare
high:
11 14 ~ 13 fps      Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Command and Conquer III (2007): Not playable with a weaker graphics card. - more...
F.E.A.R.
F.E.A.R. (2005)
low:
34 102 112 211 222 231 250 270 270 283 284 286 291 299 302 303 306 311 342 383 423 ~ 263 fps      Compare
med.:
29 29 29 29 30 30 32 32 55 88 96 98 98 101 101 102 109 112 114 127 127 ~ 75 fps      Compare
high:
13 24 25 25 26 27 28 28 28 29 30 30 31 31 31 36 36 37 43 44 73 ~ 32 fps      Compare
» With most tested laptops playable in detail settings med..
World of Warcraft (2005): Playable with a weaker graphics card in detail settings med.. - more...
Doom 3
Doom 3 (2004)
low:
96.7 106.4 107.1 111.9 115 119.8 132.5 132.5 135.5 141.3 142.3 145.5 149.7 150.2 151.8 153.9 167.3 169 ~ 135 fps      Compare
med.:
97.5 103.8 111.9 113.2 113.8 118.3 121.9 123.2 125.8 126.1 126.4 127.8 130 133.6 143.7 150.2 150.5 170.8 ~ 127 fps      Compare
high:
84.8 91.7 97.6 98.3 98.5 105 106.3 109.7 114.3 114.4 114.7 115.3 119 119.2 126.5 129.5 142.5 145.4 ~ 113 fps      Compare
ultra:
53.9 59.7 60.6 67.8 75.8 76.1 76.1 77 77.1 79.2 81.1 83.4 86.5 86.5 87.9 92.2 99.9 100.6 ~ 79 fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
Quake 3 Arena - Timedemo
Quake 3 Arena - Timedemo (1999)
high:
153.3 236.5 239.3 268.4 345.3 348.4 365.2 422.2 451 453.8 461 474 479.8 ~ 361 fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.

For more games that might be playable and a list of all games and graphics cards visit our Gaming List

Game Performance

The following values are based on different reviews and can actually differ due to low processor power or lower clocked graphics cards. It should only give a general impression, which games should be playable. If not stated otherwise, the benchmarks were recorded without Antialiasing (AA) and Anisotrope Filtering (AF).

Gears of War: 1280x800, default (medium-high): 35 fps -> well playable with seldom stuttering
Call of Juarez : 1280x800, DX10: 20 fps -> barely playable
Company of Heroes: 1440x900, high details-> playable (not completely fluent)
World in Conflict: 1024x768, medium details (DX9), Benchmark: 23 fps -> playable (DX 10 not playable)
F.E.A.R.: 1024x768, CPU max, GPU max: 24-40 fps -> well playable
Command and Conquer 3 (C&C 3): 1024x768, high details: 30 fps well playable
Supreme Commander: 1024x768, high details: 16-44 fps -> playable (large Multiplayer battles may need a faster GPU)
Colin McRae Dirt: 1024x768, high: 20 fps -> barely playable (reduce details)
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: 1024x768, maximum quality: 18 fps not playable -> with reduced details playable
Splinter Cell - Chaos Theory: 1280x800 -> well playable
Oblivion: 1280x800, max details: 40 fps -> well playable
Half Life 2 - Episode 1: 1280x800: 70 fps -> well playable
Prey: 1280x800: 40 fps -> well playable
Anno 1701: 1024x768, high Details: 48 fps -> well playable
Doom 3: 1024x768, Details: Ultra: 67 fps -> well playable
Age of Empires 3: 1024x768, hohe Details (without footprints), Skirmish zu 8t: 30-40 fps -> well playable
Quake 3 Arena: 1024x768, max Details: 236.5 fps -> well playable

The gaming tests show that the 8600M GT is capable of displaying current games fluently. However, DirectX 10 effects should not be enabled to sustain playable framerates.

Framerate in Gears of War with a 8600M GT with 256 MB GDDR3 (MacBook Pro 2.2 GHz)
Framerate in Gears of War with a 8600M GT with 256 MB GDDR3 (MacBook Pro 2.2 GHz)

Notebook reviews with NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics card

Acer Aspire 5920G: Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, 15.4", 3.2 kg
  Review » Review Acer Aspire 5920G Notebook

Apple MacBook Pro 15" 2.2GHz: Intel Core 2 Duo T7500, 15.4", 2.4 kg
  Review » Long-term review Apple MacBook Pro 2.2 GHz Notebook with Mac OS X

Apple MacBook Pro 15" 2.4GHz: Intel Core 2 Duo T7700, 15.4", 2.4 kg
  Review » Review Apple MacBook Pro 15'' Notebook (Santa Rosa)

Apple MacBook Pro 15" 4,1 Penryn: Intel Core 2 Duo T9300, 15.4", 2.4 kg
  Review » Review Apple MacBook Pro 15" V4.1 (2.5 GHz Penryn)

Asus C90S: Intel Core 2 Duo (Desktop) E6600, 15.4", 3.2 kg
  Review » Review Asus C90S (AK001C) Power-Notebook

Asus G1S: Intel Core 2 Duo T7500, 15.4", 3.2 kg
  Review » Review Asus G1S Notebook

Asus V1S: Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, 15.4", 3 kg
  Review » User-Review Asus V1S Notebook

  Review » Review Asus V1S Notebook

Compal FL90: Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, 15.4", 2.7 kg
  Review » Review Compal FL90 Notebook

Dell Inspiron 1720: Intel Core 2 Duo T7100, 17.0", 3.9 kg
  Review » Review Dell Inspiron 1720 Notebook

Dell Vostro 1500: Intel Core 2 Duo T7100, 15.4", 3.3 kg
  Review » Review Dell Vostro 1500 Laptop

Dell XPS M1530: Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, 15.4", 2.6 kg
  Review » Review Dell XPS M1530 Notebook

MSI Megabook GX600: Intel Core 2 Duo T9300, 15.4", 2.7 kg
  Review » Review MSI Megabook GX600 Notebook

MSI Megabook GX700: Intel Core 2 Duo T7500, 17.1", 3.5 kg
  Review » Review MSI Megabook GX700 Extreme Gaming Notebook

Samsung R700 Aura T9300 Dillen: Intel Core 2 Duo T9300, 17.0", 3.1 kg
  Review » Review Samsung R700 Aura T9300 Dillen Notebook

Zepto Znote 3415W: Intel Core 2 Duo T9500, 15.4", 2.9 kg
  Review » Review Zepto Znote 3415W Notebook

Zepto Znote 6224W: Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, 14.1", 2.4 kg
  Review » Review Zepto Znote 6224W

Zepto Znote 6324W: Intel Core 2 Duo T9300, 14.1", 2.4 kg
  Review » Review Zepto Znote 6324W Notebook

Zepto Znote 6625WD: Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, 15.4", 2.7 kg
  Review » User-Review Zepto Znote 6625WD Notebook

Zepto Znote 6625WD T9500: Intel Core 2 Duo T9500, 15.4", 2.9 kg
  Review » Review Zepto Znote 6625WD Notebook (T9500)

Acer Aspire 5920: Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, 15.4", 3 kg
  External Review » Acer Aspire 5920

Acer Aspire 6920G-594G32Bn : Intel Core 2 Duo T5900, 16.0", 3.5 kg
  External Review » Acer Aspire 6920G-594G32Bn

Acer Aspire 9920G: Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, 20.1", 6.9 kg
  External Review » Acer Aspire 9920G

Apple MacBook Pro 15 Zoll Santa Rosa: Intel Core 2 Duo T7700, 15.4", 2.5 kg
  External Review » Apple Macbook Pro (15 inch Santa Rosa)

Apple Macbook Pro 17“ 2008-12: Intel Core 2 Duo T9300, 17.0", 3.1 kg
  External Review » Apple Macbook Pro 17“ 2008-12

Asus C90S: Intel Core 2 Duo (Desktop) E6600, 15.4", 3.2 kg
  External Review » Asus C90S

Asus G1S: Intel Core 2 Duo T7500, 15.4", 3.1 kg
  External Review » Asus G1S

Asus G2S: Intel Core 2 Duo T7500, 17.1", 4.4 kg
  External Review » Asus G2S

Asus Lamborghini VX2S: Intel Core 2 Duo T7500, 15.4", 2.6 kg
  External Review » Asus Lamborghini VX2S

Asus V1S: Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, 15.4", 3 kg
  External Review » Asus V1S

Dell Inspiron 1720: Intel Core 2 Duo T7100, 17.1", 3.9 kg
  External Review » Dell Inspiron 1720

Dell Vostro 1500: Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, 15.4", 3.3 kg
  External Review » Dell Vostro 1500

Dell Vostro 1700: Intel Core 2 Duo T7100, 17.1", 3.5 kg
  External Review » Dell Vostro 1700

Dell XPS M1530: Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, 15.4", 2.6 kg
  External Review » Dell XPS M1530

HP Pavilion dv5t: Intel Core 2 Duo T9400, 15.4", 2.8 kg
  External Review » HP Pavilion dv5t

HP Pavilion dv9500t: Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, 17.1", 4 kg
  External Review » HP Pavilion dv9500t

LG R700: Intel Core 2 Duo T8300, 17.1", 3.6 kg
  External Review » LG R700

Maxdata Belinea o.book 5: Intel Core 2 Duo T7500, 17.1", 3.6 kg
  External Review » Maxdata Belinea o.book 5

MSI Megabook GX600: Intel Core 2 Duo T9300, 15.4", 2.7 kg
  External Review » MSI Megabook GX600

MSI Megabook GX700: Intel Core 2 Duo T7500, 17.1", 3.5 kg
  External Review » MSI Megabook GX700

Packard Bell EasyNote MB89: Intel Core 2 Duo T7500, 15.4", 2.8 kg
  External Review » Packard Bell EasyNote MB89

Sony Vaio VGN-AR51SU: Intel Core 2 Duo T7700, 17.1", 3.9 kg
  External Review » Sony Vaio VGN-AR51SU

Sony Vaio VGN-AR590E: Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, 17.1", 3.8 kg
  External Review » Sony Vaio VGN-AR590E

Sony Vaio VGN-AR61: Intel Core 2 Duo T8300, 17.1", 3.9 kg
  External Review » Sony Vaio VGN-AR61ZU

Sony Vaio VGN-AR71ZU: Intel Core 2 Duo T9300, 17.1", 3.9 kg
  External Review » Sony Vaio VGN-AR71ZU

Toshiba Qosmio G40 10E: Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, 17.1", 4.4 kg
  External Review » Toshiba Qosmio G40-10E

Toshiba Qosmio G40 11L: Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, 17.1", 4.4 kg
  External Review » Toshiba Qosmio G40-11L

Toshiba Qosmio G45: Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, 17.1", 4.2 kg
  External Review » Toshiba Qosmio G45

Toshiba Satellite X200-219: Intel Core 2 Duo T7500, 17.1", 3.8 kg
  External Review » Toshiba Satellite X200-219

Toshiba Satellite X200-24V: Intel Core 2 Duo T9300, 17.1", 3.8 kg
  External Review » Toshiba Satellite X200-24V

Toshiba Satellite X205-SLi3: Intel Core 2 Duo T7500, 17.1", 4.5 kg
  External Review » Toshiba Satellite X205-SLi3

Toshiba Satellite X205-SLi4: Intel Core 2 Duo T8100, 17.1", 4.5 kg
  External Review » Toshiba Satellite X205-SLi4

Toshiba Satellite X205-SLi5: Intel Core 2 Duo T8300, 17.1", 4.3 kg
  External Review » Toshiba Satellite X205-SLi5

Zepto Znote 3415W: Intel Core 2 Duo T9500, 15.4", 2.9 kg
  External Review » Zepto Znote 3415W

Zepto Znote 6224W: Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, 14.1", 2.4 kg
  External Review » Zepto Znote 6224W

Zepto Znote 6324W: Intel Core 2 Duo T7500, 14.1", 2.2 kg
  External Review » Zepto Znote 6324W

Zepto Znote 6623WD: Intel Core 2 Duo T7700, 15.4", 3.1 kg
  External Review » Zepto Znote 6623WD

Zepto Znote 6625WD: Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, 15.4", 2.9 kg
  External Review » Zepto Znote 6625WD

» Comparison of GPUs
Detailled list of all laptop GPUs with a short description. Classified and sorted by performance.

» Benchmark List
Sortable and restrainable list of all GPUs with benchmarks (e.g. 3DMarks).

» Notebook Gaming List
Which game can be played with my graphics card.

Class 1
GeForce GTX 590
GeForce GTX 680
Radeon HD 7970
GeForce GTX 660 Ti
Radeon HD 7870
GeForce GTX 580
Radeon HD 6970
GeForce GTX 570
GeForce GTX 480
GeForce GTX 560 Ti
Radeon HD 6870
Radeon HD 5850
Radeon HD 7770
Radeon HD 7770
GeForce GTX 460 768MB
Radeon HD 6790
Radeon HD 5770
GeForce GTX 550 Ti
Class 2
GeForce GTS 450
Radeon HD 4850
Class 3
Radeon HD 5670
GeForce GT 240
GeForce GT 430
Radeon HD 5570
GeForce GT 220
Radeon HD 6450 GDDR5
Class 4
Class 5
Radeon HD 4350
GeForce G 107M *
Chrome9HD *
PowerVR SGX554MP4 *
Mali-T604 *
Class 6
PowerVR SGX543MP4 *
Adreno 320 *
PowerVR SGX543MP3 *
PowerVR SGX543MP2 *
PowerVR SGX545
PowerVR SGX544 *
Adreno 305 *
Adreno 225 *
Vivante GC4000 *
Mali-400 MP4 *
VideoCore-IV *
Adreno 220 *
Vivante GC1000+ Dual-Core
Mali-400 MP2 *
PowerVR SGX540 *
Adreno 205 *
Adreno 203 *
GC800 *
PowerVR SGX535
PowerVR SGX531
PowerVR SGX530
Adreno 200 *
Mali-200 *
unknown *

* Approximate position of the graphics adapter

> Notebook / Laptop Reviews and News > FAQ / Tips / Technics > Comparison of Laptop Graphics Cards > NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT
Author: Klaus Hinum (Update: 2013-01-16)