Foxconn GeForce 8600GT-256 OC560/1620

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Although the overclocking may be tame by some standards, the Foxconn GeForce 8600 GT we received managed to distinguish itself from the reference model by around 12 to 14% in our benchmarks. It will still lag behind the GeForce 8600 GTS by a significant margin but it's a decent card standing in the middle ground between the two standard models. An interesting tweak that we found on our Foxconn card was the higher than usual clocks of the stream processors in its BIOS. While the increase was only around 40MHz, it should have some direct impact on performance that places it in better standing against normally overclocked cards.

As for the rest of this Foxconn graphics card, we were reasonably pleased with the two-slot cooler that took up more space but made up for it when it came to noise and heat. It's not the most impressive of coolers due to its simple and rather common design but at least Foxconn didn't get it wrong here. What could be less welcome is the apparent lack of HDCP outputs on the card. No doubt this is not a standard feature for the GeForce 8600 GT but we felt that it should have been included and the lack affects the potential of the new HD video processing hardware one the GeForce 8600 series. Finally, there are the usual accessories along with two applications in the package, programs that Foxconn has been bundling since its early foray into graphics cards. We really hope to see more variety in the software aspect in later editions.

With an online price of around US$149, this Foxconn card is quite decent considering its overclocked pedigree, but it will almost certainly face price pressure from the many rivals in this crowded market. There are already a number of competing overclocked cards at very attractive prices. However, it is probably in the marketing and brand awareness that this newcomer will find its biggest problem and that will take more time, marketing dollars and the gradual building of a good track record.