Advantages: Good performance, good price, handles modern games well, good cooling
Disadvantages: not directx 10 compatible, double height (needs 2 spare backplates)

...This card is amazing. It's a very good alternative to the nvidia geforce 8800 series, for significantly less money. I upgraded from an nvidia geforce 6800, bought one of these from ebay for around 100 pounds and my fps in game increased by about 50%. It runs cool in my case (though it does need to back plates due to the extra cooling needed) and it does need a pci express power connector, and i would also recommend a power supply that can cope with this card, you need something over a 400w psu to power this thing well. i would recommend one of these over an 8600gt or gts (and anything below it of course) unless you really need directx 10 now. this should see you through quite a few games for the time being with the 512mb of ram and processor being able to cope with anything you can throw at it. If you have a vga (analog cable) monitor... Read review

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Advantages: Runs all games out at the moment at very high speeds
Disadvantages: May show to be weak when newer games come out in a years time

...The 8600gt is the perfect card to introduce your computer to the dx10 experience. The card may not obviously be as fast as the 8800 yet It has the capabilities to run all the new games at formidable speeds. I can run call of duty 4 and gears of war on full settings and crysis on high and it only ended up costing arounds £90 unlike the 8800 which can shoot up to prices as high as £300. The card has 1gb video memory suitable for any game which is perfect for storing large amounts of textures. The card installs easily taking less than 5 minutes to insert and gives tremendous power towards any game Yet if you've ever heard this card is bad it is definatly a blatent lie. It's capabilities are expansive and every game will run under its command. A great buy for anyone who wants an affordable jump into the next gen graphics style.... Read review

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Advantages: excellent performance and price
Disadvantages: excellent performance and price

...Reasons for buying: I bought this graphics card as I like gaming a lot and my old one was far too old. The reason I was attracted to this particular card was the price and the fact that Inno3D are a very respected manufacturer. In 2006 they made it into the Pc Pro's best graphics manufacturer list http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/96853/revealed-best-graphics-card-manufacturers .html?searchString=graphics+awards. So with such a good reputation I endlessly trawled the internet to find the cheapest price, I eventually found it on ebuyer.com for £66.56 inc vat (if you are interested the quick find code is 140112). Delivery and Installation: Being a cheapskate I opted for the free five day supersaver delivery and I ordered it on a wednesday and it arrived on the following monday. Three days is not bad for free delivery. As to installation... Read review

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Advantages: Large Screen, Nvidia graphics, Dual core
Disadvantages: Dell, Vista, Problems installing XP

...Recently purchased this item. The laptop itself has a great deal of features for the price. Including a Nvidia 256MB, 8600GT. !7inch screen 1440 X 900. Overall very pleased. However, the customer support received from both Dell and PC World was not on par with the quality of the product. Buyer beware, If you are expecting to install Windows XP (as opposed to Windows Vista already installed) then you will need to search the internet for technical support. This is because there are problems with the installation recognising the ACHI Sata controller. Overall, the product is well built however does arrive installed with a lot of bloatware. Bloatware being smaller, insignificant programs offered by Dell for free. As a two-time Dell purchaser, I would recommend the machines but not the customer service.... Read review

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Advantages: the performance, quality, the price, plays all modern games
Disadvantages: you must check if it fits in your case because of the cooling system

...I am surprised not too see many other reviews about these Asus. This Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT Silent is simply brilliant. Not only is relatively inexpensive but also has great quality/performance level too and, as the name says, it's silent! Thanks to the new cooling system adopted by Asus which doesn't involve a fan. It is designed for Windows Vista (runs splendidly on XP too of course) and fully supports DirectX 10 and OpenGL 2.0. You can run all new gaming titles on this card at high levels (last tried, Turning Point). It has two DVI out-puts and a TV output which supports HDTV plus it comes with a DVI-VGA adapter in case your monitor has a VGA cable Here are some specs: GPU clock: 540 MHz PCI Express X16 VGA RAM 512MB DDR3 Max Resolution 2048x1536 Video output: VGA; DVI-I; TV-out HDTV Dual Display compoatible with Microsoft Direct... Read review

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Advantages: Good performance/reliability
Disadvantages: None to mention

...This processor came with my new computer just over a month ago, and so far, I've been more than impressed with it. The system I baught uses Vista, has 1GB of RAM, a 250GB harddrive and an Nvidia 8600GT graphics card. I use alot CPU stressing programs like Autocad and a fair few games, and so far I havn't had any major problems, however this is a Mid-range CPU so dont expect miracles with performance, but for the mainstream user and the moderate gamer this card will be more than enough. I can't really dicuss price, because the processor came as part of my PC, however I would judge because of the good balance between performance and reliability, somewhere between £70 - £90 would be a fair price to pay.... Read review

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Advantages: Cheap! Good performer in most modern games
Disadvantages: Awkward shape may not fit in some cases

...to the max, even with 4xAA i was getting a good 45-55 FPS in HL2:Ep 2. The new Unreal engine 3 based games are easily tackled by the 8600Gt and it handles it really well. Games like Medal Of Honour:Airborne, Unreal Tournament 3 and Gears Of War are able to be maxed out (no AA though) and still get a good 34-45 FPS which is surprising since it looks fantastic. Another thing to note is that on the box it says it requires a 400Watt PSU, i am running on a 350W PSU and it seems to be fine and stable, i would put this up to the customer whether they want to try it, some people do experience problems but luckily i haven't. Also make sure your motherboard supports PCI-Express or it wont fit! SLI wise i am not sure if this card would work too well, due to its odd shape i would imagine it would be a tight fit even in a generously sized case... Read review

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Advantages: Stylish, Can fit full size GPUs, Easy to set up
Disadvantages: Standard Tri-cool fans are too noisy, VFD display functionality is a bit limited

...I have been running the Fusion now for six months with now problems. I am running an Intel e6600, geforce 8600GT and an Audigy soundcard in this case- all fit perfectly and dont warm the case up too much, even with the 3 speed fans set to the lowest setting. The VFD display on the front of the unit works well and it is a variation of Soundgraph's IMON device. The only disappoining part of this is however that the Fraphic equaliser does not seem to work with anything but I tunes. As I run Vista Media centre, this is not much use. My main problem with the unit is the noise from the "Tri-Cool" fans; even on the lowest setting they are too loud for a media centre: With the volume down on the TV (ie now at 12.15 with my wife in bed) I can clearly hear them droning away- quite annoying. Fans aside (you can buy much better ones for less... Read review

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Advantages: Good Spec
Disadvantages: Prone to Overheating

...When looking for my first laptop I was searching for an efficient and powerful computer. I believe the Inspiron 1520 fits that mould. The Laptop is fairly heavy but with its generously proportioned 15.4 inch screen that is to be expected. The specification is more than ample. I went for the T7500 processor which really shines on the many software packages I use. The graphics Nvidia 8600 GT graphics card,though not top of the range handles all but the most demanding of games The internal workings can't be faulted however a massive problem lies with the fan. The fan appears not to work,the laptop will start to heat if used for over one hour which wcan cause discomfort if placed on the users lap. I also found that the charger supplied with the laptop is prone to overheating and mine has broken down twice However this is an efficient... Read review

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Advantages: Superb graphics & physics, many options open to player
Disadvantages: Last 1/3 of game is very lackluster

...beautiful, 3d maze full of annoying enemies. Once you finish the zero G level you are back outside but it is all frozen. Again it looks fantastic there is snow and ice everywhere. Yet again there are more aliens to fight which are monotonous and take silly amounts of ammo to die, from here to the end of the game you wont see another Korean. It turns into another average shooter, the emphasis is taken off of using your powers and is just mindlessly blasting stuff until it stops blasting you. It is a far cry (excuse the pun) from fighting the Koreans and using you ingenuity to outsmart them. And it is a real shame and in my eyes really lets the game down. I haven't really had a chance to play the multiplayer but judging from the beta it seems like it is okay, it has Power struggle which is a cross between BF2's capture point system and UT2004's... Read review

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