GeForce GT 520MX vs 8600 GTS

Place in the ranking	1252	1169
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.01	no data
Power efficiency	0.51	2.58
Architecture	Tesla (2006−2010)	Fermi 2.0 (2010−2014)
GPU code name	G84	GF119
Market segment	Desktop	Laptop
Release date	17 April 2007 (17 years ago)	30 May 2011 (13 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$199	no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

The higher the performance-to-price ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices for comparison.

no data

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores	32	48
Core clock speed	675 MHz	900 MHz
Number of transistors	289 million	292 million
Manufacturing process technology	80 nm	40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	60 Watt	20 Watt
Texture fill rate	10.80	7.200
Floating-point processing power	0.0928 TFLOPS	0.1728 TFLOPS
ROPs	8	4
TMUs	16	8

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

Interface	PCIe 1.0 x16	PCIe 2.0 x16
Length	198 mm	no data
Width	1-slot	no data
Supplementary power connectors	1x 6-pin	no data
SLI options	+	-

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory type	GDDR3	DDR3
Maximum RAM amount	256 MB	1 GB
Standard memory config per GPU	256 MB	no data
Memory bus width	128 Bit	64 Bit
Memory clock speed	1000 MHz	900 MHz
Memory bandwidth	32 GB/s	14.4 GB/s
Shared memory	-	-

Connectivity and outputs

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display Connectors

2x DVI, 1x S-Video

No outputs

Supported technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

Optimus

API and SDK compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX	11.1 (10_0)	12 API
Shader Model	4.0	5.1
OpenGL	2.1	4.5
OpenCL	1.1	1.1
Vulkan	N/A	N/A
CUDA	1.1	+

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

8600 GTS 0.44

GT 520MX 0.74
+68.2%

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

8600 GTS 171

GT 520MX 287
+67.8%

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Counter-Strike 2	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	7−8 +0%	7−8 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	5−6 +0%	5−6 +0%

Full HD
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%
Far Cry 5	9−10 +0%	9−10 +0%
Fortnite	2−3 +0%	2−3 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	7−8 +0%	7−8 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	10−11 +0%	10−11 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	5−6 +0%	5−6 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	6−7 +0%	6−7 +0%
World of Tanks	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Counter-Strike 2	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%
Far Cry 5	9−10 +0%	9−10 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	7−8 +0%	7−8 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	10−11 +0%	10−11 +0%

1440p
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	4−5 +0%	4−5 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	4−5 +0%	4−5 +0%
World of Tanks	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%
Far Cry 5	4−5 +0%	4−5 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	4−5 +0%	4−5 +0%
Valorant	5−6 +0%	5−6 +0%

4K
High Preset

Dota 2	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%
Grand Theft Auto V	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	2−3 +0%	2−3 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	1−2 +0%	1−2 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	2−3 +0%	2−3 +0%
Dota 2	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%
Valorant	1−2 +0%	1−2 +0%

All in all, in popular games:

there's a draw in 35 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	0.44	0.74
Recency	17 April 2007	30 May 2011
Maximum RAM amount	256 MB	1 GB
Chip lithography	80 nm	40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	60 Watt	20 Watt

GT 520MX has a 68.2% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 4 years, a 300% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 100% more advanced lithography process, and 200% lower power consumption.

The GeForce GT 520MX is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce 8600 GTS in performance tests.

Be aware that GeForce 8600 GTS is a desktop card while GeForce GT 520MX is a notebook one.

Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.