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HOME  Video #711 - Albatron 6600 PCIE Video Card
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#711 - Albatron 6600 PCIE Video Card |
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Written by Zach Jeffers
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Saturday, 05 August 2006 |
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Page 5 of 5
Testing:
Installing the Albatron 6600 video card was a breeze, as most nVidia users have come accustom to. Windows directly recognized it and installed the basic Microsoft drivers for the card. Once the system was up, I installed the latest version of the ForceWare drivers version 91.31. The test system for this review was an AMD Sempron 3000+ AM2 (stock speeds), ECS C51GM-M AM2, Crucial 2gig (2x1024mb) DDR800, Maxtor 120gig 7200rpm 8mb cache and a fresh install of Windows XP Pro with updates. Playing HL2, B&W, Q4 and SS2 at default settings at 1024x768 was choppy, but with modification in each graphic engine, there was much improvement and game play was much smoother. Any settings above 1024x768, with any kind of graphical enhancement (like 2xAA or 4xAA), would bring the games to flickering crawl. If you don’t mind playing with some edges a little jagged and at a lower resolution, the 6600 GPU does just fine. For lovers of older games, the Albatron PC6600Q2 kicks butt! Playing UT2K3 and up was a dream!
Conclusion:
The Albatron PC6600Q2 is not for everybody, but if you are looking for a budget card under $100 that will be compatible with newer games, the 6600 GPU is a great solution. If you are looking to play HL2 or games of the like at higher resolutions, you may want to consider a 6800 or higher solution. For all around work related activities, this card performs like a champ and with dual monitors, the PC6600Q2 makes it a pleasure. This product is an all around great product and recommended for anybody upgrading on a budget!
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Pros |
Cons |
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- Great Value
- Easy Installation
- Runs Most Modern Games
- Dual Heads
- Passive Heat Spreader
- Only takes one expansion slot.
- S-Video and Component Output
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- Not For Overclockers
- Will not play very nice with higher resolutions.
- Requires good case airflow.
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