Conclusion

Gainward Bliss 8600GT 1024Mb Edition

Installing 4 times the standard amount of memory on a 8600GT doesn’t sound like the most brilliant idea. After all, what good is all that free memory when the GPU is barely managing to display the rest of the scene, let alone deal with high resolution textures and AA/AF. As our tests showed the above is true most of the time, with the sole exception of CSS and Call of Juarez. Would we recommend the card over other 8600GTs? Probably not, as even though the 1024Mb can come in handy in certain situations and the overclocking potential isn’t bad, it simply doesn’t pay off to have all that memory installed on a card that just wasn’t designed to deal with it in the first place. Sure, this board will probably last a bit longer than most 8600GTs, being future proof in terms of high memory requirements, but by that time the GPU probably won’t be able to push more than a few framerates to the screen anyway. The extra resources could have been spent better elsewhere. All in all, despite this strange decision the card is good value for money, and offers some unique possibilities which are otherwise reserved for higher end solutions.

What do these awards mean?

The Gainward Bliss 8600GT 1024Mb can be bought at Techbuy for $237.80 / Scan for £96

Gainward Bliss 8600GT Goes Like Hell Edition

The GLH is the complete opposite of the 1024Mb version. Instead of spending money on additional memory Gainward invested in high speeds. The addition of a PCI-E power connector surprised us at first, but considering how much overclocking potential was gained this way we can easily see that this was a very smart choice. And we can only applaud the decision to use 1000/2000MHz rated memory modules, giving enthusiasts plenty of headroom to push the card way past the "out-of-the-box speeds". When it comes to 8600GT cards this card is literally without competition and the only thing we can think of that could have been improved is a better cooler. As it is though, if you intend to squeeze every last ounce of power from a 8600GT, the Bliss 8600GT Goes Like Hell Edition is the card for you, especially at this price!

What do these awards mean?

Gainward Bliss 8600GT Goes Like Hell Edition can be bought at Techbuy for $190.30 // Scan for £92